Every Diesel Driver Pays a Record £110 a Tank, RAC Says, With Duty Rising

• The average litre of diesel hit 199.18p on 28 September, the highest price ever recorded, according to the RAC.
• A 55-litre fill now costs almost £110, which is £31 more than before the US/Iran conflict began, and petrol has climbed to 174.13p a litre.
• Fuel duty is set to rise by 3p a litre on 1 January and 2p more on 1 March 2027, with the Budget in October set to confirm the final rates.

The £110 Tank: How Diesel Passed a Record That Stood for More Than Four Years

Diesel has never cost more. The RAC reported on 28 September that a litre now averages 199.18p across the country, overtaking the 199.09p record set in June 2022. The margin is a mere 0.09p, yet it marks the first time the fuel that powers vans, lorries and millions of family cars has entered uncharted territory.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams called it a financial blow for households and businesses that rely on their vehicles. “By eclipsing the previous highest price of 199.09p seen in June 2022, the diesel price has entered new uncharted territory,” he said.

How the Record Fell in Under a Week

The record did not arrive with a sudden spike. It crept up. On 23 September the RAC reported an average of 197.31p, just 1.78p short of the old high, and noted that many forecourts were already charging more than 199p. By 25 September the figure had reached 198.32p, still 0.77p adrift. Three days later the line was crossed.

The wider trend is starker. On 28 February, before the US/Iran war began, the RAC recorded diesel at 142.38p a litre. It now stands at 199.18p, a rise of 56.8p or 39.9 percent in seven months. Petrol has followed the same path, climbing from 132.83p to 174.13p, an increase of 41.3p or 31.1 percent. On the day of the record, diesel added another 0.13p and petrol 0.09p, so neither fuel has stopped rising.

The RAC ties the surge to the conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has squeezed oil supplies. Williams said only a sustained fall in the oil price, lasting weeks rather than days, would bring cheaper pump prices. Talk of a renewed deal to reopen the strait had offered a slight glimmer of hope, but nothing has yet fed through to the forecourt.

The old record was set on 25 June 2022, in the energy shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it stood for more than four years. The 5p fuel duty cut introduced in March 2022 was already in place when that peak hit, and it remains in place today.

The scale of the squeeze is wide. HMRC’s own impact note says the freeze on duty reaches up to an estimated 36 million individuals, a reminder that fuel prices are not a niche concern for a few heavy users. Households that run a car to reach work, school or hospital appointments have no way to dodge the price at the pump, and the RAC’s figures show the cost of that dependence rising week after week.

What a Full Tank Costs You Now

The RAC measures the pain using a 55-litre fill, the size of a typical family car tank. At 199.18p a litre, that comes to £109.55 for diesel. On 28 February the same tank cost £78.31. The difference is £31.24, which matches the RAC’s own figure of £31 more than at the start of the conflict.

Petrol drivers are not spared. At 174.13p, a full tank costs £95.77, close to the £96 the RAC quotes, against £73.06 at the end of February. That is £22.71 extra per fill. Diesel now sits 25.05p above petrol, so a diesel driver pays £13.78 more than a petrol driver for the same 55 litres.

Scale those figures up and they bite. A driver who fills one 55-litre diesel tank every week is paying about £1,600 a year more than at the end of February. A petrol driver doing the same is paying around £1,180 more. Those are simple calculations on the RAC’s prices, not forecasts, and they assume the tank is filled at the national average rather than the cheapest forecourt in town.

The bill does not stop at the pump. Diesel drives the lorries and vans that stock shops and deliver parcels. Williams warned that the pain reaches everyone who buys goods or services relying on them, adding that “undoubtedly these increased costs will be passed on to consumers.”

Where the Money Goes: Fuel Duty and VAT

Tax makes up a large share of every litre. Fuel duty stands at 52.95p a litre on both petrol and diesel, according to the House of Commons Library. That is 5p below the 57.95p rate that applied before March 2022, when the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary cut. The Library notes the last rise in the main rates came in 2011, and successive governments have cancelled each planned increase after that.

VAT at 20 percent is then added to the price, duty included. At 199.18p, VAT alone accounts for roughly 33p of a litre of diesel. Add the 52.95p of duty and tax takes about 86p, or around 43 percent of what drivers pay. Those are the RAC’s headline prices run through the standard VAT rate, not an official split.

Williams pointed to the same lever and said “the Government could take steps to ease the burden on drivers by lowering fuel duty further or reducing VAT.” Fuel duty raised just over £24 billion in 2025/26, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast quoted by the Commons Library, so any cut carries a price tag the Treasury will study carefully.

The Duty Rises Already Written Into Law

Under the plan set at Budget 2025, the 5p cut was scheduled for withdrawal in stages, starting with 1p on 1 September 2026. This spring the government extended the full cut to 31 December 2026, citing elevated prices from the Iran war. HMRC’s impact note says the measure benefits up to 36 million people and puts the saving for the average motorist at over £120 per vehicle across the period from Autumn Budget 2024.

The reprieve is short. The legislation, the Excise Duties (Surcharges or Rebates) (Hydrocarbon Oils etc.) (Temporary Continuation of 2022 Order and Adjustments) Order 2026, returns rates to the earlier trajectory from 1 January 2027. HMRC’s published rates show petrol and diesel duty rising to 55.95p a litre on that date, then to 57.95p from 1 March 2027. That is 5p in total, which the RAC says will be loaded onto pump prices by the spring.

Add VAT and the 5p becomes 6p a litre. On a 55-litre tank, that is £2.75 in duty and £3.30 once VAT is included. From April 2027, government policy is for duty to rise each year in line with RPI inflation, though the Library stresses this is not automatic and needs fresh legislation each time. HMRC also states that final rates will be confirmed at Budget 2026.

What Happens Next and What Drivers Can Do

Two events will shape the next few weeks. Williams said drivers would be watching this week’s Labour party conference and the October Budget very carefully. A further duty cut or a VAT reduction would ease the strain. A decision to let the 1 January rise go ahead would add to it.

Oil is the other factor. The RAC’s message is that pump prices follow sustained moves in the oil price over weeks, so a single day of good news from the Middle East will not help drivers straight away. Until that changes, the only control motorists have is how much they pay per litre, not what the average is.

The RAC’s myRAC app includes a cheaper fuel finding feature, and its Fuel Watch pages publish daily average prices, so drivers can check whether a local forecourt is above or below the national figure before pulling in. With diesel above 199p and many forecourts charging more, a few minutes spent comparing stations on a regular route is worth doing. Drivers who buy fuel for work should also keep every receipt, as fuel is a core running expense for many businesses.

For now, the record stands at 199.18p and both fuels are still climbing. Whether the Budget brings relief or confirms a 5p rise by March will decide how long the £110 tank stays the price of getting to work.

Sources:

• https://media.rac.co.uk/price-of-diesel-reaches-record-high
• https://media.rac.co.uk/diesel-teeters-on-brink-of-all-time-high
• https://media.rac.co.uk/record-diesel-price-looms
• https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10340/
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amended-fuel-duty-rates-for-2026-to-2027/amended-fuel-duty-rates-2026-to-2027