The prices of alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other stimulants in stores will increase in 2026 due to excise tax. In the article we explain what these increases will be.
Donald Tusk's government decided on these increases already in 2024. The parliament and President Andrzej Duda also agreed to them. Part of the regulatory changes entered into force in 2025, but the plan also covers the years 2026 and 2027.
However, in 2025, the government wanted to increase excise tax rates once again and change the excise road map once again. However, the act was vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki. Which means that the rates have increased in 2026 anyway. If?
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How much have excise tax rates on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcohol increased
From January 1, 2026, rates for cigarettes increased by 20 percent, for e-cigarette liquid – by 50 percent, and for ethyl alcohol, beer, wine, fermented drinks and intermediate products by 5 percent.
President Karol Nawrocki did not agree to an increase in excise tax rates on alcohol by 15%.
This means, for example, that the average price of a pack of cigarettes in 2026 will be PLN 23.85. So it will increase by approximately PLN 2-3. In turn, 10 ml of e-cigarette liquid will cost approximately PLN 4-5 more than in 2025.
Alcohol prices should increase by approximately several dozen cents per bottle.
Next year (2027) prices will go up again.
The increases in excise tax rates in 2026-2027 (year to year), broken down into individual stimulants, are as follows:
- for cigarettes (quota part of the excise duty rate) increase by
— 20 percent in 2026
— 15 percent in 2027
- for e-cigarette liquid increase by
— 50 percent in 2026
— 25 percent in 2027
- for innovative products (quota part of the excise duty rate) increase by
— 20 percent in 2026
— 15 percent in 2027
- for smoking tobacco (amount part of the excise duty rate, year to year) increase by
— 30 percent in 2026
— 22 percent in 2027
- for cigars and cigarillos increase by
— 20 percent in 2026
— 15 percent in 2027
- for dried tobacco growth o
— 30 percent in 2026
— 22 percent in 2027
The rates in terms of amounts will look as follows (for comparison, we indicate how much they were in 2024-2025):
Excise tax on cigarettes and other products, increases in 2026-27
Are excise tax increases on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcohol necessary?
The government usually justifies the increases with the needs of the state budget and care for the health of Poles. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance, responsible for excise duty, points out that in Poland cigarette and alcohol prices are the lowest or among the lowest in the European Union.
However, Szymon Parulski, tax advisor and partner at Parulski i Wspólnicy, believes that excise tax increases on the so-called stimulants have always been the easiest mechanism to “fill” the budget hole under the guise of caring for the health of Poles.
The expert warns that the increases mean an increase in the gray excise tax zone.
– Unfortunately, such high increases over the years will result in… it will be more profitable to legally buy these products in Germany than in Poland. Of course, a large profit from illegal activities without excise tax will increase the pressure on the gray economy and criminal activities. Now, the closure of the border with Belarus and Russia and the war in Ukraine mean that the gray zone is not growing so fast, but the example of France, where the gray zone already accounts for almost 1/3 of the market, shows that excessive excise tax increases are harmful even in such rich societies. It should also be remembered that illegal products are always more harmful than legal ones, says Szymon Parulski.
According to our interlocutor, a more sensible solution would be to spread these increases over all excise goods, in particular fuel and cars, where there have been no increases for over a dozen years. – The possibilities here are endless due to the scale of trade in these products (0.10 cents more on fuel means over PLN 3 billion in additional revenues per year). This solution is supported by the low price of fuel and the price war on the automotive market. Unfortunately, such actions would require political courage, which has been lacking in taxes for the last dozen or so years, comments Szymon Parulski.
Author: Łukasz Zalewski, journalist of the Law section of Business Insider Polska
