Alcohol Bulletin commentary (February 2026 to April 2026)
Updated 29 May 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
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Alcohol Duty headlines
Provisional Alcohol Duty receipts for the 2025 to 2026 financial year (April to March) show that:
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total Alcohol Duty receipts were £12,435 million, which is £180 million (1%) lower than the previous financial year
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total wine, other fermented products (OFP) and cider receipts were £4,924 million, which is £19 million (0.4%) lower than the previous financial year
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total spirits receipts were £4,059 million, which is £93 million (2%) lower than the previous financial year
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total beer receipts were £3,452 million, which is £68 million (2%) lower than the previous financial year
About this release
The Alcohol Bulletin Accredited Official Statistics release presents UK level statistics from the Alcohol Duty administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 4 classes of products:
- wine (including wine and other fermented products such as fruit ciders)
- spirits
- beer
- cider
Accredited Official Statistics were previously known as National Statistics.
The latest release has been updated with provisional duty receipts data from February to April 2026 and provisional production and clearances data from January to March 2026.
On 1 August 2023, Alcohol Duty reform resulted in a change to the tax regime for Alcohol Duty.
The tables accompanying this release contain receipts, clearances and production data for the new tax regime only. For data on the old regime see previous versions of this bulletin on the National Archives.
In these tables, the ‘other fermented products’ category largely contains what was previously under the ‘made wine’ category.
This release incorporates the following changes to the tables outlined in the Consultation on changes to HMRC statistics publications 2025. The next release will be published 09:30am 28 August 2026.
Wine, OFP and Cider receipts from April 2023 are undergoing further assurance and year-on-year comparisons for these sub-components over this period should be interpreted with caution until this assurance is complete. Total alcohol duties are unaffected.
The Alcohol Bulletin is Crown copyright. Its contents can be used as long as the source is acknowledged clearly by the user.
Changes since the previous edition
HMRC has made some corrections alongside several methodological updates since these statistics were last published.
We have improved our quality assurance and data cleansing processes. We have also incorporated adjustments submitted via the alcohol producer return, such as over- and under-declarations. Finally, we have removed alcohol producer returns which were submitted in error and have become obsolete. These improvements cause a less than 1% reduction in total clearances per month for most alcohol types. Impacts are larger in certain months and for certain categories of alcohol. For instance, ex-ship other fermented product clearances see an increase of over 70% in May 2025. More detail on this can be found in the Alcohol Bulletin background and methodology note.
We have corrected an error in beer production figures. From November 2024 onwards, beer production figures did not include product which was exported or moved in duty suspense. This led to an underreporting of UK beer production of up to 74% (litres of pure alcohol) and 59% (litres of product) in some months in previous publications. We have corrected this issue in the latest publication.
Adjustment factors are used to align alcohol clearances with receipts. HMRC uses repayments and receipts data to calculate adjustment factors for each alcohol type. Alcohol producers may claim repayments from HMRC if, for example, they have overpaid alcohol duty. Applying adjustment factors to alcohol clearances is necessary as repayments are reflected in our receipts data but not in our clearance data. In the latest publication, we have corrected an error with the way repayments data is used to calculate these adjustment factors. This error was the result of migrating receipts and repayments data to a new system and affected clearance data across all alcohol types up to December 2025. This update mostly impacts clearance figures for wine and spirits. It generally reduces spirits and wine clearances in financial year 2023 to 2024, and increases clearances in 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 compared to the previous publication.
We have corrected an error where some ex-warehouse clearances were recorded in the month after the goods were released. This has led to changes in the monthly pattern of clearances. As a result of this correction alone, monthly ex-warehouse clearances show increases of up to 141% and decreases of up to 75% in some cases, while the impact on total clearances is smaller. At an annual level, the impact of this change is much smaller, with ex-warehouse clearances increasing by up to 8.5% in the financial year 2023 to 2024 and decreasing by up to 1.1% in the financial year 2024 to 2025.
Total Alcohol Duty receipts
The following section provides the latest total Alcohol Duty receipts statistics. Alcohol Duty has a one month accounting period. As traders pay duty in the month following when liabilities were accrued, there is a one month lag between accounting periods ending and payments being received by HMRC.
‘Liabilities’ refer to registered traders informing HMRC of how much Alcohol Duty is owed. ‘Accrued’ refers to when liabilities occurred. ‘Duty receipts’ refers to payments of Alcohol Duty made to HMRC.
Duty receipts are reported within the Alcohol Bulletin based upon the month in which they were received by HMRC.
Table 1: Full financial year (April to March) Alcohol Duty receipts by type, between the 2021 to 2022 and 2025 to 2026 financial years, in £ million.
| Financial year | Spirits | Beer | Wine, OFP and Cider | Total Alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 to 2022 | 4,401 | 3,747 | 4,968 | 13,116 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 4,136 | 3,680 | 4,626 | 12,443 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 4,137 | 3,621 | 4,831 | 12,589 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 4,153 | 3,520 | 4,943 | 12,615 |
| 2025 to 2026 | 4,059 | 3,452 | 4,924 | 12,435 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 1 demonstrates trends in Alcohol Duty receipts across financial years.
