WDR duty + VAT calculator (new March 2011 Budget duty rates)

Banning sales below cost – how much is cost?
The Government has announced plans to ban the sale of alcohol below cost (see our analysis in WDR V3 p27-37).
They have decided to define “cost” as duty + VAT – but how much is that in practice 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 have developed a new 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)

UPDATE – New rates of duty now apply to “High strength beer” (7.6-22%) and “Low strength beer” (1.3-2.8%).

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