Proposed State Tax Bills Would Make Vaping More Expensive

Taxing vapes is popular among state legislators. As of March 25, 33 U.S. states—along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and numerous cities and counties—have imposed taxes on vapor products.

Taxes are usually assessed on distributors and wholesalers, and may be imposed as a percentage of the retail price or on a per-milliliter basis on bottled e-liquid or all products that contain e-liquid. Some states have retail taxes paid directly by consumers. Taxes range from states that assess a five-cents-per-milliliter e-liquid tax to Vermont’s champion 92 percent wholesale tax.

During the 2025 legislative session, vaping has so far been a popular target. In addition to over 30 proposed flavor ban and PMTA registry bills, at least 17 state legislatures have introduced bills that would create a new tax on vaping products, increase the state’s existing tax, or equalize taxes on all consumer nicotine products. New taxes have been proposed on nicotine pouches too.

Current active vape and nicotine pouch tax bills

The list below includes all currently active (as of March 13) bills I could find that propose vape taxes or tax-related laws. Some also include other elements, like PMTA registries or licensing rules.

This article is a companion to the March 12 article that focuses only on PMTA registry and flavor ban bills. Please read both if you’re interested in fighting anti-consumer vape laws. 

I did not intentionally include bills that have already failed, but some of them may have. Tracking programs like Legiscan are often several days behind, and some state legislatures don’t specifically report that bills are no longer being considered.

Many of the bills listed below may have little chance of advancing, but some are serious threats. Some have advanced far enough or gained enough attention that they have earned a Call to Action from the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA). Active CASAA Calls to Action are listed next to the bill number and description. Those bills are most in need of immediate responses from consumers.

But please don’t wait for CASAA to urge action. You can contact your state legislators whenever a threatening bill appears, even before CASAA issues a Call to Action—or even contact them proactively before a bill appears to register your opposition to all legislation that restricts or raises the cost of access to quality vaping products. Many bills have been stopped early by alert vaping advocates who have built relationships with legislators or legislative staffers.

You can look up your state and federal representatives on the CASAA site.

Companion bills (same text; introduced in both chambers of the legislature) are listed together, separated by a slash. Often only one of the two bills moves through the legislature; it usually isn't necessary for both bills to pass.

ALASKA

SB 24 - Tax: 25% of retail price on closed products (pods, disposables)

• Jan. 22 - Referred to committees
• Feb. 14 - Referred to committee

HB 49 - Tax: 25% of retail price on closed products (pods, disposables)

• Jan. 22 - Referred to committees
• Feb. 19 - Referred to committee

ARIZONA

HB 2778 - Tax: 50% wholesale 

• Feb. 10 - Assigned to committees

CONNECTICUT

SB 792 - Tax: 75% wholesale price 

• Jan. 21 - Referred to committee

SB 427 - Tax: “equalizes” tax rates on combustible tobacco and noncombustible tobacco and nicotine products

• Jan. 10 - Referred to committee

GEORGIA

HB 84 - Tax: 15% wholesale price on all vapor products 

IDAHO 

HB 314 - Tax: 3 cents per milliliter on nicotine-containing e-liquid 

• Feb. 25 - Referred to committee

ILLINOIS

SB 1314 - Increases wholesale tax to 36%

• Jan. 28 - Referred to committee

HB 3606 - Increases wholesale tax to 45% 

• Feb. 18 - Referred to committee
• March 11 - Assigned to committee

SB 2338 - Increases wholesale tax to 45% 

• March 13 - Progressing through House committees

IOWA

SF 475 - Tax: $1.15 each on vapor pods or cartridges; 15% of retail price on refillable vape devices and bottled e-liquids; 6.8 cents each on nicotine pouches 

• Feb. 18 - Referred to committee (as SSB 1137)
• Feb. 19 - Subcommittee hearing
• Feb. 26 - Passes committee
• March 3 - Committee report approving bill
• March 4 - Referred to second committee

MASSACHUSETTS

HB 1 - State 2026 appropriations bill: includes clause applying existing 75% wholesale tax to synthetic nicotine products 

• Jan. 23 - Referred to committee

MONTANA

HB 525 - Tax: 50% of wholesale price in nicotine-containing vapes + PMTA registry law ***CASAA Call to Action

• Feb. 18 - Referred to committee
• Feb. 27 - House amends bill to add 50% tax on nic-containing vapes; passes committee

NEBRASKA

LB 712 - Tax: changes current tax to 40% of wholesale price   ***CASAA Call to Action

• Jan. 24 - Referred to committee
• Feb. 28 - Committee hearing scheduled

NEW HAMPSHIRE

HB 290 - Tax: equalizes tax on closed and open products to 65% wholesale

• Jan. 7 - Referred to committee
• Jan. 22 - Public hearing
• Feb. 26 - House majority and minority committee reports disagree

NEW MEXICO

SB 20 - Tax: changes existing tax to 67.5% of wholesale price 

• Jan. 21 - Referred to committees
• Feb. 19 - Passes committee
• March 3 - Passes committee
• March 7 - Passes Senate 
• March 10 - Referred to two House committees
• March 12 - Passes one committee

NEW YORK

A 274 - Increases retail vape tax from 20 to 48% 

• Jan. 8 - Referred to committee

SOUTH DAKOTA

SB 194 - Tax: 45% of wholesale price 

• Feb. 6 - Referred to committee
• Feb. 19 - Hearing scheduled
• Feb. 19 - Tabled (inactive for now—but could still return this session)

TENNESSEE

SB 763 / HB 968 - Tax: 7 cents/ml on closed products, 10% wholesale on open products + PMTA registry law   ***CASAA Call to Action

• Feb. 10 - HB 968 referred to committee
• Feb. 12 - SB 763 referred to committee
• Feb. 25 - SB 763 passed committee; referred to second committee
• March 10 - HB 968 passed committee; referred to second committee
• March 18 - SB 763 scheduled for consideration in second committee

WASHINGTON

HB 1416 - Tax: 30 cents per milliliter on containers smaller than 5 mL; 10 cents/mL on containers over 5 mL (includes zero-nicotine) 

• Jan. 20 - Referred to committee
• Feb. 20 - Committee hearing

WEST VIRGINIA

HB 2518 - Repeals all “sin” taxes, including current taxes on vapes

• Feb. 17 - Referred to committee

HB 2762 - Tax: 7.5 cents per milliliter of wholesale price 

• Feb. 21 - Referred to committee
• March 3 - Referred to second committee

We need your help

If you’re aware of currently active bills I’ve missed, important updates to those listed here, or new bills introduced since this list was published, please contact me at jim.m@vaping360.com.