Higher gas tax coming to Maryland amid inflated prices

Marylanders will be paying slightly more at the pumps next month as an increased state gas tax goes into effect on July 1.

The tax will rise by roughly six-tenths of a penny to 46.6 cents per gallon, according to a release from the comptroller of Maryland’s office, signaling a modest increase and reversal from the slight decline seen in 2025. Motorists will be paying that on top of a federal tax that amounts to 18.4 cents per gallon.

The cost of diesel and other special fuel will also be slightly raised to about 47.5 cents per gallon.

This increase means Maryland is among the top 10 states with the highest gas taxes, according to Jim Lardear, a spokesman for AAA in Maryland. State taxes add about 33 cents per gallon at the pump nationally, he noted.

Many are already feeling pain at the pump after gas prices skyrocketed following the onset of conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

Just one year ago, AAA data showed a gallon of regular unleaded gas cost about $3.04 for Maryland drivers. That same gallon is now averaging about $4.12.

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While gas prices are higher, the average in Maryland is still about 15 cents lower than the national average of $4.26.

“High gas prices — currently a dollar more than last year — have impacted all consumers, whether they’re filling up their own gas tanks or purchasing goods transported by vehicles paying higher fuel costs, those increases are passed along to consumers,“ Lardear said. ”So consumers are not just feeling the pain at the pump, but also the grocery stores and other retailers."

Maryland’s gas tax is also different from other states because it has a sales tax that adds about 12.7 cents to the cost of gasoline. And after a change to a transportation funding law in 2013, the tax became tied to inflation and fuel prices, meaning it “automatically adjusts each year instead of staying flat like in many other states,” Lardear explained.

“The goal was to ensure stable funding as vehicles become more fuel-efficient and use less gas, and therefore contributing to lower gas tax revenue,” he said.

Money collected from state and federal gas taxes goes toward highway and bridge repairs and other infrastructure projects.

According to Lardear, Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund uses those funds for highways, bridges and mass transit, especially MARC trains and the Baltimore Metro.