How Your Gas Tax Dollars Are Really Spent In Washington

As of January 2025, the five U.S. states with the highest gas tax rates are:

• California: 69.8 cents per gallon
• Illinois: 67.1 cents per gallon
• Pennsylvania: 58.7 cents per gallon
• Indiana: 56.1 cents per gallon
• Washington: 49.4 cents per gallon

These figures include state excise taxes and additional fees, such as environmental or inspection fees.

Note: A federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is added on top of any state gasoline tax.

State of Washington recently increased the gasoline tax.

As of this month (July 2025), the gas tax in Washington State increased to 55.4 cents per gallon. The state legislature approved the 6-cent increase. 

For every dollar from the Washington gas tax, where does your money go? 

For every dollar collected from the gas tax, the allocation is primarily directed toward transportation-related purposes, as mandated by the 18th Amendment to the Washington State Constitution, which restricts fuel tax revenue to highway purposes, including roads, bridges, and ferries. 

70-80 cents goes to Road and Highway Maintenance and Construction

This enables the state to maintain, repair, and construct state highways, roads, and bridges. This includes projects to address infrastructure wear, safety improvements, and new construction to reduce congestion. 

10-15 cents goes to support the Washington Ferry System.

This is critical for transportation in the Puget Sound region. The funds from the gas tax help the state maintain and operate ferries, as well as improvements at all ferry terminals.

5-10 cents pays the debt of the state’s past transportation projects

This includes money to pay off bonds issued for major transportation projects, such as the Connecting Washington package from 2015, which funded infrastructure improvements across the state.

The remaining funds for various transportation items

This includes: administrative costs, safety programs, and other transportation-related initiatives.