Indiana will not collect its gasoline use tax or its gasoline excise tax until November 4, after Gov. Mike Braun signed another 30-day extension of the state’s gas tax holiday on September 30. The two suspended taxes add up to roughly 60 cents a gallon at the pump, and this is the seventh month in a row that Hoosier drivers have gone without them. The order does not settle what drivers will pay at the pump after that date. State emergency law lets the governor renew the suspension only one more time under the current declaration, which would carry it to December 4.
Two taxes, about 60 cents a gallon
Two separate charges are paused. The gasoline use tax is Indiana’s 7 percent tax on gasoline, and the gasoline excise tax is a per-gallon fuel tax. The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported in August that the excise tax stood at 37 cents a gallon after a 1-cent increase on July 1, and the use tax at 21.9 cents, for 58.9 cents together. That matches the figure of roughly 60 cents a gallon that WBIW reported when the extension was announced, and the order tells distributors not to collect either tax through November 4.
Diesel is not part of the holiday. States Newsroom reported that Indiana’s 63-cent diesel tax stays in place and that diesel averaged $6.92 a gallon in the state during September. Truckers, school districts and anyone who buys diesel for a household vehicle therefore see none of the relief that gasoline buyers get, even though the same energy emergency supports the whole package of orders.
The extensions have come one month at a time. Braun first suspended the gasoline use tax on April 8, after the war involving Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and sent fuel prices up. The Indiana Department of Revenue’s departmental notice on the suspensions lists Executive Orders 26-09, 26-11, 26-13 and 26-16, which ran the use tax from April 8 to August 6 and the excise tax from May 6 to August 6. A fresh declaration in August and a September 3 order carried the holiday to October 5, and the governor’s September 30 news release says the latest extension runs through November 4, effective October 6, across all 92 counties.
For a driver, the practical question is how long the lower price lasts and whether it reaches the pump. Revenue officials told retailers to check that their distributors are not charging either tax, and customers who suspect a station of charging it anyway can report it to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. Anyone who fills up in Indiana before November 4 pays a price without the roughly 60 cents of tax, and Indiana’s average was $3.57 a gallon on August 5, when the national average was $4.08, according to the Capital Chronicle.
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Farmers and timber harvesters got a second piece of relief in the same package. The governor’s list of 2026 executive orders includes Executive Order 26-34, titled “Suspension of Special Fuel Restrictions for Farmer and Timber Harvesters,” along with Executive Order 26-33, titled “Renewal of Energy Emergency and Waiver of Gas Sales Excise Taxes.” WBIW reports that the farm order lets them run off-road dyed diesel, which is untaxed for highway use, in vehicles that haul farm and timber products on public roads. The waiver lasts as long as the energy emergency and applies strictly to agricultural and timber operations.
Why December 4 is the limit
Indiana’s energy emergency law caps a governor’s emergency action at 120 days without lawmakers’ approval, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Braun declared a new energy emergency in August, citing disruptions to global oil shipping and Canadian wildfire damage to oil sands production. States Newsroom reports that the current declaration allows renewal through December 4, which would be the final extension. After that date, the law gives the governor no further room under this declaration.
The cost of the holiday has been large. The administration projected a $533 million revenue decline from the first four months of the suspension, the Capital Chronicle reported in August. Cities and counties lose fuel tax money too, and the governor’s office said it would repay them from the State Highway Fund, with Budget Director Chad Ranney taking the transfer requests to the state Board of Finance. The reimbursement was expected to be complete by November 1 for the spring and summer periods, so each new month adds a fresh bill.
Praise and pushback in Indianapolis
Braun framed the extension as a pocketbook measure. “Affordability is my top priority and my gas tax suspensions have delivered immediate tax relief and some of the cheapest gas in America for Hoosier families,” he said in the announcement, according to States Newsroom. House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican, added that Indiana’s strong financial position gives the state room to provide tax relief and helps keep costs down for working families.
Democrats see a thinner benefit. House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta called the extension “small, temporary relief” that does nothing about the trade and fertilizer costs squeezing farmers. In August, Rep. Ed DeLaney of Indianapolis said drivers would be glad of cheap gas but unhappy when taxes have to rise to cover the billion dollars the state is giving up. The Washington Examiner has also reported questions about whether the governor’s emergency orders are legitimate, because the repeated renewals appear to bypass the law’s time limit.
The suspension rests on emergency orders, not on a change to the tax code, so the 7 percent use tax and the excise tax are set to resume once the orders lapse. Neighboring Ohio has also moved to start its own 90-day gas tax holiday, according to WTVB, which narrows the price gap Braun points to across the state line.
What happens when the order expires November 4
The Indiana Department of Revenue runs the gas tax holiday page that tells distributors and retailers which dates apply, and the page is the free official source for the suspension periods. In the version posted after the September 3 order, it gave the period as August 7 through October 5, and it said retailers should confirm that their distributors are not charging the taxes. A driver who sees what looks like the old tax on a receipt before November 4 has a reason to ask the station or report it.
The calendar to watch is short. The current orders expire on November 4, and Braun will decide whether to renew through December 4. If he does, the holiday will have run from April 8 through early December under one emergency or another. If he does not, the gasoline use tax and the excise tax, which together came to 58.9 cents a gallon in August, are collected again, and the roughly 60 cents stops being taken off the price.
The December 4 limit is the harder date. Once it is used, the governor has no further renewal under the August declaration, and DeLaney’s warning about the billion dollars the state is giving up will no longer be a question about the next month alone. The next order will show whether Indiana treats the holiday as a short bridge through the oil shock or keeps stretching it as far as the law allows.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
