2026 Vape Duty Explained: Understanding the Real Cost of Vaping

August 31, 2026

Find out how much vape prices could increase in the UK in 2026, including the new 22p per ml vape duty, VAT, pods, e-liquid and transition period.

Vaping duty in the UK is set to considerably alter in 2026 with the implementation of a fresh Vaping Products Duty from 1st October 2026. This is a different kind of price hike as the new government excise duty will be based on the volume of e-liquid in a vaping product.

This could mean there is no equal price difference across all product types when it comes to adult vapers. Smaller prefilled pods are probably going to see a relatively mild rise per unit, while those with more larger amounts of e-liquid will probably see a much more substantial rise.

The new duty will not be based on the strength of the nicotine; this will cover all nicotine-containing vaping liquid as well as nicotine-free vaping liquid.

When Will Vape Prices Increase in the UK?

The new Vaping Products Duty will come into effect on 1 October 2026.

This duty will come into force from this date for vaping products sold in the UK, and VAT will still apply as usual. The duty has been set at 22p per millilitre of vaping liquid.

This presents a simple first step:

The amount of e-liquid in the tank and the responsibility of vaping.

1ml	22p
2ml	44p
5ml	£1.10
10ml	£2.20
20ml	£4.40
50ml	£11.00
100ml	£22.00

The duty is then charged at a rate of VAT, so the additional cost of the duty is c. 26.4p per millilitre including VAT.

Thus, the duty for a 10ml bottle would be around £2.64 after taking into account the VAT on the duty, as opposed to the £2.20 stated.

That is the important number consumers should keep in mind when considering how much prices could change.

Why Is the Government Introducing a Vape Tax?

Vaping Products Duty is a new excise duty to place vaping liquids in a dedicated taxation regime.

The duty will be determined by the liquid quantity, not the concentration of nicotine. This is significant because a single volume may be able to draw the same duty whether it is filled with liquid with or without nicotine.

The government has also implemented a Vaping Duty Stamps system in conjunction with the duty. The stamps are designed to assist in the identification of goods that have been subject to the necessary duty process and with the monitoring of the supply chain by HMRC.

For consumers, though, it'll be much easier: the more e-liquid a product contains, the higher the tax that will be levied on that product.

How much more will a 2ml Pod cost?

Prefilled pod users might not experience as much of an increase as those who buy more e-liquid.

A typical 2ml pod would draw the attention of:

2ml × 22p = 44p duty

The extra cost after VAT on that duty is around 52.8p.

This doesn't always mean that a £5 product would turn into a £5.53 product. Retail pricing may also be influenced by other business costs, such as wholesale margins, compliance and packaging, as well as distribution.

The 52.8p figure, however, provides consumers with an indication of the tax-related increase only.

If you are buying pods on a recurring basis, a slight price hike per pod can add up over time, a few weeks or months.

What Happens to 10ml Vape Juice Prices?

The effect is definitely more noticeable with 10ml e-liquid.

A 10ml bottle will attract:

10ml × 22p = £2.20 duty

The impact of the additional tax would be around:

£2.64 per 10ml

That is why some of the UK's popular lower price e-liquids may prove much more difficult to sustain once new-duty e-liquids are the standard.

For instance, a product price which is now offered when buying in a multi-buy may be priced differently after the new tax enters the supply chain.

The final retail price will be different depending on the retailer but liquid volume is set as a fixed duty.

Larger E-Liquid Bottles Will Feel the Increase More

The main distinction between products will be the volume.

The duty is per millilitre, which means that the more liquid there is, the more tax it will be charged.

The duty on a 20ml product is £4.40 before any VAT will be added to it.

A product of 50ml costs £11.

The price of a 100ml product is £22.

This makes the price impact different than a 2ml pod.

The absolute tax contribution will be more important when the liquid volume is larger, although the percentage increase will depend on the original retail price.

One of the most important points to know before making price comparisons after October 2026 is that.

Will Prefilled Pod Prices Increase Less Than Refillable Products?

Yes — at least in terms of the amount of duty on a single purchase — in many cases.

A prefilled pod with 2ml of liquid will only pay 22p per 1ml of liquid. The duty on a larger refill purchase will be higher, given that there will be more liquid in the container.

For example:

2ml pod: 44p duty
10ml liquid: £2.20 duty
20ml liquid: £4.40 duty
50ml liquid: £11 duty
100ml liquid: £22 duty

This isn't the retail price of each product, but it does make it clear why the absolute increase for larger volume products is likely to be greater.

What About Vape Multibuy Deals?

Another area that can make a difference to customers is on the multibuy.

UK vape shoppers are used to deals like several bottles or pods for a single price. They're effective because retailers can afford to lower the actual cost of the items.

As a new volume-based tax is levied on the underlying liquid, some of that flexibility is lost.

Suppose there are 4 bottles of 10ml in a multibuy.

This is 40ml of fluid.

If the duty was 22p per millilitre, then the duty alone would be:

40 × £0.22 = £8.80

That duty costs around £10.56 when the tax impact of VAT is included.

This doesn't necessarily mean the price for the multibuy will be £10.56 higher, as the retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer will have to absorb or pass on the added cost.

