UK Vape Tax Set For 2026
Every year in the UK, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers a budget announcement to the House of Commons and lays out what's to come for the UK and their economy.
One key highlight which has come from this year's budget (2024) was the announcement of a vape tax coming in, with a tax per ml being introduced on vape juice in October 2026.
Join us as we look at this groundbreaking news from the house of commons, and what it will mean for you as a vaper come October 2026.
Vape Tax Set At 22p Per ML
A vape tax shouldn't come as a surprise to vapers as it was first earmarked to be bought in last year by the former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, with talk of taxing vape juice based on the nicotine strength but the finer details never came to light before the Conservatives lost power and Labour took the reigns to control the UK.
In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves delivered the news that a vape tax would indeed still be coming into force, effective from October 2026, and this tax would be a set amount on each ml of vape juice.
Whilst the details of the amount was not mentioned in her delivery speech within the house of commons, it wasn't much longer after that the confirmation was made of just how much of a levy tax was being put on vape juice.
A staggering twenty-two (22) pence tax is going to be placed on every ml of vape juice. This sent shockwaves through the vaping industry, as something like that has not been seen before, and some calling this a complete low-blow to the vaping industry by introducing a high taxation, with no pre-warning, nor a staggered increase YoY for example.
Looking across to our neighbouring countries in Europe, Italy have had a taxation on vape juice sold in their country for many years, as has Germany, but this differs from what's been proposed to happen in the UK, as it started at a low amount and gradually increased across three years, but the total tax in Germany and Italy is still lower than the 22p per ml which is going to be put on to vape juice here in the UK.
Vape Tax & Disposable Vape Ban - A Cause For Concern?
There's no denying that it has been a wild week for the vaping world, with the announcement yesterday (30/10) of the vape tax being introduced which was only a week after the announcement last week that disposable vapes are set to be banned in the UK next June.
If you're a vaper reading this, you may be concerned about your future being able to vape as freely as you currently are, but do not fear as there's plenty of steps you can take to proof yourself against the impending disposable vape ban, and with the vape juice tax not happening for another two years, you've got plenty of time to get yourself ready and ahead, but you may be wondering how to do that? We'll go over the details below to help you prep and continue to vape once the changes have come in to effect!
How Much Vape Juice Will Be After The Vape Tax
We are only one day after the initial announcement of the vape tax being introduced from October 2026, so everything is still up in the air for how much vape juice will cost after the vape tax has been introduced. However, we can create some theory based on what's been said.
Of course, the totals shown there are what they would be after tax has been put on, and are not the retail price of the vape juices. We just wanted to calculate and display just how much of an effect this tax is going to have, especially on bigger bottles of vape juice, which historically have been the cheaper option for vapers to use my giving more vape juice for a cheaper price, but with the introduction of the vape tax, this may become a thing of the past.
Vaping Still Cheaper Than Smoking Despite Vape Tax
It's no secret that vaping is cheaper than smoking, and even with the introduction of a tax levy on bottle of vape juice, vaping will still remain cheaper than smoking, and by some way too.
In the same budget announcement, Rachel Reeves also announced that a 10% taxation would be put on to pouches of hand rolling tobacco in the not so distant future. If you didn't already know, the average cost of a 50 gram pouch of hand rolling tobacco such as Golden Virginia is around £35.
Add 10% of this on top takes it to over £38 per pouch, eye watering when you think about it that a pouch could only last a heavy smoker two days, making their total cost of smoking over £100 a week!
Vaping costs a fraction of this, and even with the proposed vape tax being introduced, it'll still be cheaper to vape than it would be to smoke. Whilst there hasn't been any announcement on further tax levy's put on top of tailor made cigarettes, we speculate that there may also be a tax increase on them in the not so distant future.
How To Prepare For The Disposable Ban
You may be a vaper reading this with concern of how you'll be able to continue to vape after new legislations come into effet, but we here at LiQuid are here to help you every step of the way to get ahead of the curve of both the disposable vape ban as well as the vape tax.
