The United Kingdom will raise beer duty 4.6% on February 1, 2027

The United Kingdom will raise its beer tax from February 1, 2027, lifting the general duty rate on most beer to £23.61 per liter of pure alcohol from £22.58, according to official tables published by HM Revenue & Customs on Wednesday as part of the government’s budget measures.

The change applies to beer with an alcohol content of 3.5% to less than 8.5%, covering both domestically produced and imported products sold in the British market. The increase amounts to £1.03 per liter of pure alcohol, or about 4.6%, compared with the rate that has been in force since February.

Because British alcohol duty is charged on the amount of pure alcohol in the product, the tax increase on an individual drink is much smaller than the headline rate may suggest. For a 500-milliliter beer at 5% ABV, the higher general rate would add 2.575 pence in duty before value-added tax, based on the published figures. That is a tax calculation, not a forecast of the final retail price.

For qualifying beer sold on draft and eligible for the lower relief rate, the duty will rise to £20.34 per liter of pure alcohol from £19.45. That is an increase of £0.89, also roughly 4.6%. For the same 500-milliliter beer at 5% ABV, that would mean an added 2.225 pence in duty before VAT.

HMRC, the British tax and customs authority, administers the alcohol duty system. The rate tables released on Wednesday set out the new amounts as part of the government’s broader fiscal package. The measure is still prospective. It does not mean beer prices have already increased, and it does not by itself determine how much consumers will pay in stores, pubs or restaurants.

The duty change matters across the supply chain because the tax is paid by producers and importers and can affect wholesalers, retailers and hospitality businesses that buy and sell beer. The impact varies by alcohol strength and by format, because the system taxes alcohol content and offers a lower rate for qualifying draft products. A stronger beer carries more duty than a weaker one of the same size because it contains more pure alcohol.

The announcement also has different implications for businesses depending on how they operate. Brewers that sell packaged beer face the general rate, while pubs and other venues serving qualifying draft beer can benefit from the lower rate if they meet the conditions for the relief. Importers bringing foreign beer into the United Kingdom are subject to the same duty structure as domestic producers.

The published examples do not include separate reliefs for small producers. The government said it is also expanding those reliefs, which means the final tax burden for some smaller brewers could differ from the simple calculations based on the headline rates alone.

The increase keeps beer within the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit alcohol duty framework, which taxes products by strength and uses category-specific bands. For beer in the 3.5% to less than 8.5% range, the February 1, 2027 change raises the nominal duty burden for most of the market, with a lower but still higher rate for qualifying draft sales.