However, it illustrates the problems that could arise with very low unit pricing after the new duty comes into effect.

Will All Vape Products Become More Expensive by the Same Amount?

No.

One of the largest misunderstandings about the 2026 vape tax.

The percentage increase cannot be applied to all vaping products.

The task is based on millilitres.

If one product has significantly more liquid than the other, that could mean that two products that are being sold at the same price point today may see vastly different tax impacts.

Similarly, a higher cost product that has a lower liquid volume, could have a smaller absolute duty increase than a lower cost product that has a much higher liquid volume.

Comparing products, just by the current retail price will become less useful after October.

Consumers might need to consider:

Liquid volume
Price per millilitre
Product longevity
Pod or refill format
Multibuy pricing
Overall usage

but in looking for the better deal, rather than just the cheapest.

Does Nicotine Strength impact the New Vape Duty?

No.

The Vaping Products Duty is based on the volume of the liquid, rather than the nicotine content.

The government's guidance explicitly tells that both e-liquids with and without nicotine are liable for the duty.

Therefore, the duty structure will not drop as a result of a liquid's nicotine level.

It also implies that not everything that are vaped without nicotine is necessarily excluded from the new tax system.

This is a new duty, not based on the amount of nicotine, but modifies the entire concept.

What Will Happen To Vape Prices Before October 2026?

UK consumers need to be aware of a crucial transition period.

The new duty does not mean that all of the current lines of products are immediately subject to a new price at midnight of 1st October.

Good put together, or imported, before the duty will stay a part of the shift. The law applies to pre-October stock with the wider duty stamp requirement to products moving from 1 April 2027.

This allowed the customers to experience a market period when the old and new merchandise had different prices.

Prices may settle down slowly as the retailers sell down their current stock and replace with Duty affected stock.

Will Vape Prices Go Up More than the Tax?

Possibly.

The duty itself is imposed by the government at 22p per ml, but the price consumers pay for the product is much more complex than the duty.

The other issues a business has to take into account:

Wholesale costs
Importation
Distribution
Packaging
Compliance
Storage
Retail operating costs
VAT
Commercial margins

Consumers must not expect that if they buy a product that has 10ml in its composition, it would cost an additional £2.64 and no more.

The £2.64 is not the actual retail-price rise, but is the duty plus VAT on that duty.

Some retailers may absorb part of the extra cost, others may have to pass the majority of or all of it on to the customer.

What is the likely cost to an average vaper in a year?

The answer is largely consumption-dependent.

Of course someone using a relatively small amount of e-liquid will have a smaller tax impact than someone using larger volumes.

For instance, a person who uses 2ml each day is around:

60ml per month

The price is 22p per millilitre, that is:

£13.20 duty per month

After including VAT on the duty, this will be approximately:

£15.84 per month

That's about:That equals approximately:

£190.08 per year

This is a helpful example and not necessarily an estimate of what any one person might spend during a year, as usage, product type and retail prices vary significantly.

What's important to keep in mind is that a small charge per litre can add up to quite a large charge per day.

How can the 2026 Vape Tax be minimized?

For the adult consumer, it's likely that the best way to approach the comparison will be to focus on overall value, not just on the price.

However, if it needs to be replaced more often, and provides significantly less liquid, than a more expensive product, it is not necessarily the best value.

Similarly, purchasing more does not always mean the lower unit cost after the new duty has been added.

It is beneficial to compare prior to buying:

So, the total e-liquid volume / price = approximate cost per millilitre.

This will enable consumers to have a very good method to compare items when the new tax system comes into place.

Multibuy may still be useful but users need to check the final cost and compare it to the total liquid volume and not assume that each Multibuy is the same amount of saving.

What's in Store for October 2026 for UK Vapers?

The biggest shift will not be that all of the vape products will suddenly be too expensive.

Rather, a change in the way prices are charged will take place.

Products with smaller volumes could have a relatively small duty increase per unit, whereas products with higher amounts of liquid will have a higher absolute duty.

Retailer price changes may thus cause the well-known price spread between product categories to shift.

Also there can be a transition time as older stocks are liquidated and duty-affected stocks are imported.

Vaping Products Duty will also start on 1 October 2026 at 22p/millilitre, in addition to VAT.

Conclusion: How much will vaping prices go up?

The price hikes for vapes in 2026 are not set in stone since the new system doesn't mandate any specific percentage hike for all products.

Rather, the effect is directly related with the volume of liquid.

The duty charged for a 2ml pod is 44p and the duty for a 10ml bottle is £2.20. After adding VAT on duty these work out to around 52.8p and £2.64. The volume of a product has a direct impact on the absolute duty.The duty will be proportional to the volume of the product.

The most crucial date for UK vapers is 1st October 2026. The new Vaping Products Duty is set to alter the economics of the market from then.

The most effective way to assess value following the change will be to be mindful of both the liquid volume and the price per millilitre, product format and the cost of using the product on a regular basis.

The 2026 vape tax is therefore more than just a simple price hike. It's a fundamental shift in how vaping products are taxed in the UK and it will make it much easier to understand the price you'll see later this year.

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