State gas-tax holidays and a push to freeze the federal levy promise only modest savings at the pump, even as drivers still pay more than $4 a gallon nationwide.
Republican governors in Georgia and Indiana have moved again to suspend state fuel taxes, and President Donald Trump has backed a temporary pause of the federal gas tax as pump prices stay elevated. The relief is real but limited, and it does not arrive overnight.
USA TODAY reported that several states are suspending or eliminating their gas taxes while critics warn the cuts offer only modest help for households already squeezed by high fuel costs.
On Oct. 1, AAA put the national average at $4.41 a gallon. That was up from $4.09 on Sept. 1 and far above the $3.16 average on Oct. 1, 2025. Prices have climbed more than $1 a gallon since the Iran war began and have stayed above $4 for most of the year.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced a one-month suspension of the state’s 33-cent local gas tax on Sept. 28. It was his third such move this year.
Kemp framed the step as direct help for people who drive to work and run small firms.
On X, Kemp wrote:
"Today, I’m again suspending the state gas tax to help families and small businesses at the pump,"
He also pointed to a longer record of tax relief in the state.
Kemp said:
“Over the past several years, with the help of our partners in the General Assembly, we've been able to give billions of dollars in relief to hardworking Georgians,”
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun followed two days later. On Sept. 30 he announced another extension of the state’s gas-tax holiday, with extra relief for farmers, running into early November.
Braun tied the move to global supply trouble and the cost of putting food on the table.
He posted:
"Today I announced another gas tax extension with additional relief for farmers,"
Braun added:
"The added cost of fuel prices caused by continued disruptions to the global oil supply can make a major difference in our farmers’ success and their ability to put food on the table for their families,"
Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas have also started or weighed gas-tax holidays. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said states are lining up levers ahead of the midterms.
De Haan wrote on X:
"More states eager to try and bring small to moderate relief to gasoline and diesel prices ahead of the mid-terms,"
He listed a long watch list:
"We're tracking various levers being pulled or attempted in TX, IN, GA, KY, UT, OH, MA, MS, AL, LA, OK, ND, NE, SD."
The federal gas tax stands at 18.4 cents a gallon, a rate set in 1993. Trump has called for a temporary suspension of that levy. In a May telephone interview with a CBS News reporter, he called a temporary lift a "great idea." Some U.S. lawmakers and auto industry lobbyists have agreed with a short-term federal suspension.
Any federal cut still needs an act of Congress. Lawmakers cannot wave it away by press release.
Congress has treated the tax as nearly permanent. The federal gas tax began in 1932 at 1 cent a gallon. Since then, Congress has raised it nine times, most recently in 1993, according to the Congressional Research Service. Lawmakers have lowered it only twice, from 1.5 cents to 1 cent in 1934, and from 9.1 cents to 9 cents in 1987. Congress has never voted to rescind the tax since it was first authorized.
Revenue from the tax flows to the Department of Transportation’s Highway Trust Fund and is sent to states for road and transit projects. The current federal highway funding measure, carried in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill signed under former President Joe Biden, was set to expire Sept. 30. Congress passed a temporary extension that runs into early December. The last vote that did anything other than reauthorize the 18.4-cent rate was in 1993.
State taxes stack on top of the federal rate, and the gap shows up at the pump. Tax Foundation rankings of the top five highest gas taxes, including the federal share, put California at 74 cents a gallon. On Oct. 1, California’s average price was $6.40. Illinois stood at 70 cents with an average of $4.71. Indiana was at 63 cents and $4.50. Washington was at 60 cents and $5.49. Pennsylvania was at 59 cents and $4.50.
Those numbers explain why governors in high-cost states keep reaching for temporary holidays. A few weeks without the state levy is not a permanent fix. It is a break for people who fill up every week.
Even when a tax is suspended, the full cut does not show up the same afternoon. Stations buy fuel every two to four days, so prices lag.
De Haan put it plainly:
"As stations buy fuel every 2-4 days there will be a lag to how quickly some stations start to lower price,"
That lag matters for families watching every dollar. A 33-cent state cut in Georgia or an extension in Indiana can shave real money off a tank. It cannot erase a national average still north of $4.40, or reverse a year of prices stuck above $4. Global oil disruptions tied to the Iran war still set the larger price floor.
Critics of gas-tax holidays make that same point: the relief is modest. Drivers feel a difference, not a transformation. The federal 18.4-cent piece is only part of the total. State rates and crude costs do more of the heavy lifting.
Still, modest help is help. When fuel stays high for months, a temporary pause is one of the few tools governors can use without waiting on a full rewrite of energy policy. Farmers, small businesses, and commuters live with the weekly bill. They do not need a lecture about highway trust fund accounting before someone cuts the tax they pay at the pump.
De Haan linked the wave of state action to the coming midterms. Voter anger over fuel costs is not abstract when the national average sits near $4.41 and California tops $6. Governors who can point to a suspension on the books have something concrete to show.
Trump’s call for a federal holiday fits the same logic. A temporary freeze would require Congress to act, not just talk. History shows how rare that is. Raises came nine times. Cuts came twice, and both were tiny. A full pause would break a pattern that has held since the early 1930s.
Until then, the practical relief sits at the state level. Kemp’s third suspension this year and Braun’s farmer-focused extension are the moves on the board. Other states from Texas to the Dakotas are testing the same idea.
The open questions are straightforward. How many cents actually fall at Georgia and Indiana stations after the lag clears? Will Congress treat a federal suspension as serious policy or as a short talking point before the highway bill’s early-December deadline? The price data will answer the first. Votes will answer the second.
Working families should not have to wait on perfect policy while the tank costs more every month. A temporary gas-tax break is common-sense relief, limited, lagged, and still better than leaving drivers to carry the full load alone.