Out of the two things mentioned, the disposable vape ban is due to come into force alot sooner than what the vape tax is, and you may be a disposable vape user yourself wanting to know how you'll still be able to vape once your reliable disposable vapes are banned from sale in the UK. By making changes now, not only are you future proofing yourself, you'll also start saving yourself some serious money by not regularly having to buy disposable vapes.
First and foremost, get yourself a refillable vape kit to use. You don't have to break the bank when it comes to buying a vape kit, and you don't have to go all out and get a top of the range all singing all dancing vape device, as if you've never used a vape device other than a disposable vape, you may not be familiar with the settings and features of a more advanced vape kit.
Disposable vapes normally have a low wattage output, due to the small 280mah battery, so you'll want to get a device that doesn't run at higher wattages, as this may be too overwhelming for you when you first use it. We've got some great options available to buy from our online vape shop which are the perfect disposable vape alternatives!
All of the above devices are refillable pod vape kits, which can be filled with any 50/50 vape juice you want to use. If you've previously been using disposable vapes for the rich and delicious flavours that disposable vapes are known for, then chances are you're going to be looking for 10ml bottles of similar flavours to what you've been accustomed to.
Our Bar Salts range of vape juices are the perfect disposable vape alternatives and are a fraction of the cost of a standard disposable vape and will last you a considerable amount longer than what the 2ml of vape juice in a disposable vape would.
Bar Salts were made by drawing inspiration from the most popular disposable vape flavours and our flavour experts put their own unique spin on them, carefully creating a rich and delicious flavour with double concetrated flavourings and paired with our own smooth and satisfying nicotine salts. The vape juice in disposable vapes is nicotine salts, so using Bar Salts would give a like for like experience, but at a fraction of the cost.
We have more flavours than ever in our Bar Salts range as we've recently added three new ranges alongside our original range, Bar Salts Desserts, Bar Salts Fruits and Bar Salts Sodas. They are all available in tapered nicotine strengths too, something which disposable vapes normally do not offer.
How To Prepare For The Vape Tax Introduction
The introduction of the vape tax is a little further away than what the disposable vape ban is, scheduled for 2 years time in October 2026. But as with anything politics related, nothing is set in stone and there's nothing to say that this may be delayed or even brought forward, but the key thing is not to panic with these new changes announced for the vaping world.
Don't feel the need to panic buy and start stock piling bottles of vape juice. Remember that vape juice only has a shelf life expectancy of around 2 years based on the date it was produced, so if you were to buy a large quanitity now for example, by the time October 2026 rolls around, you may end up with a lot of unused vape juice bottles which have gone over their shelf life.
We've covered about vape juice and expiry/use by dates in a seperate blog which explains everything you need to know and goes into detail about what happens if you did vape expired vape juice.
We're dedicated to making vaping as affordable as possible to everyone, which is why we offer premium quality vape juices from just £1 per bottle and will continue to offer these great prices for as long as we possibly can.
Why Buy your E-Liquids & Vape Kits From Our Online Vape Shop?
Quality, Safety, Price - these are the three best reasons to choose the LiQuid brand as our trusted vape supplier, whether you are looking for vape juice or indeed any vaping product.
We have been proudly serving hundreds of thousands of customers every month for ten years, selling millions of bottles of e-liquid and constantly evolving our ranges through extensive testing, R&D and customer feedback. When you buy a bottle of e-liquid from LiQuid, you get the benefit of a decade of industry expertise, dedication to quality, and a commitment to low prices. You simply won't find a higher quality e-liquid for less in the UK.
We have developed an end-to-end manufacturing process that gives us unmatched control over the quality of our raw ingredients and e-liquid blending. This is combined with our full scope of laboratory testing that allows us to ensure the strictest standards are upheld at every stage of production to guarantee your satisfaction.
Beyond our promise of quality and value, becoming a member of the LiQuid community gives you acces to unique benefits as a vaper, including our subscription service and LiQuid loyalty point scheme to help you get even more from your vaping journey.