New Michigan gas tax goes into effect on Jan. 1: What to expect at the pump

LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Thursday marks a new year, and with it comes new laws, one that drivers may feel at the gas pump.

Big picture view:

Multiple laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, including an increase in the minimum wage, new taxes on marijuana, ‘Taylor Swift’ bills that tackle ticket bots, and a climb in unemployment benefits. 

Meanwhile, the statewide fuel tax law has many drivers raising eyebrows. At first, many heard it was a 50-cent increase, but in fact, it was a 20-cent increase.

Breakdown:

On Jan. 1, Michigan is getting rid of the 6% sales tax and implementing a new flat gasoline tax, raising the per-gallon tax from 31 cents to 52 cents. 

A 20-cent increase.

Lawmakers say it will go directly to roads and should keep prices the same at the pump. 

What they're saying:

Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy agrees, saying there’s really nothing to panic about.

"I hear a lot about this 20-cent increase," he said. "A lot of people are concentrating on that without taking into consideration that there’s going to be an elimination of the sales tax on gasoline. So that’s the good news. It’s not going to be a huge hit. It’s going to be a slight hit."

But Metro Detroit drivers tell FOX 2 they feel a bit differently. 

"We don’t need anything rise to go up," said Detroit resident Rene Bryant. "We don’t need gas to go up. We don’t need food to go up. We need to come to some kind of medium where everything can at least go down and work with us for a while."

"Well it’s just like everything else," said Redford resident Karyn Marshall. "Everything is going up. The president says he was going to make everything go down, and it’s not happening."

"That sucks. I didn’t know. I thought it was really nice that the prices were down right now," said Ferndale resident Michelle Doeden. "I’m glad that I’m not driving a lot right now. But obviously a lot of people are. And that’s going to be really tough on them, especially when everything else is really expensive right now."

The new law also comes as Michigan gas prices rose slightly at an increase of 8 cents. The average price for a gallon of fuel in Michigan sits at $2.81 for regular unleaded gas.

That levels out to about $42 to fill up a 15-gallon tank of gasoline.

What's next:

The new law will go into effect on Thursday as well as many others. For additional information on laws going to effect in 2026, you can tap here. 

For a complete list of Michigan laws, go HERE for the state legislature's page.