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provisional receipts data in the 2025 to 2026 financial year shows that receipts from wine other fermented products and cider are lower by £19 million (0.4%), receipts from spirits are lower by £93 million (2%) and receipts from beer are lower by £68 million (2%) compared to the previous financial year
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of the provisional Alcohol Duty receipts total in the 2025 to 2026 financial year, 40% was from wine, other fermented products and cider, 33% from spirits and 28% from beer
Figure 1: Total Alcohol Duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
Figure 1 illustrates the following changes for total Alcohol Duty receipts by month:
- the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts in April 2026 is £918 million, which is a decrease of £3 million (0.4%) compared to April 2025
Table 2: Total Alcohol Duty receipts by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 990 | 922 | 918 |
| May | 1,038 | 814 | No Data |
| June | 1,115 | 1,179 | No Data |
| July | 1,044 | 972 | No Data |
| August | 1,042 | 1,118 | No Data |
| September | 1,003 | 930 | No Data |
| October | 1,061 | 1,076 | No Data |
| November | 1,031 | 1,349 | No Data |
| December | 1,509 | 1,338 | No Data |
| January | 912 | 767 | No Data |
| February | 1,097 | 1,127 | No Data |
| March | 771 | 844 | No Data |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 2 provides the underlying data from Figure 1 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from wine, other fermented products and cider
Alcohol Duty receipts for wine are comprised of the duty payable on wine produced from fresh grapes, and other fermented products which are any other drink that has alcohol made by fermentation, apart from beer and cider. An example of a product in the category of other fermented products would be fruit cider. Wine and other fermented products become dutiable when their strength exceeds 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV). Since August 2023, Alcohol Duty on wine and other fermented products is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 163: wine production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on wine and other fermented products.
For alcohol duty, cider is defined as cider of a strength exceeding 1.2% ABV but less than 8.5% ABV obtained from the fermentation of apple or pear juice. It becomes liable to alcohol duty once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on cider is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 162: cider production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on cider.
Figure 2: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine, other fermented products and cider by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
Figure 2 illustrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine, other fermented products and cider:
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine, other fermented products and cider in April 2026 is £392 million, which is an increase of £28 million (8%) compared to April 2025
-
total wine and cider receipts for the financial year 2025 to 2026 were £4,924 million, which is £19 million (0.4%) lower than the previous financial year
Table 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine, other fermented products and cider by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 395 | 364 | 392 |
| May | 414 | 322 | No Data |
| June | 404 | 438 | No Data |
| July | 411 | 379 | No Data |
| August | 400 | 421 | No Data |
| September | 387 | 375 | No Data |
| October | 421 | 465 | No Data |
| November | 400 | 500 | No Data |
| December | 606 | 554 | No Data |
| January | 333 | 309 | No Data |
| February | 442 | 422 | No Data |
| March | 329 | 375 | No Data |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 3 provides the underlying data from Figure 2 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits
Alcohol Duty for spirits is payable on any spirits, or any mixture or combination of spirits, having a strength of more than 1.2% ABV. Duty becomes chargeable following distillation or manufacture of spirits, and normally payable once it’s taken out of warehouse storage. Alcohol Duty on spirits is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 39: spirits production in the UK for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on spirits.
Figure 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
Figure 3 demonstrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits:
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits in April 2026 is £277 million, which is an increase of £9 million (3%) compared to April 2025
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total spirits receipts for the financial year 2025 to 2026 were £4,059 million, which is £93 million (2%) lower than the previous financial year
Table 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 309 | 268 | 277 |
| May | 320 | 208 | No Data |
| June | 352 | 395 | No Data |
| July | 316 | 290 | No Data |
| August | 320 | 375 | No Data |
| September | 323 | 266 | No Data |
| October | 372 | 354 | No Data |
| November | 347 | 532 | No Data |
| December | 590 | 484 | No Data |
| January | 283 | 206 | No Data |
| February | 347 | 399 | No Data |
| March | 275 | 282 | No Data |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 4 provides the underlying data from Figure 3 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from beer
Beer can be defined as ale, porter, stout and some other types of beer. It is dutiable in the UK once its strength exceeds 1.2% ABV. Taxpayers become liable for Alcohol Duty on beer once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on beer is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 226: Beer Duty for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on beer.
Figure 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from beer by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
Figure 4 demonstrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer:
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the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer in April 2026 is £249 million, which is a decrease of £40 million (14%) compared to April 2025
-
total beer receipts for the financial year 2025 to 2026 were £3,452 million, which is £68 million (2%) lower than the previous financial year
Table 5: Alcohol Duty receipts from beer by month, covering April of the 2026 to 2027 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million.
| Financial year | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 286 | 289 | 249 |
| May | 303 | 284 | No Data |
| June | 359 | 346 | No Data |
| July | 317 | 304 | No Data |
| August | 322 | 322 | No Data |
| September | 293 | 290 | No Data |
| October | 268 | 256 | No Data |
| November | 285 | 317 | No Data |
| December | 313 | 299 | No Data |
| January | 297 | 251 | No Data |
| February | 308 | 306 | No Data |
| March | 167 | 188 | No Data |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 5 provides the underlying data from Figure 4 for users.
Contacts
The Alcohol Bulletin is produced by the Indirect Tax Receipts Monitoring team as part of the ‘Excise duties, VAT, and other tax statistics’ collection.
Contact revenuemonitoring@hmrc.gov.uk for statistical enquiries.
Contact HMRC press office for media enquiries.