Work out how much Alcohol Duty you need to pay
Find the full rates of duty and calculation examples that apply if you make, import or hold beer, cider, spirits, wine or other fermented products.
Products you pay Alcohol Duty on
You need to pay Alcohol Duty on alcoholic products with an alcohol by volume (ABV) exceeding 1.2% for any of the following:
- beer
- cider, including perry
- spirits, including spirit based ready-to-drink products
- wine, including sparkling and fortified wines
- other fermented products (previously called made-wine) like fruit ciders
The duty is due when the alcoholic products are released for consumption in the UK.
How to calculate Alcohol Duty
Alcohol Duty is based on the amount of pure alcohol in the alcoholic product.
To work out the amount of Alcohol Duty due on your alcoholic product, you multiply the number of litres of pure alcohol that your product contains by the appropriate duty rate.
-
Work out how many litres of finished product you have.
-
Work out how many litres of pure alcohol you have.
-
Check the duty rate table in this guidance to find out the appropriate rate of Alcohol Duty is for your product, taking into account its ABV strength.
-
Work out how much the Alcohol Duty is for your product — multiply the number of litres of pure alcohol in your product by the appropriate rate of duty.
-
Work out how much Alcohol Duty you have to pay for your product by rounding down to the nearest penny.
Rates of duty (per litre of pure alcohol) from 1 February 2025
Beer
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 8.4% | 21.78 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Cider (but not sparkling cider)
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 8.4% | 10.02 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Sparkling cider
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 5.5% | 10.02 |
| 5.6% to 8.4% | 25.67 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Spirits or spirit based products
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 8.4% | 25.67 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Wine (including sparkling wine)
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 8.4% | 25.67 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Other fermented products like fruit ciders
| Alcohol by volume (ABV) | Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.2% | 0.00 |
| 1.3% to 3.4% | 9.61 |
| 3.5% to 8.4% | 25.67 |
| 8.5% to 22% | 29.54 |
| Stronger than 22% | 32.79 |
Check if you can pay less Alcohol Duty
You can check if you’re eligible:
Examples of working out the amount of Alcohol Duty you need to pay
Example of a straightforward calculation
You have 573 containers of beer.
Each container holds 7.5 litres of beer.
The ABV of your beer is 8.4%. This means the rate of duty is £21.78 for each litre of pure alcohol in your beer.
-
Work out how many litres of beer you have.
573 x 7.5 = 4,297.5 litres of beer. -
Work out how many litres of pure alcohol you have.
4,297.5 litres x 8.4% (ABV) = 360.99 litres of pure alcohol. -
Work out how much the Alcohol Duty is for your beer.
360.99 x £21.78 (the rate of duty) = £7,862.3622. -
Work out how much Alcohol Duty you have to pay for your beer by rounding down.
£7,862.3622 rounded down to the nearest penny = £7,862.36.
Updates to this page
Published 29 June 2023Last updated 1 February 2025 + show all updates
-
Rates of Alcohol Duty have been updated. Information about the temporary arrangement for wine has been removed, as this ended on 31 January 2025.
-
Added translation