Change at the pump: Alberta's fuel tax might be adjusted next month
Summer and road trip season is quickly approaching, and Alberta’s fuel tax relief may see another adjustment come Canada Day.
Alberta’s tax on fuel was fully reinstated to 13 cents per litre on April 1, after it was sitting at 9 cents per litre since January.
The Province says the tax rates for gasoline and diesel are adjusted quarterly, with the next planned adjustment landing on July 1 based on the average price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil.
The oil price average is based on the 20 trading days of WTI price data leading up to the 16th day of the month preceding the start of the next quarter.
The provincial government says that the tax will be suspended whenever prices are at or above $90, and a partial fuel tax of 4.5 cents per litre will be applied whenever prices are $85 to $89.99.
Whenever prices are $80 to $84.99, a partial fuel tax of 9 cents per litre will be applied, and the fuel tax will be fully reinstated whenever prices fall below $80.
Fuel tax rates cannot increase more than 9 cents per litre per quarter when oil prices fall, the province added.
According to Oilprice.com, the highest WTI oil got over the past month was $82.63 a barrel at the end of April, while the lowest was $76.87 on May 23.
“Alberta’s government is committed to following through with the rate schedule we laid out for the fuel tax relief program last year,” said President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner in a news release earlier this year regarding Alberta’s move to reinstate its fuel tax.
“When oil prices go back up, the fuel tax rate will come back down. If oil prices rise above $79.99 per barrel, the program will kick back in, and the fuel tax rate will drop.”
Alberta first paused taxes on fuel in April 2022 and has been slowly reintroducing the cost back to consumers since January 2023.
Let’s hope Albertans continue to see relief at the pump as we head into the summer months — we’ve got tons of things for you to check out!