Gas tax rises this week: how much IEPS you pay per liter, Aug 15–21
The Treasury dropped the Premium subsidy and trimmed the one for Magna; diesel keeps most of its support. Here is the per-liter tax already baked into your fill-up in Cancun.
Filling the tank costs a bit more this week. According to the weekly fiscal-stimulus decree that Mexico's Ministry of Finance (SHCP) publishes in the Official Gazette, from August 15–21, 2026 the stimulus on the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS) for Premium gasoline is removed entirely and the one for Magna (regular) is reduced. In practice, that means more tax on every liter you buy.
The official figures for the week: Magna gets a 16.45% stimulus, worth a 1.1022-peso discount, so drivers pay 5.5979 pesos of IEPS per liter. Premium keeps no stimulus (0%) and carries the full rate: 5.6579 pesos of IEPS per liter. Diesel is the exception, holding a 69.09% stimulus —the Treasury absorbs 5.0874 pesos— so users pay just 2.2760 pesos of IEPS per liter.
What it means for your wallet. The IEPS is a fixed per-liter tax built into the pump price; when the Treasury lowers the stimulus, the liter rises even if the international price does not move. Officials tied the adjustment to pressure from international oil prices. In Quintana Roo, Magna averaged roughly 24.80 to 25.17 pesos per liter in the last weeks of August, Premium hovered near 28.84 pesos and diesel around 28.17 pesos —above the national average because of the cost of shipping fuel to the peninsula.
How to spend less in Cancun. Before you fill up, check Profeco's free "Quién es quién en los precios de la gasolina" tool (gob.mx/profeco) or its Litro por Litro app: they compare station by station and often show gaps of one to two pesos per liter between nearby stations, which on a 40-liter tank means 40–80 pesos saved. Other habits that help: make sure the pump reads zero before dispensing, ask for an exact number of liters instead of a round peso amount, and fill up early in the week, since the stimulus can change every Saturday. If you run on diesel for work or transport, this is the week with the lowest tax of the three fuels.
The stimulus is reviewed weekly, so the tax can shift again next Saturday. It pays to compare prices every time you refuel and not assume your usual station is the cheapest.
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