Utah Gas Tax

Utah sets its gasoline tax by formula. State law fixes the rate at 14.2 percent of the statewide average motor fuel rack price over the previous three fiscal years, recalculated each January 1. For 2026 the formula produced 37.9¢ a gallon, about 1.55 percent lower than the 2025 rate, and the EIA’s July 2026 (revised August 2026) table lists an excise of 37.9¢. A 0.65¢ environmental assurance fee is the only other state charge. Gasoline is not subject to the sales tax.

In March 2026 the legislature passed House Bill 575, signed March 23, which cut the rate by about 15 percent, to 31.9¢, from July 1 through December 31, 2026. The EIA table above does not reflect that temporary cut. The same bill included measures on pipeline permitting and commitments from fuel suppliers to raise production in the state.

In the EIA’s July 2026 (revised August 2026) table, Utah’s state taxes and fees total 38.6¢ a gallon, the 14th-highest of the 50 states and D.C., against a 51-jurisdiction average of 33.8¢. Pump prices in Utah are on the Utah gas prices page.

In the EIA’s July 2026 table, Utah’s state tax of 38.6¢ a gallon is higher than in any of its six neighbors. Idaho is closest, at 33.0¢, followed by Colorado at 30.2¢. Wyoming (24.0¢), Nevada (23.8¢), Arizona (19.0¢) and New Mexico (18.9¢) are all lower on that basis, and the Arizona and New Mexico rates are about half of Utah’s. Of the six, only Nevada is flagged by the EIA for local option fuel taxes, left out of its figure, so the gap between St. George and Mesquite is narrower than the table shows.

That ranking of neighbors uses the formula rate. Until December 31, 2026, the temporary cut described above holds the rate actually collected below it, and at that lower rate Idaho charges more than Utah; the other five neighbors still charge less.

Of the table’s total, 37.9¢ is the formula-set excise and 0.7¢ is the environmental assurance fee. Add the federal 18.4¢ and the combined rate is 57.0¢. On those figures Utah’s share is about two-thirds, a larger state share than in any bordering state.

The same table puts Utah the 14th-highest of 51, above the 51-jurisdiction average of 33.8¢. Because the rate is recalculated from average rack prices, its distance from that average can change each January without a vote of the legislature, and a year of lower wholesale prices feeds through to a lower rate later on.

Six states border Utah, and in the EIA table none of them has a higher state total. Idaho is the highest of the six at 33.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026) and New Mexico the lowest at 18.9¢. Utah's total of 38.6¢ is 5.6¢ above Idaho's in the July 2026 EIA table and 8.4¢ above Colorado's 30.2¢.

Wyoming stands at 24.0¢ and Nevada at 23.8¢ in the July 2026 EIA table, which puts Utah 14.6¢ above Wyoming and 14.7¢ above Nevada. Arizona is at 19.0¢, and Utah is 19.6¢ above it in the July 2026 EIA table. Utah is 19.7¢ above New Mexico in the July 2026 EIA table.

Across the 50 states and D.C., the July 2026 EIA table has 13 jurisdictions with a higher state total than Utah and 37 with a lower one. The table's top figure is 73.6¢ (EIA table, July 2026) (California) and its bottom figure is 9.0¢ (Alaska). The average is 33.8¢, and Utah's total is 4.8¢ above that average in the July 2026 EIA table.

Within Utah's 38.6¢ in the July 2026 EIA table, the excise tax is 37.9¢, which is 98% of the total, and other state taxes and fees come to 0.7¢. Adding the federal 18.4¢ gives 57.0¢, and the state portion of that combined figure is 68% in the July 2026 EIA table.

In the EIA table, the state taxes listed are those of general application, and county and local taxes are excluded.