Europe’s Diesel Tax Burden: Which Countries Charge Drivers the Most?

Diesel has become the most expensive fuel at European filling stations, with the average price across the European Union reaching a record €2.226 per litre on 21 September 2026.

According to the European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin, the figure represents the highest EU-wide diesel price recorded since the series began in 2005. It is also 13.4 cents per litre higher than the average price of Euro-super 95 petrol.

At current prices, filling a 50-litre diesel tank costs roughly €111. Taxes account for approximately 40% of that bill.

Across the EU, motorists were paying an average of €0.861 per litre in diesel taxes, equivalent to 38.6% of the pump price. Petrol, by comparison, carried an average tax burden of €0.981 per litre — around 12 cents more per litre than diesel.

The sharp increase in diesel prices has been linked to disruptions to global energy markets following the war with Iran, which began in February and has affected energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel has been particularly exposed to the disruption, with the EU-wide average price climbing by roughly 40% since late February.

European Central Bank experts estimate that refining margins accounted for €0.41 of every litre of diesel sold during the third week of September. That represents around 19% of the price paid by consumers.

The ECB experts said, "the key factor would be a cessation of the war" in the Middle East, together with a return to normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of global refining capacity. A reduction in those disruptions would be necessary for European fuel prices to begin falling.

Why does diesel generally carry lower taxes than petrol?

The difference between petrol and diesel taxation is longstanding rather than a recent response to the current price shock.

EU rules establish a minimum excise duty of €0.33 per litre for diesel, compared with €0.359 per litre for petrol. Individual member states generally impose higher rates, but many continue to maintain a difference between the two fuels.

The lower taxation of diesel has traditionally been justified partly on the grounds that diesel is widely used by hauliers, farmers and other commercial operators.

The disparity has existed for many years. In 2015, the Brussels-based Transport & Environment campaign group calculated that European motorists were paying an average of 14 cents more tax per litre on petrol than on diesel.

A decade later, a difference remains.

The European Commission proposed in 2021 that fuel taxation should eventually be based on energy content rather than simply the volume of fuel sold. Such a system would have removed diesel's tax advantage. However, the proposal requires unanimous backing from all 27 EU member states, and a compromise text failed to secure the necessary support in November 2025.

How diesel taxes are calculated

The tax paid on diesel generally consists of two main components.

The first is excise duty, which is charged as a fixed amount for every litre sold. Some countries also impose additional charges, including carbon-related levies.

The second is VAT. Rates vary considerably across the EU, from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. Crucially, VAT is calculated on the total price, including the excise duty and other applicable charges.

In effect, part of the VAT is therefore charged on top of the fuel excise.

Using the amount of tax paid on each litre rather than the percentage of the final pump price, these are the 10 EU countries with the highest diesel tax burdens.

10. Greece — €0.855 per litre

Greece imposes an excise duty of €0.41 per litre on diesel. That rate has remained unchanged since July 2017.

The country then applies 24% VAT, alongside other taxes amounting to approximately €0.014 per litre.

Together, these charges mean that taxation accounts for 38.4% of the €2.224 average diesel pump price.

The difference between diesel and petrol taxation is particularly pronounced in Greece. Petrol is subject to an excise duty of €0.70 per litre, leaving diesel with a tax burden 28.6 cents lower per litre — the largest diesel-petrol tax gap in the EU.

9. Austria — €0.897 per litre

Austria's diesel tax system combines a mineral oil tax of €0.378 per litre with a carbon levy of approximately €0.145 per litre.

VAT is then charged at 20%.

Taken together, taxes account for 40.1% of Austria's €2.238 average diesel price.

8. Lithuania — €0.945 per litre

Lithuania imposes a fixed diesel excise duty of €0.50 per litre. That fixed component is actually higher than the corresponding fixed duty on petrol.

An additional CO₂ component of €0.0536 per litre is also applied, followed by 21% VAT.

Lithuania temporarily reduced the fixed part of its diesel excise duty from €0.50 to €0.45 per litre in response to the disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The measure was approved in April but expired on 15 June.

At the time covered by the data, taxes represented 41.9% of the €2.258 average diesel pump price.

