Skip to Content

Tracking Tennessee's 21.4-cent Gasoline Tax Fiscal Year 2011-2012

 

Tennessee’s gasoline tax

  • 21.4 cents per gallon (20 cent gasoline tax + 1.4 cent special petroleum fee)
  • Yields $668.9 million per year
  • Each penny is worth about $31.3 million per year

How the tax is divided

  • 7.9 cents, or $246.8 million, goes to cities and counties
  • Approximately .7 cent, or $22.1 million, goes to the State General Fund
  • Approximately 12.8 cents, or $400.1 million, goes to TDOT

The $400.1 million is included in TDOT's total state revenue of $874,300,000 and is used in three basic ways to accomplish TDOT's mission:

  1. Basic operating costs
  2. Highway maintenance contracts
  3. Resurfacing, bridges, major reconstruction, new construction, consultant contracts, right-of-way purchases, and to match federal funds

The amount TDOT has for use is smaller each year due to TDOT operational and maintenance cost increases each year.

Updated: July 8, 2011