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Enter the plastic packaging you manufacture in or import into the UK and its qualifying recycled content. For the 2026 to 2027 rate period both eligible pre-consumer and post-consumer material count toward the 30 percent threshold. The tax applies to the full weight of any component below that threshold, so it behaves as a cliff edge rather than a slope.
Through 31 March 2027 both eligible pre-consumer and post-consumer material count toward the 30% threshold. This calculation models the 2026 to 2027 rate period only: from 1 April 2027 only post-consumer material counts.
Check the current HMRC rate for the period you are modelling.
Estimated liability: £9,152.80
At 12% qualifying recycled content, all 40 tonnes are taxable. Reaching 30% verified qualifying recycled content on this tonnage would remove £9,152.80 of annual liability.
Indicative only. Scheme rates change annually and classifications vary by jurisdiction, so use this for planning rather than for filing.
UK Plastic Packaging Tax is charged per tonne on plastic packaging components that contain less than 30 percent post-consumer recycled material. Above that threshold the component is not taxed at all; below it, the charge applies to the whole weight of the component, not only the virgin share.
Registration is required once you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of plastic packaging in a 12 month period, or expect to within the next 30 days. That threshold applies even when your recycled content means no tax is actually payable.
The tax is separate from UK packaging EPR fees, which are charged per tonne on household packaging and modulated by the Recyclability Assessment Methodology. A company selling in the UK pays both, from overlapping but differently defined datasets, and if it also sells in the EU it faces PPWR recycled content minimums on top.
No. If a component contains less than 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, the charge applies to the full weight of that component. That is why the threshold behaves as a cliff edge.
Once you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of plastic packaging in a 12 month period, or expect to within 30 days. Registration is required even when the recycled content means no tax is due.
Until 31 March 2027, recycled plastic from both pre-consumer and post-consumer waste counts towards the 30% threshold. From 1 April 2027, only post-consumer recycled plastic counts.
No, HMRC revises the per-tonne rate. The field is editable so you can enter the rate for the period you are modelling rather than relying on a stored value.
Packgine calculates fees from your actual component-level packaging data across every market you sell into.