Landfill Tax is paid by the operator of a permitted landfill site in England or Northern Ireland on each tonne of material disposed of there, and by anyone who knowingly makes or facilitates a disposal at an unauthorised site. From 1 April 2026 the standard rate is £130.75 per tonne and the lower rate, for less polluting qualifying materials, is £8.65 per tonne. Operators pass the cost on through their charges, so waste producers bear it in practice.
Who pays landfill tax?
The person liable is the landfill site operator, meaning the holder of the environmental permit or licence for the site, such as a permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 in England or the equivalent licensing regimes in Northern Ireland. Excise Notice LFT1 states that every taxable disposal at a permitted site is chargeable, including waste the operator produces itself at an in house site. There is no registration threshold.
Two other groups can be caught. Where the permit holder does not run the site, the controller who decides what material goes in is jointly and severally liable. Since 1 April 2018 anyone who makes, knowingly causes or knowingly facilitates a disposal at an unauthorised site is liable too, always at the standard rate.
The tax has been devolved elsewhere. Sites in Scotland have paid Scottish Landfill Tax to Revenue Scotland since 1 April 2015, and sites in Wales have paid Landfill Disposals Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority since 1 April 2018. This page covers the UK tax, which now applies in England and Northern Ireland.
What are the rates for 2026 to 2027?
| Material | From 1 April 2025 | From 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate: all other taxable material | £126.15 per tonne | £130.75 per tonne |
| Lower rate: qualifying material and qualifying fines | £4.05 per tonne | £8.65 per tonne |
The rates are set by section 42 of the Finance Act 1996. HMRC’s tax information note for 2026 to 2027 explains that the standard rate rose with the Retail Prices Index, rounded to the nearest 5 pence, and the lower rate rose by the same cash amount, more than doubling it. The policy aim was to keep the gap between the rates from widening and to strengthen the incentive to recycle inert material.
Which materials qualify for the lower rate?
A material must be listed in the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 2011 and meet any condition attached to it. The Order groups them as follows:
- Naturally occurring rocks and soils, including clay, sand, gravel, crushed stone, stone from demolition, sub soil, silt and dredgings.
- Ceramic or concrete materials: glass, bricks, tiles, pottery and concrete. Glass reinforced plastic and concrete plant washings are excluded.
- Processed or prepared minerals, such as used foundry sand and mineral absorbents, but not moulding sands with organic binders.
- Furnace slags, including slag from waste incineration.
- Bottom ash and fly ash from wood, waste, coal or petroleum coke combustion, but not fly ash from sewage sludge, municipal, clinical or hazardous waste incinerators.
- Specified low activity inorganic compounds, such as calcium carbonate and iron oxide.
- Calcium sulphate and gypsum, only in a cell taking no biodegradable waste, and never plasterboard.
Calcium hydroxide and brine deposited in a brine cavity also qualify. The Treasury chose these materials because they are non hazardous, have low potential for greenhouse gas emissions and have low polluting potential in a landfill. Group 1 material loses the lower rate if it is contaminated with anything not listed in the Order, although treatment that removes contaminants does not stop it being naturally occurring.
How are mixed loads and fines treated?
A load containing both standard rated and lower rated material is taxed entirely at the standard rate. The exception, under a direction made using section 63(2) of the Finance Act 1996, is a load that is mainly qualifying material with a small amount of standard rated material. LFT1 says that small must also mean incidental, so material deliberately blended in does not count. A load classed as hazardous can never be treated as having only a small amount of non qualifying material. Difficulty of separation is a relevant factor but cannot by itself justify the lower rate.
Fines from waste processing, often called trommel fines, can be lower rated as qualifying fines if they meet the conditions in the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Fines) Order 2015. Since 1 April 2016 a loss on ignition test result of 10% or less supports the lower rate, while a result above 10% means the standard rate.
What evidence does HMRC expect for the lower rate?
The operator carries the burden of proving the rate applied. LFT1 sets out four steps:
- pre acceptance checks with the customer about the nature of the waste
- applying the qualifying material and mixed load rules
- a waste transfer note that describes the load in terms that match the Order, naming the qualifying materials and any small non qualifying element
- visual inspection at the weighbridge and when the load is tipped
A transfer note that says only “general building waste” will not support the lower rate.
What else on a landfill site is taxable?
All material placed in a landfill cell is taxable, apart from specific exceptions for the permanent cap, the drainage layer above the base liner, gas and leachate infrastructure, and exempt material. Outside the cell, material used for temporary haul roads, temporary hard standing and temporary screening bunds is taxable, while permanent engineered roads and hard standing are not. Restoration work once tipping has ended is not taxable.
Several disposals are exempt if all the conditions are met: dredgings, certain mining and quarrying waste, pet cemeteries, filling of quarries under a qualifying permit, and waste from visiting forces.
How do registration, returns and invoices work?
An operator must notify HMRC within 30 days of making, or forming the intention to make, taxable disposals, and accounts for all its sites under one registration. Returns normally cover three months and are due, with payment, by the last working day of the month after the period ends.
The tax point is either the date of disposal or, if a landfill invoice is issued within 14 days of the disposal, the invoice date. A landfill invoice must show the weight and description of the material and the rate applied. If Landfill Tax is shown separately, the invoice must state that it is not recoverable as input VAT. VAT is charged on the full invoiced amount, including the Landfill Tax element. See VAT invoice requirements.
A worked example
Illustration only. A demolition contractor sends two loads to a site in England in May 2026.
| Load | Tonnes | Rate | Landfill Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean sub soil and broken bricks, correctly described | 200 | £8.65 | £1,730.00 |
| Mixed waste with timber and plasterboard | 50 | £130.75 | £6,537.50 |
| Total | 250 | £8,267.50 |
If the contractor had tipped everything as one mixed load, all 250 tonnes would be standard rated at £32,687.50. Segregating on site saves £24,420 before VAT.
What credits and reliefs are available?
Operators can claim credit for bad debts where a customer fails to pay, for material later removed to another permitted site, and for landfilled material later removed for recycling, incineration or re use. Under the Landfill Communities Fund an operator can claim a credit of 90% of contributions to environmental bodies enrolled with ENTRUST, capped at a percentage of its Landfill Tax liability. LFT1 gives the cap as 5.3% for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
For businesses producing waste, the tax is a cost within the gate fee. The accounting treatment of customer defaults sits with bad debts for accounting and tax, and larger companies reporting waste and energy data may also need streamlined energy and carbon reporting. Building contractors should also check the VAT domestic reverse charge for construction on their own sales.
If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Landfill tax rates exemptions and taxable activities
- GOV.UK: Landfill tax increase in rates from 1 april 2026
- GOV.UK: Excise notice lft1 a general guide to landfill tax
Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.