Plastic Packaging Tax: what it is, who pays it, and how it fits with EPR

Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) is a UK tax on plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic. It's paid by businesses that manufacture or import plastic packaging components in the UK, and since 1 April 2026 the rate is £228.82 per tonne. If you make or import 10 tonnes or more in a 12-month period, you need to register with HMRC and send a return every quarter.

If you deal with PPT you almost certainly deal with packaging EPR as well, and the two run on a lot of the same data, so we cover how they fit together at the end.

Last checked against GOV.UK guidance on 23 October 2026. HMRC updates the rate every April, so check the current figures before you rely on them.

Who pays Plastic Packaging Tax?

PPT falls on the business that manufactures a plastic packaging component in the UK, or imports one, including packaging that arrives already wrapped around imported goods.

If you just buy plastic packaging from a UK supplier and use it, you don't pay PPT yourself. Your supplier does, and it's usually built into their price, though you might see it itemised on invoices or get asked for information.

You need to register with HMRC if either of these is true:

1. You expect to manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of finished plastic packaging components in the next 30 days.
2. You have manufactured or imported 10 tonnes or more in the last 12 months. The 12 months run back from the last day of the month you're checking.

Once you're registered, you pay tax on every chargeable component, not just the tonnage above 10.

What counts as plastic packaging?

The tax is charged per finished packaging component, so a bottle, its cap, a tray, a film and a label are each assessed on their own.

• A component counts as plastic if plastic is the heaviest material in it by weight, compared with each of glass, metal, paper and board, wood and anything else.
• Biodegradable, compostable and oxo-degradable plastics all count as plastic.
• The packaging has to be designed for use in the supply chain (to contain, protect, handle, present or deliver goods) or be single-use consumer packaging.

The 30% recycled content rule

A component with 30% or more recycled plastic isn't charged. Below 30%, the whole component is taxed, not just the virgin part.

Two things tend to catch people out. First, everything is treated as virgin plastic unless you have evidence that it's recycled, so if your supplier says a tray is 35% recycled, you need the paperwork to back that up. Second, components over 30% still count towards the 10 tonne threshold, and you still need records for them even though there's no tax to pay.

What changes on 1 April 2027

From 1 April 2027, pre-consumer plastic waste will no longer count as recycled plastic for PPT. Pre-consumer waste is material like factory offcuts and production scrap that never reached a user. Only post-consumer plastic, from packaging that has been used, will count.

If your recycled content currently relies on pre-consumer material, some components that pass the 30% test today could become taxable next April. It's worth asking your suppliers now what their recycled content is made of.

What's exempt?

Some packaging is exempt or excluded altogether:

Packaging	Taxed?	Counts towards the 10 tonnes?
Immediate packaging of licensed human medicines	No	Yes
Packaging permanently set aside for non-packaging use	No	Yes
Transport packaging used to import goods into the UK	No	No
Packaging used as stores on aircraft, ships and trains	No	No
Long-term storage packaging, packaging that's part of the goods, packaging reused for presentation	Excluded	No

There's also relief for packaging that's exported, either by deferring the tax or claiming a credit. The details are on GOV.UK's exemptions page.

Returns and payment

PPT runs on calendar quarters ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December.

Quarter	Return and payment due
October to December 2026	29 January 2027
January to March 2027	30 April 2027
April to June 2027	30 July 2027

The rule is the last working day of the month after the quarter ends, and payment is due by the same day. A late return can mean a £100 penalty the first time, and unpaid tax can attract a penalty of 5% of the amount owed.

Each return reports the total weight of finished plastic packaging components you manufactured or imported, the weight that's taxable, and any exemptions or credits.

The rate

From	Rate per tonne
1 April 2022 (when the tax started)	£200.00
1 April 2025	£223.69
1 April 2026	£228.82

The rate rises each April in line with inflation. As a rough guide, 50 tonnes of taxable packaging a year at the current rate is a little over £11,400 in tax.

Plastic Packaging Tax and EPR: what's the difference?

People mix them up all the time, which is understandable, since they're both about packaging and both arrived in the last few years. But they're separate schemes run by different bodies:

In short	Plastic Packaging Tax	Packaging EPR
Run by	HMRC	Environmental regulators and PackUK
Covers	Plastic packaging only	All packaging materials
Who's affected	UK manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging	Producers that handle over 25 tonnes and turn over £1m+
Threshold	10 tonnes in 12 months	25 tonnes and £1m turnover
Reporting	Every quarter	Every six months (large) or once a year (small)
What drives the cost	Recycled content below 30%	Tonnage, material and recyclability rating

You can be caught by both, one, or neither. A UK manufacturer of plastic trays for retailers is likely to be in both. A brand that buys all its packaging from UK suppliers won't pay PPT, but may well be an EPR producer.

For the EPR side, read our guide to EPR for packaging in the UK.

One dataset, two reports

Both schemes are built on the same foundation: every packaging component, its weight and its material. PPT adds recycled content and the evidence for it, and EPR adds things like packaging type and where the packaging ends up.

Most businesses keep that information in several places, with weights on spec sheets, volumes in the ERP and supplier certificates in someone's inbox. Then they pull it all together twice, on two different timetables, for two different reports, which takes hours and is how the two sets of numbers end up disagreeing.

If you keep one up-to-date list of components, with weights, materials and recycled content evidence, both reports come from the same numbers. It's also a job that automates well. We built EPR reporting this way for a UK packaging manufacturer and it now saves them around six weeks a year. See EPR reporting automation for how it works.

Common questions

Who pays Plastic Packaging Tax?

UK manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging components who have reached the 10 tonne threshold. Businesses that buy packaging from UK suppliers don't pay it directly.

What is the Plastic Packaging Tax rate for 2026?

£228.82 per tonne, from 1 April 2026. It applies to finished plastic packaging components with less than 30% recycled plastic.

Do I pay tax on the first 10 tonnes?

The 10 tonnes is a registration threshold, not an allowance. Once you're registered, tax is due on all your chargeable packaging.

How do I prove recycled content?

With evidence from your supply chain, such as supplier declarations, certificates or audit records showing how much recycled plastic is in each component. Without evidence, HMRC treats the plastic as virgin.

Is Plastic Packaging Tax the same as EPR?

No. PPT is an HMRC tax on plastic packaging with too little recycled content. EPR is a producer responsibility scheme covering all packaging materials. Many businesses are affected by both, and they rely on much of the same data.

Where's the official guidance?

GOV.UK's Plastic Packaging Tax collection has the full rules, including how to check if you need to register.

If you make or supply packaging and want help with the data behind both reports, see how we work with packaging manufacturers.