Alcohol Bulletin commentary (November 2025 to January 2026)
Updated 27 February 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
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Alcohol Duty headlines
The provisional Alcohol Duty receipts for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to date (April to January) show that:
-
the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts for the current financial year to date is £10,464 million, which is £283 million (3%) lower than the same period last year
-
the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts for the current financial year to date from wine and other fermented products is £3,877 million, which is £97 million (2%) lower than the same period last year
-
the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts for the current financial year to date from spirits is £3,379 million, which is £152 million (4%) lower than the same period last year
-
the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts for the current financial year to date from beer is £2,959 million, which is £86 million (3%) lower than the same period last year
-
the provisional total for Alcohol Duty receipts for the current financial year to date from cider is £249 million, which is £52 million (26%) higher than the same period last year
About this release
The Alcohol Bulletin Accredited Official Statistics release presents UK level statistics from the Alcohol Duty administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 4 classes of products:
- wine (including wine and other fermented products such as fruit ciders)
- spirits
- beer
- cider
Accredited Official Statistics were previously known as National Statistics.
The alcohol bulletin is updated quarterly. The latest release has been updated with provisional duty receipts data from November 2025 to January 2026 and provisional production and clearances data from October to December 2025.
On 1 August 2023, Alcohol Duty reform resulted in a change to the tax regime for Alcohol Duty.
The tables accompanying this release contain receipts, clearances and production data for the new tax regime only. For data on the old regime see previous versions of this bulletin on the National Archives.
In these tables, the ‘other fermented products’ category largely contains what was previously under the ‘made wine’ category.
This release incorporates the following changes to the tables outlined in the Consultation on changes to HMRC statistics publications 2025. The next release will be published 09:30am 29 May 2026.
The Alcohol Bulletin is Crown copyright. Its contents can be used as long as the source is acknowledged clearly by the user.
Total Alcohol Duty receipts
The following section provides the latest total Alcohol Duty receipts statistics. Alcohol Duty has a one month accounting period. As traders pay duty in the month following when liabilities were accrued, there is a one month lag between accounting periods ending and payments being received by HMRC.
‘Liabilities’ refer to registered traders informing HMRC of how much Alcohol Duty is owed. ‘Accrued’ refers to when liabilities occurred. ‘Duty receipts’ refers to payments of Alcohol Duty made to HMRC.
Duty receipts are reported within the Alcohol Bulletin based upon the month in which they were received by HMRC.
Table 1: Financial year to date (April to January) Alcohol Duty receipts by type for the current and previous 4 financial years, in £ million
| Financial year | Wine and OFP | Spirits | Beer | Cider | Total Alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 to 2022 (Apr - Jan) | 4,102 | 3,857 | 3,276 | 203 | 11,438 |
| 2022 to 2023 (Apr - Jan) | 3,849 | 3,601 | 3,209 | 210 | 10,868 |
| 2023 to 2024 (Apr - Jan) | 3,970 | 3,631 | 3,167 | 196 | 10,964 |
| 2024 to 2025 (Apr - Jan) | 3,974 | 3,531 | 3,045 | 197 | 10,747 |
| 2025 to 2026 (Apr - Jan) | 3,877 | 3,379 | 2,959 | 249 | 10,464 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 1 demonstrates trends in Alcohol Duty receipts for financial year to date:
- provisional April 2025 to January 2026 receipts data shows that receipts from wine and other fermented products have decreased by £97 million (2%), receipts from spirits have decreased by £152 million (4%), receipts from beer have decreased by £86 million (3%) and receipts from cider have increased by £52 million (26%) compared to the same period last year
Figure 1: Total Alcohol Duty receipts by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
Figure 1 illustrates the following changes for total Alcohol Duty receipts by month:
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date total for Alcohol Duty receipts is £10,464 million, which is £283 million (3%) lower compared to the same period last year
-
the decrease in Alcohol Duty receipts from beer, spirits, wine and other fermented products mentioned above may in part be due to traders’ behaviour change ahead of the duty rate increase in February 2025. Traders were clearing more Alcohol than usual ahead of the duty rate increase, potentially resulting in lower March, April and May receipts in 2025.
Table 2: Total Alcohol Duty receipts by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2025 to 2026 | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 922 | 990 | 1,064 |
| May | 814 | 1,038 | 992 |
| June | 1,179 | 1,115 | 1,024 |
| July | 972 | 1,044 | 1,313 |
| August | 1,118 | 1,042 | 1,579 |
| September | 930 | 1,003 | 715 |
| October | 1,076 | 1,061 | 946 |
| November | 1,349 | 1,031 | 1,112 |
| December | 1,338 | 1,509 | 1,297 |
| January | 767 | 912 | 923 |
| February | No Data | 1,097 | 773 |
| March | No Data | 771 | 851 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 2 provides the underlying data from Figure 1 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products
Alcohol Duty receipts for wine are comprised of the duty payable on wine produced from fresh grapes, and other fermented products which are any other drink that has alcohol made by fermentation, apart from beer and cider. An example of a product in the category of other fermented products would be fruit cider. Wine and other fermented products become dutiable when their strength exceeds 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV). Since August 2023, Alcohol Duty on wine and other fermented products is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 163: wine production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on wine and other fermented products.
