Is the Massachusetts gas tax suspended?

Not yet. Gov. Maura Healey proposed a two-month suspension of the 24-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline and diesel on September 22, 2026. It needs approval from the Legislature and would start seven days after she signs it.

How much would the Massachusetts gas tax holiday save?

The tax is 24 cents a gallon, so a driver filling a 15-gallon tank would save about $3.60 per fill-up. Healey estimated the two-month suspension would cost the state about $120 million.

How would Massachusetts pay for the gas tax suspension?

Healey proposed covering the roughly $120 million cost with projected, unbudgeted Fair Share surtax collections for fiscal year 2027. The Fair Share surtax is often called the millionaires tax.

Healey wants to pause the Massachusetts gas tax for two months. Lawmakers still have to agree.

It would save about $3.60 on a 15-gallon fill-up. First it has to get through the Legislature.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey proposed suspending the state's 24-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline and diesel for two months, as pump prices across the state climb.

It isn't in effect yet. The suspension needs the Legislature's approval, and Healey said it would take effect seven days after she signs it, WJAR reported.

At 24 cents a gallon, the pause would save about $3.60 on a 15-gallon fill-up.

Regular gas in Massachusetts averaged $4.41 a gallon on September 21, according to AAA Northeast. That's 7 cents more than a week earlier, 36 cents more than a month earlier, and $1.31 more than a year ago, when it was $3.10.

"I'm doing this because I've watched for weeks as the price at the pump has gone up," Healey said, according to WBUR.

Healey put the cost at about $120 million. She would pay for it with projected, unbudgeted Fair Share surtax collections for the 2027 fiscal year, the so-called millionaires tax, Boston.com reported.

The proposal came days after her Republican opponent in the governor's race, Michael Minogue, called for suspending the tax any time gas tops $4 a gallon. Minogue also supports eliminating it. "It's only for two months because she's gonna push everything to right after the election," he said.

"My two-month suspension does give time for common sense to prevail," Healey said.

Getting it passed may be the hard part. House Speaker Ron Mariano called suspending the gas tax "fiscally irresponsible" in response to Minogue's plan, WBUR reported. Transportation advocates object too. "But this is an incentive for people to drive more, to increase emissions," said Pete Wilson of Transportation for Massachusetts.

AAA Northeast tied the price climb to the war with Iran. "Pump prices have been under increasing pressure as the war approaches its seventh month with few signs for an end to the conflict and resolution of global oil supply concerns," said Mark Schieldrop, a senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast, in the group's weekly survey. The national average was $4.47.