Beer Taxes in Europe

’Tis the season to crack open a cold one. Ahead of International Beer Day on August 5th, let’s take a minute to discover how much of your cash is actually going toward the cost of a brew with this week’s tax map, which explores excise duties on beer.

EU law requires every EU country to levy an excise duty on beer of at least €1.87 per 100 liters (26.4 gal) and degree of alcohol content. That amounts to a minimum tax of €0.03 (US $0.04) for a 330ml (11.2 oz) beer bottle with 5% alcohol content. As this map illustrates, only a few EU countries stick close to the minimum rate; most levy on much higher excise duties.

Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom levy the highest excise duties on beer. Finland levies a tax of €0.63 ($0.74) per 330ml beer bottle. Ireland and the United Kingdom both levy rates of €0.37 ($0.44) per beer.

Bulgaria, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, and Spain each levy approximately the EU’s minimum rate of €0.03 ($0.04) per beer bottle.

All European countries covered also levy a value-added tax (VAT) on beer, which is charged on the sales value of a beer bottle. The excise amounts shown in the map relate only to excise taxes and do not include the VAT.