Exact amount your favourite alcoholic drink will increase by this week after change to tipple tax rules
Exact amount your favourite alcoholic drink will increase by this week after change to tipple tax rules
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DRINKERS face paying more for their favourite drinks when new tax rates come in this week. The price of some drinks will creep up by as much as 32p while the cost of certain bottles of wine will climb by 54p. The blow comes from duty increases announced by Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget.
Hated alcohol levies will be hiked in line with RPI inflation on Saturday, February 1. Alcohol duty is charged on all drinks which are more than 1.2% ABV strength, either at the point of production or when they are imported. Spirits like gin and vodka will see a 3.6% price rise, adding roughly 30p to a bottle.
Fortified wines like port and sherry also face a 3.6% increase. Sparkling wine duty decreases slightly, by 1p per bottle. Beer and cider on draught benefit from a 1.7% duty cut, while duty on other formats rises 3.6%, and pre-mixed drinks see a 3.6% increase.
However, wine is the hardest hit, with a 20.2% duty increase on a bottle of 14.5% ABV wine, adding 54p. This is because the government is introducing a new system which taxes wine by strength. Wines between 11% and 12.5% ABV will see small duty fluctuations, either slightly increasing or decreasing.
However, for wines stronger than 12.5% ABV, duty will increase substantially, with the largest increases impacting higher strength wines. This latest increases comes on top of previous duty hikes in August 2023, resulting in a whopping 98p total increase on a bottle of 14.5% ABV red wine in just 18 months.