7. France — €1.005 per litre

French diesel carries an excise duty of €0.6075 per litre.

Once 20% VAT is added, the total tax burden reaches €1.005 per litre.

That means taxes account for 42.2% of France's €2.383 average diesel price.

6. The Netherlands — €1.006 per litre

The Netherlands has the highest diesel price among the EU countries covered by the comparison, at €2.579 per litre.

Despite that exceptionally high pump price, however, the Netherlands ranks sixth when countries are compared by the absolute amount of tax charged per litre.

Dutch diesel is subject to an excise duty of €0.55 per litre, compared with €0.84 for petrol.

Consequently, diesel enjoys a 26.7-cent-per-litre tax advantage over petrol.

5. Belgium — €1.014 per litre

Belgium takes a different approach by applying exactly the same excise duty to diesel and petrol: €0.600 per litre.

The difference in the final tax burden arises because diesel has a higher pre-tax price.

Once Belgium's 21% VAT is applied, diesel ends up carrying 6.9 cents more tax per litre than petrol.

Overall, taxes account for 42.5% of the €2.387 diesel pump price.

4. Germany — €1.024 per litre

Germany imposes an energy tax of €0.4704 per litre on diesel. A carbon price of €0.162 per litre is added before the country's 19% VAT is applied.

The combined tax burden amounts to €1.024 per litre, equivalent to 41.7% of the €2.457 average pump price.

However, German drivers were set to receive a substantial temporary tax reduction.

On 25 September, the Bundestag approved a 14.04-cent-per-litre reduction in the energy tax, scheduled to run from 1 October through 31 December. Once VAT is included, the measure is expected to reduce the price by approximately 17 cents per litre.

3. Finland — €1.030 per litre

Finland's diesel taxation includes €0.511 per litre in excise duty.

The country also has one of the EU's highest VAT rates, at 25.5%, second only to Hungary.

Combined, the taxes amount to €1.030 per litre.

That represents 40.3% of Finland's €2.555 average diesel pump price.

2. Italy — €1.034 per litre

Italian motorists were paying €2.281 per litre for diesel according to the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin covering 21 September.

At that point, the diesel excise duty was €0.5729 per litre. When the 22% standard VAT rate was added, the total tax burden came to approximately €0.984 per litre, or 43.1% of the pump price.

The situation changed several days later.

On 26 September, Italy increased the diesel excise duty to €0.6229 per litre as the government reduced its temporary fuel-tax discount. The higher rate is scheduled to remain in place until 5 October.

If the €2.281 pump price is used for illustration, the new excise duty combined with the standard 22% VAT would produce a total tax burden of approximately €1.034 per litre.

That would represent about 45.3% of the pump price.

1. Denmark — €1.081 per litre

Denmark has the highest diesel tax burden in the EU under this comparison, at €1.081 per litre.

The country's diesel excise duty is 4.261 Danish kroner per litre, equivalent to approximately €0.571. Denmark then applies 25% VAT, which adds another €0.511 per litre.

Taxes therefore account for approximately 42.3% of Denmark's €2.555 diesel pump price.

Governments respond as fuel prices reach records

The tax figures come at a time when diesel prices across Europe have reached unprecedented levels.

Although taxation remains a substantial component of the final price, recent increases have also been driven by developments in the global oil and refining markets. Diesel has experienced a particularly sharp increase since late February, with the EU average rising by around 40%.

The European Central Bank's analysis points to unusually high refining margins as another important factor behind the current prices.

At the same time, governments across Europe are introducing or considering measures intended to reduce the impact of high fuel costs on motorists and businesses.

Germany is due to reduce petrol and diesel taxes from 1 October by approximately 17 cents per litre once VAT is included. In Czechia, a reduction in diesel taxation is expected to save motorists around 10 cents per litre. Spain has also extended its fuel-tax relief.

The measures illustrate how quickly the tax component of fuel prices can change during periods of severe market disruption.

For European motorists, however, the overall price at the pump continues to depend on a combination of taxation, crude-oil and refined-product prices, refining margins and the stability of international energy transport routes.

By fLEXI tEAM