UK wine duty explained: the rates, duty per bottle, and what it means for your prices

UK wine duty is charged on the alcohol in the wine. Since 1 February 2026, still and sparkling wine between 8.5% and 22% ABV pays £30.62 per litre of pure alcohol. A 75cl bottle at 13% pays £2.99 in duty, and VAT at 20% is then charged on the duty-inclusive price, so about £3.58 of that bottle’s price is duty and the VAT on it. Every extra half percent of alcohol adds about 11p of duty per bottle.

How wine duty is calculated

Since the reform of 1 August 2023, every drink in the UK pays duty by strength. The sum takes three steps:

1. Multiply the volume in litres by the ABV to get the litres of pure alcohol
2. Multiply that by the rate for the wine’s strength band
3. Round the total down to the nearest penny

For a 75cl bottle at 13%: 0.75 × 13% = 0.0975 litres of pure alcohol. 0.0975 × £30.62 = £2.99.

HMRC sets out the method, with worked examples, in its guide to working out Alcohol Duty. There is no general HMRC duty calculator, so the table below does the job for the common strengths.

Wine duty rates from 1 February 2026

Strength (ABV)	Rate per litre of pure alcohol
Up to 1.2%	£0.00
1.3% to 3.4%	£9.96
3.5% to 8.4%	£26.61
8.5% to 22%	£30.62
Over 22%	£33.99

Source: HMRC Alcohol Duty rates, updated 1 February 2026. The rates rose by 3.66% on that date, in line with RPI inflation, as announced at the November 2025 Budget. The 8.5% to 22% rate was £29.54 the year before, so a 13% bottle now pays about 11p more than it did in January 2026.

Duty per bottle by ABV

ABV	Duty per 75cl bottle	Duty plus 20% VAT on that duty
11%	£2.53	£3.03
12%	£2.76	£3.31
12.5%	£2.87	£3.44
13%	£2.99	£3.58
13.5%	£3.10	£3.72
14%	£3.22	£3.86
14.5%	£3.33	£4.00
15%	£3.44	£4.13

For other sizes, scale the 75cl figure: a magnum doubles it and a half bottle halves it. HMRC rounds down on the whole duty return rather than bottle by bottle, so your return may differ from this table by a penny here and there.

Sparkling wine pays the same as still

Before August 2023, sparkling wine had its own, higher rate. Today HMRC lists one set of rates for “wine (including sparkling wine)”, so an English sparkling wine at 12% pays exactly what a 12% still wine pays: £2.76 a bottle.

The wine easement ended on 1 February 2025

For the first 18 months of the new system, every wine between 11.5% and 14.5% was taxed as if it were 12.5%. That temporary easement ended on 1 February 2025, as the Treasury confirmed at the 2024 Budget. Since then, each wine pays on its actual strength.

The effect runs both ways. Wines between 11.5% and 12.4% now pay less than under the easement, and wines above 12.5% and up to 14.5% pay more. A 14% wine pays £3.22 a bottle today, against £2.67 for every wine in the easement band in 2023.

Who pays the duty

Duty becomes payable when wine leaves duty suspension, which means when it leaves a producer’s approved premises or a bonded warehouse for sale in the UK. Whoever holds the wine at that point pays, by the 25th of the following month.

• UK wineries need an alcoholic products producer approval, known as an APPA, from HMRC before they start making wine. HMRC asks for the application at least 45 working days before production begins. There is no exemption for small commercial wineries. See HMRC’s guide to applying for an APPA.
• Importers pay when the wine is released from a bonded warehouse. Importing or bottling finished wine without changing it doesn’t need an APPA.
• Small Producer Relief cuts duty for small producers, but only on drinks below 8.5% ABV. For almost all wine, it doesn’t apply.

What duty means for your pricing

Know what each bottle carries. Take a £20 bottle at 13% sold direct to a customer. VAT is one sixth of the price, £3.33. Duty is £2.99. That leaves £13.68 for the wine, the bottle, the label, shipping, your platform fee and your margin. Run the same sum for every wine in your range before you set next year’s prices.

Strength now has a price. Two percentage points of alcohol add 46p of duty per bottle. As a winemaker I set picking dates by the grapes. Still, it helps to know what a warm year costs when you price the vintage.

Price the range as a ladder. Customers compare your wines with each other before they compare them with anyone else’s. When duty rises, consider absorbing it on your entry wine and passing it on higher up, where a 10p change disappears into the price.

How to tell your customers about a duty rise

A duty rise is a good reason to email your list, because it gives people a deadline. Wine that has already left duty suspension has paid the old rate, so you can honestly offer it at the current price until a set date.

1. Email your list and club members after the Budget, once the new rate is known
2. Explain the change in one sentence, with the pence per bottle
3. Give a clear date to order at the current price
4. Send a reminder two days before that date
5. Update shop prices on 1 February, and tell club members what their next shipment costs

I cover the rest of the year in winery email marketing.

The rates from February 2027

The government will publish its Budget on 28 October 2026, and duty rates from 1 February 2027 are usually announced then. The official forecasts assume duty rises with RPI inflation each February, though duty has been frozen or cut in several past Budgets. I’ll update the tables on this page once the new rates are published.

The short version

1. Find the ABV of every wine you sell
2. Look up its duty in the table above and add VAT on top
3. Check each wine’s margin at its current price
4. Plan your email to customers for the week after the Budget

If you’d like help with pricing pages, club emails or your online shop, start with a marketing audit. And if you’re weighing up outside help, here’s how to choose a wine marketing agency.