The sales and use tax rates on gasoline, diesel fuel, and aircraft jet fuel will remain unchanged (at 2.25 percent, 13 percent, and 7.25 percent, respectively) and the prepayment rates per gallon will be reduced effective July 1, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration announced April 29 in a special notice to fuel retailers. The CDTFA also announced that the gasoline and diesel fuel excise tax rates – the “gas tax” that generates significant public interest due to its impact on motorists’ budgets – “have not yet been determined” and will be announced in a separate notice “prior to July 1.”
The prepayment per-gallon rates will decrease from 8 cents to 7.5 cents for gasoline, 44.5 cents to 38.5 cents for diesel, and 15 cents to 12.5 cents for aircraft jet fuel, the CDTFA reported. These rates are calculated to be 80 percent of the combined state and local sales tax on the average selling price of the fuel, excluding sales tax, as reported by industry publications. The CDTFA is required to establish the rates by March 1 of each year and is authorized to adjust them during the year.