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    UK Plastic Packaging Tax calculator

    Enter the plastic packaging you manufacture in or import into the UK and its post-consumer recycled content. The tax applies to the full weight of any component below 30 percent recycled content, so the threshold behaves as a cliff edge rather than a slope.

    Check the current HMRC rate for the period you are modelling.

    Estimated liability: £8,714

    At 12% recycled content, all 40 tonnes are taxable. Reaching 30% verified post-consumer content on this tonnage would remove £8,714 of annual liability.

    Indicative only. Scheme rates change annually and classifications vary by jurisdiction, so use this for planning rather than for filing.

    How the tax works

    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.

    What counts as recycled content

    • Only post-consumer material counts. Pre-consumer and post-industrial scrap recovered inside your own manufacturing process does not.
    • You must hold evidence per component. Without supplier certification or mass-balance documentation, HMRC treats the component as fully virgin.
    • Recycled content is assessed per component, so a bottle at 35 percent and a closure at zero are treated separately.

    Registration

    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.

    How this differs from EPR

    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.

    Questions about this calculator

    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.

    No. Only post-consumer recycled material counts. Reprocessing your own production waste does not reduce the liability, which is a frequent source of over-claiming.

    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.

    Related resources

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