WDR duty + VAT calculator (new March 2013 Budget duty rates)

Consumer taxes : duty + VAT – what is going on?
The new Coalition announced plans in May 2010 to ban the sale of alcohol below cost (see our analysis in WDR V3 p27-37).
They decided to define “cost” as duty + VAT – but since the surprising u-turn on minimum pricing that was apparent from the March 2012 Alcohol Strategy, the commitment to impose a duty + VAT floor has quietly been shelved.
click here for link to Home Office.

Roll on 12 months to March 2013 and it seems that the Coalition plans to introduce minimum unit pricing may also be ditched.
However it is still valuable to be able to calculate the level of consumer taxes (ie duty + VAT) for the various drinks that can be bought in supermarkets, off licences, pubs and bars.

Following the success of the WDR minimum price & unit calculator, we developed a 2nd online calculator to specifically work out duty + VAT, using the same type of easy input fields.

How to use the WDR calculator
There are 4 simple steps :

1. Select your product type : these are split into all the different ways that duty can be levied (it is different for most types of drink!)

2. Select the size of can, bottle or measure (eg 440ml) and then input how many there are in a multi-pack or case. Put 1 if just a single item such as a bottle of wine.

3. Input the alcoholic strength (ABV) – it will be on the bottle/can (or choose from the examples on this page).

4. Press Calculate to work out the duty + VAT applicable for the combination of product, pack size, quantity and ABV that you have selected.

ABV of popular brands
The ABV and typical size of a selection of leading brands in each product category have been set out on this page to help you input products and sizes into the calculator.

It works for pub prices too
We have included measures that you find in a pub such as 25ml for a single shot of spirits, and a pint (568ml) for beer, lager, cider or Guinness.

A glass of wine is usually 125ml, 175ml or 250ml and a bottle of wine is typically 750ml.

Bottles of spirits are usually 700ml or 1 litre.

Drinks with mixers should be calculated by the amount and strength of the spirit included; eg double Smirnoff Red vodka and Red Bull = Spirits, 25ml x 2, 37.5% ABV. (Answer = £0.54)

Note : we have made every effort to keep the ABV data up to date. However we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions – see our Website terms of use

More information on responsible drinking can be found at