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Which State Has the Highest Diesel Tax in 2026?
Which state has the highest diesel tax in 2026? Pennsylvania, at 78 cents a gallon. Not California, which is the surprise for anyone who followed our gasoline ranking. Diesel has its own leaderboard, its own politics, and its own outlier at the top, and the two rankings do not line up the way you would expect.
The top 5 diesel taxes of 2026
| Rank | State | Diesel tax per gallon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania | $0.78 |
| 2 | Indiana | $0.55 |
| 3 | Washington | $0.49 |
| 4 | Illinois | $0.49 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $0.49 |
At the other end, Alaska charges 8 cents a gallon on diesel, the same as its gasoline tax and the lowest in the nation. Published figures move a few cents year to year as states index their rates, so treat these as the current ranking rather than permanent fixtures. Several states have also temporarily paused fuel taxes during the 2026 price surge, which can shift the effective numbers mid year.
Why Pennsylvania wins, and why it is not California
Pennsylvania got here on purpose. A 2013 law, Act 89, funded an ambitious infrastructure package through fuel taxes rather than tolls or general fund money, and the state has stayed near the top of every fuel tax ranking since. The tradeoff was explicit: high per gallon taxes, and in return a shrinking backlog of structurally deficient bridges. Whether that deal was worth it depends on who you ask, but the mechanism is the reason the rate is 78 cents instead of 40.
California is the interesting contrast. Its per gallon diesel excise is lower than Pennsylvania's, yet California has the highest diesel pump prices in the country, recently topping $8 a gallon in places. The difference is everything layered on top of the excise: a 13 percent sales tax on fuel, local levies, and environmental program costs that total about $1.17 per gallon in taxes and fees, per federal energy data. Pump price reflects the whole burden. Excise rankings reflect one line of it.
Why the diesel ranking differs from gasoline
Start with the federal floor. The federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents a gallon against 18.4 for gasoline, and neither has moved since 1993. States mostly mirror that gap, taxing diesel heavier on the theory that heavy trucks cause more road wear. The result is that the diesel and gasoline leaderboards share names but not order: California tops gasoline at 73.6 cents, Illinois is second at 70.4, Indiana third at 63.1. On diesel, Pennsylvania laps the field while California does not even crack the top five on excise alone.
For anyone driving diesel, a trucker, a farmer, an RV owner, the number that matters is the combined burden. In Pennsylvania that is 78 cents state plus 24.4 cents federal: about $1.02 of every gallon before the fuel itself is priced in. On a 100 gallon fill, that is $102 in tax. Nobody feels the excise tax in isolation, but it is the part of the pump price your state legislature actually voted for.
My take
The diesel ranking is the one that shows how arbitrary state fuel tax policy really is. Pennsylvania and California both extract over a dollar a gallon from diesel drivers, but they do it through completely different machinery: one through a single large excise tax, the other through excise plus sales tax plus regulatory costs. If you are comparing states by what diesel actually costs you, the excise ranking is the starting point and the total burden table is the answer. Check the full 2026 ranking for your state, and if you want the annual math, run how much gas tax you pay per year.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the highest diesel tax in 2026?
Pennsylvania, at 78 cents per gallon in state diesel tax. Indiana is second at 55 cents, followed by Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey at 49 cents each. Alaska has the lowest at 8 cents.
Why is diesel taxed more than gasoline?
The federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon versus 18.4 cents for gasoline, and most states set their diesel rates higher too. Diesel historically carried a heavier burden because heavy trucks cause more road wear, and the tax acts as a rough user fee.
Why does California have the highest diesel prices but not the highest diesel tax?
California's per-gallon diesel excise is lower than Pennsylvania's, but the state layers on a 13 percent sales tax plus fees and environmental program costs, totaling about $1.17 per gallon in taxes and fees. Pump price reflects the total burden, not just the excise tax.
How much is the combined state and federal diesel tax in Pennsylvania?
About $1.02 per gallon: 78 cents in state tax plus 24.4 cents in federal excise tax, which has not changed since 1993.
Which state has the lowest diesel tax?
Alaska, at 8 cents per gallon, the same as its gasoline tax. Like its gasoline rate, it has barely moved in decades.
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