Tax on shopping and services
Alcohol and tobacco duties
Tobacco Duty is included in the price you pay for cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products.
Alcohol Duty is included in the price you pay for beer, cider, wine or other fermented products (previously called ‘made-wine’) and spirits. Other fermented products are any alcoholic drink made by fermentation that’s not beer, cider or wine.
You also pay standard rate VAT at 20% on alcohol and tobacco products.
Tobacco Duty
You pay different rates of Tobacco Duty on cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products.
| Tobacco product | Rate |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 16.5% of the retail price plus £6.69 on a packet of 20 |
| Cigars | £4.17 on a 10g cigar |
| Hand rolling tobacco | £14.30 on a 30g packet |
| Other smoking tobacco and chewing tobacco (for example pipe tobacco) | £5.50 on a 30g packet |
| Tobacco for heating | £2.06 on a typical packet of 20 sticks |
Alcohol Duty
How much Alcohol Duty you pay depends on the alcohol’s strength, or ‘alcohol by volume’ (ABV), and the type of alcohol.
| Strength (ABV) | Type of alcohol | Rate per litre of pure alcohol |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 3.5% | Beer, still cider, wine, spirits or other fermented products | £9.27 |
| At least 3.5% but no more than 5.5% | Sparkling cider | £9.67 |
| At least 3.5% but less than 8.5% | Still cider | £9.67 |
| At least 3.5% but less than 8.5% | Beer | £21.01 |
| At least 3.5% but less than 8.5% | Spirits, wine and other fermented products | £24.77 |
| More than 5.5% but less than 8.5% | Sparkling cider | £24.77 |
| At least 8.5% but no more than 22% | Beer, wine, spirits or other fermented products | £28.50 |
| More than 22% | Beer, wine, spirits or other fermented products | £31.64 |
Example
You buy a pack of 18 cans of 5% ABV lager (beer) at 500ml per can. The Alcohol Duty is worked out at:
18 x 500ml = 9 litres of lager.
5% (the ABV) of 9 litres = 0.45 litres of pure alcohol.
0.45 litres of pure alcohol x £21.01 (the duty rate) = £9.45 duty to pay.
Example
You buy a 1 litre bottle of 40% ABV vodka (spirit). The Alcohol Duty you pay is worked out at:
1 litre of vodka.
40% (the ABV) of 1 litre = 0.4 litres of pure alcohol.
0.4 litres of pure alcohol x £31.64 (the duty rate) = £12.65 duty to pay.
Draught alcohol
If you buy draught alcohol sold by a pub, bar, restaurant or other hospitality venue you may pay less duty on products below 8.5% ABV.
| Strength (ABV) | Type of alcohol | Rate per litre of pure alcohol |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 3.5% | Beer, spirits, wine and other fermented products | £8.42 |
| At least 3.5% but no more than 5.5% | Sparkling cider | £8.78 |
| At least 3.5% but less than 8.5% | Still cider | £8.78 |
| At least 3.5% but less than 8.5% | Beer, spirits, wine and other fermented products | £19.08 |
| More than 5.5% but less than 8.5% | Sparkling cider | £19.08 |
Example
You buy 1 pint (568ml) of 5% ABV draught still cider from a pub. The Alcohol Duty you pay is worked out at:
568ml (0.568 litres) of cider.
5% (the ABV) X 0.568 litres = 0.0284 litres of pure alcohol.
0.0284 x £8.78 (the duty rate) = just over 24p per pint.