Figure 2: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
Figure 2 illustrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products:
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date total for Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products is £3,877 million, which is a decrease of £97 million (2%) compared to the same period last year
-
the decreased receipts for wine and other fermented products mentioned above may in part be due to traders’ behaviour change ahead of the duty rate increase which came into effect on 1 February 2025, resulting in wine and other fermented products producers clearing less than alcohol usual
Table 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from wine and other fermented products by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial years and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2025 to 2026 | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 347 | 381 | 388 |
| May | 299 | 393 | 357 |
| June | 405 | 378 | 341 |
| July | 351 | 384 | 424 |
| August | 392 | 381 | 623 |
| September | 350 | 366 | 253 |
| October | 444 | 406 | 360 |
| November | 469 | 387 | 399 |
| December | 531 | 585 | 462 |
| January | 290 | 315 | 362 |
| February | No Data | 426 | 313 |
| March | No Data | 321 | 328 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 3 provides the underlying data from Figure 2 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits
Alcohol Duty for spirits is payable on any spirits, or any mixture or combination of spirits, having a strength of more than 1.2% ABV. Duty becomes chargeable following distillation or manufacture of spirits, and normally payable once it’s taken out of warehouse storage. Alcohol Duty on spirits is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 39: spirits production in the UK for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on spirits.
Figure 3: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
Figure 3 demonstrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits:
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date total for Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits is £3,379 million, which is a decrease of £152 million (4%) compared to the same period last year
-
the decreased receipts for spirits noted above may in part be due to traders’ behaviour change ahead of the duty rate increase which came into effect on 1 February 2025, resulting in spirits producers clearing less alcohol than usual
Table 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from spirits by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial years and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2025 to 2026 | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 268 | 309 | 337 |
| May | 208 | 320 | 314 |
| June | 395 | 352 | 349 |
| July | 290 | 316 | 484 |
| August | 375 | 320 | 528 |
| September | 266 | 323 | 193 |
| October | 354 | 372 | 307 |
| November | 532 | 347 | 392 |
| December | 484 | 590 | 471 |
| January | 206 | 283 | 256 |
| February | No Data | 347 | 238 |
| March | No Data | 275 | 269 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 4 provides the underlying data from Figure 3 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from beer
Beer can be defined as ale, porter, stout and some other types of beer. It is dutiable in the UK once its strength exceeds 1.2% ABV. Taxpayers become liable for Alcohol Duty on beer once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on beer is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 226: Beer Duty for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on beer.
Figure 4: Alcohol Duty receipts from beer by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
Figure 4 demonstrates the following changes for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer:
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date total for Alcohol Duty receipts from beer is £2,959 million, which is a decrease of £86 million (3%) compared to the same period last year
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date (April to January) total of receipts is similar to that of the same period in 2024 to 2025, indicating receipts are following a similar profile to the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
Table 5: Alcohol Duty receipts from beer by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial years and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2025 to 2026 | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 289 | 286 | 319 |
| May | 284 | 303 | 300 |
| June | 346 | 359 | 310 |
| July | 304 | 317 | 388 |
| August | 322 | 322 | 404 |
| September | 290 | 293 | 255 |
| October | 256 | 268 | 264 |
| November | 317 | 285 | 299 |
| December | 299 | 313 | 343 |
| January | 251 | 297 | 286 |
| February | No Data | 308 | 215 |
| March | No Data | 167 | 238 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 5 provides the underlying data from Figure 4 for users.
Alcohol Duty receipts from cider
For alcohol duty, cider is defined as cider of a strength exceeding 1.2% ABV but less than 8.5% ABV obtained from the fermentation of apple or pear juice. It becomes liable to alcohol duty once it is produced, imported or released onto the UK market for consumption. Since August 2023 Alcohol Duty on cider is charged per litre of pure alcohol.
Go to HMRC Excise Notice 162: cider production for detailed information on Alcohol Duty charged on cider.
Figure 5: Alcohol Duty receipts from cider by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial year and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
Figure 5 demonstrates the following trends for Alcohol Duty receipts from cider:
-
the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date total for Alcohol Duty receipts from cider is £249 million, which is an increase of £52 million (26%) compared to the same period last year.
-
cider products historically have the lowest Alcohol Duty receipts, representing around 2.4% of the yearly total
-
Alcohol Duty receipts from cider have a notable increase in the provisional 2025 to 2026 financial year to date (April to January), compared with the same period in the previous years.
Table 6: Alcohol Duty receipts from cider by month, covering April to January of the 2025 to 2026 financial years and all months of the previous 2 years, in £ million
| Financial year | 2025 to 2026 | 2024 to 2025 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 18 | 15 | 20 |
| May | 22 | 22 | 20 |
| June | 33 | 26 | 24 |
| July | 27 | 27 | 18 |
| August | 29 | 19 | 24 |
| September | 25 | 22 | 15 |
| October | 21 | 15 | 15 |
| November | 31 | 13 | 22 |
| December | 24 | 21 | 20 |
| January | 18 | 18 | 20 |
| February | No Data | 16 | 7 |
| March | No Data | 8 | 17 |
Note: All figures for the 2025 to 2026 financial year are provisional.
Table 6 provides the underlying data from Figure 5 for users.
Contacts
The Alcohol Bulletin is produced by the Indirect Tax Receipts Monitoring team as part of the ‘Excise duties, VAT, and other tax statistics’ collection.
Contact revenuemonitoring@hmrc.gov.uk for statistical enquiries.
Contact HMRC press office for media enquiries.