Three states change what drivers pay in fuel tax within a few days of each other around the New Year. Utah’s temporary rate of 31.9 cents a gallon on gasoline stops on December 31, Minnesota’s combined gasoline rate rises from 32.6 to 32.8 cents on January 1, and Ohio’s tax holiday ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 2. The three moves are very different in size, from a fraction of a cent in Minnesota to nearly 40 cents in Ohio. Each one shows up at the pump only after stations restock, so the first weeks of January will not look the same in all three states.
Utah’s six-month discount runs out
Utah’s State Tax Commission lists a standard gasoline rate of 37.9 cents a gallon, and a separate rate of 31.9 cents that applies only from July 1 through December 31, 2026. That is a cut of 6 cents, or about 15 percent. On a 15-gallon fill-up it comes to roughly 90 cents. The commission’s table runs only through the end of this year and posts no rate for 2027, so the January figure has not been published.
Lawmakers passed the cut in March, when gasoline prices jumped after U.S. air strikes on Iran disrupted oil markets, KUER reported. Sen. Brady Brammer, the sponsor of the bill, House Bill 575, said the aim was to “lower the gas price for our average Utahns.” The measure cost the state an estimated $11.9 million in lost revenue, and it was written to expire after six months rather than become permanent.
The cut was never meant to outlast the year, which is why the end date matters for anyone who budgets by the month. Households in Utah that drive long commutes, haul for work or live far from stores carry the most exposure, because the extra 6 cents applies to every gallon bought. A family that burns 100 gallons a month will see about $6 more in state tax from January, other things being equal. Drivers in Minnesota and Ohio face their own January changes, and they are not the same.
Fuel tax is only one household bill, and Utah’s cut ending on December 31 is a reminder of how much of a monthly budget rests on rates set by someone else. Heating help, food benefits and drug-cost programs are bills of a different kind, and each one has to be applied for. The Benefits Checklist is a paid guide that covers 11 benefit programs with the 2026 income limits, and it is separate from any state fuel tax change.
See the 2026 income limits for 11 benefit programs before the January fuel tax changes →
Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, who raised concerns about road funding during the debate, warned of “whiplash for our constituents” when prices typically rise again in summer. The same worry applies at the end of the period. Utah’s own table shows the standard 37.9 cents as the rate on the books, and the commission has not announced anything different for 2027. Until it does, the end of the temporary rate is the only date on the calendar.
Minnesota’s small step up
Minnesota’s change is the smallest of the three. The Department of Revenue says the new combined rate will be $0.328 a gallon starting January 1, made up of a 29.3-cent excise tax on gasoline and special fuels plus a 3.5-cent debt service surcharge. The page shows the current excise tax at 29.1 cents with the same surcharge, which makes the present combined rate 32.6 cents. The increase is two-tenths of a cent a gallon.
The surcharge is not the part that moves. The department says it pays debt service on the trunk highway bonds used to build and maintain the state’s interstates and highways, and it stays at 3.5 cents a gallon for the year from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The excise side is where the two-tenths of a cent comes from. On a 15-gallon fill-up that is about three cents, which no driver will notice at a single station and which most pump prices will absorb in rounding.
Ohio’s holiday ends January 2
Ohio is the large one. Under House Bill 519, the state’s gasoline tax of 38.5 cents a gallon and its diesel tax of 47 cents fell to one-hundredth of a cent from October 4, and the Department of Taxation says the holiday runs through 11:59 p.m. on January 2, 2027. Tax Commissioner Patricia Harris said the department was “moving quickly to support retailers and businesses in executing this transition smoothly.” The holiday covers 91 days in all.
Put side by side, the January changes are lopsided. Utah’s rate climbs 6 cents on January 1, Minnesota’s by two-tenths of a cent that same day, and Ohio’s returns to 38.5 cents on January 3, about $5.78 more in tax on a 15-gallon fill-up than during the holiday. A driver who crosses a state line to buy fuel will find the gap between neighbors changing in the first week of the year, and the changes do not all point the same way at once.
Tracking the Ohio price at the pump
Ohio is the state where the pump price is most likely to move quickly, and it is the one with a state page that tells drivers what to expect. The Department of Taxation’s motor fuel tax holiday page says dealers must pass the full savings to consumers, and that failing to do so may be treated as an unfair or deceptive practice. Questions can go to the department at 1-855-466-3921.
The same rule runs in reverse once the holiday ends. Stations that bought fuel at the holiday rate may still be selling it after January 2, so price changes in early January can lag a few days behind the calendar. Comparing the posted price at two or three stations in the first week of January gives a cleaner read than any single sign.
The calendar leaves one question unanswered: what Utah’s rate will be on January 1. Minnesota and Ohio have published both the old and new figures. Utah’s tax commission has published only the 31.9 cents that ends on December 31 and the standard 37.9 cents, so drivers there are working from the lower figure with no official word on the next one.
For household costs that keep rising after a fuel tax change, the Benefits Checklist puts 11 benefit programs and the 2026 income limits in one 69-page guide, and a 50-state phone directory for the agencies behind them. It also comes with a printable tracker.
Get The Benefits Checklist before the Utah and Minnesota gas tax changes →
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
