Georgia’s gas tax returns after weeks-long suspension: Here’s what drivers need to know

Georgia’s gas tax holiday is over.

The 33-cent-per-gallon state gas tax returned at midnight, but drivers might not see the impact everywhere at the same time.

Individual station price changes depend on each station’s supply needs.

The gas tax is applied when the gas stations purchase fuel from suppliers, not when drivers fill up at the pump.

That means some stations may have topped off their underground storage tanks before the tax returned, allowing them to keep prices lower for a little longer.

Others may need to buy new fuel immediately, meaning drivers could see higher prices as soon as today, according to Gas Buddy.

“Any station buying gasoline at midnight or after will be paying that $0.33 a gallon state excise tax,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, “and as a result, stations will start passing along the higher price of fuel, but this may not be an all-at-once jump of $0.33. That’s because stations prepay this tax when they buy at the wholesale level.”

If drivers need to fill up, De Haan says the earlier the better, with more changes becoming noticeable later.

“My advice would be it’s probably better to fill up sooner rather than later, as stations are going to be assessing this gasoline tax. They may not pass along all at once, but they will be passing along in the next 24 to 48, in some cases 72 hours.”

As of Wednesday morning, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was around $3.79, which is slightly less than on Tuesday and six cents less than a month ago. It still remains much higher than the same time in 2025, when a gallon averaged around $2.88.

The national average for a gallon remains much higher than Georgia’s price at around $4.26 as of Wednesday.