Longfills, DIY Vape Juice and the Vape Duty: What's Actually Taxed

If you mix your own DIY vape juice, the new vape duty has probably raised a few questions. Is base liquid taxed? What about longfills? And can you still add a nic shot to a shortfill at home? The short answer is that the duty does cover the liquids you mix with. Happily, though, the simplest way to make your own blend stays just as easy as before. So here is what HMRC actually says, in plain English, and how to keep mixing with confidence.

Key takeaways

• The vaping products duty applies to all vaping liquid, with or without nicotine, at 22p per ml.
• HMRC says this includes DIY ingredients such as PG, VG and flavourings.
• Mixing a duty-paid shortfill with a duty-paid nic shot is still fine. In fact, HMRC uses it as its own example.
• Making your own liquid from base ingredients without duty paid now needs HMRC approval.
• A valid duty stamp is the easiest way to check your liquid is duty-paid.
  

What the vape duty covers

The Vaping Products Duty started on October 1st, 2026. It adds £2.20 to every 10ml of vaping liquid, which works out at 22p per ml. The rate stays the same whatever the strength, so a 0mg liquid pays the same as a 20mg one.

Just as importantly, the duty sits on the liquid alone. So your kit, tank, coils and batteries carry no duty at all. For the bigger picture, our guide to the vape duty going live explains what has changed since October and why prices haven't jumped overnight.

Is DIY vape juice taxed? What HMRC says

Yes. HMRC's guidance states that the duty covers every substance intended for vaping. That includes liquids people make at home, and it applies whether they contain nicotine or not.

Some older articles online still suggest DIY mixing sits outside the new rules. That was an open question while the government designed the duty. Now, though, HMRC's published guidance settles it.

PG, VG and flavourings: are they taxed?

PG (propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerine) form the base of almost every e-liquid. Flavourings then add the taste. So if you buy these separately to make your own vape juice, do you pay duty? The honest answer is that it depends on where they come from.

Bought as vaping products. HMRC's guidance says the duty covers all substances intended for vaping. So nic shots, flavour concentrates and base liquids sold for vaping by a UK retailer carry the duty. You don't pay HMRC yourself, because the price already includes it. Better still, mixing these duty-paid products together is fine, as the sections below explain.

Bought from non-vape suppliers. Food-grade PG and VG, or general food flavourings, aren't sold as vaping products, so they don't come with duty paid. However, that doesn't make the finished liquid duty-free. HMRC says the duty covers liquids people make at home from ingredients like these. Its duty briefing also treats mixing non-duty-paid liquids into a vape liquid as manufacturing, even when the result is only for your own use.

Since October 1st, 2026, manufacturing needs HMRC approval, and approved manufacturers pay the duty on what they make. The application asks for a premises plan and a business plan, so it suits businesses rather than home mixers. In short, mixing from non-duty-paid ingredients at home is no longer a practical option for most people.

That sounds like a big shift, and in one sense it is. In practice, though, most vapers already mix the simple way, and that route hasn't changed at all.

Are longfills taxed?

A longfill is a large bottle holding a small amount of strong flavour concentrate. You top it up with your own base and, if you like, nic shots. Shortfills work the other way round. The bottle arrives almost full of ready-to-vape liquid, with just enough room for a nic shot.

Under the duty, longfills sit inside the rules like any other vaping liquid. The concentrate carries duty when you buy it, and so does any base or nic shot sold for vaping. So a longfill's value now comes from its price before duty, the same as every other format.

The key is buying every part duty-paid. HMRC's guidance says mixing duty-paid liquids together doesn't count as manufacturing. So, following that principle, a duty-paid longfill topped up with duty-paid base and shots stays on the right side of the rules.

Shortfills and nic shots: the simple way to mix

Here is the good news for most DIY vapers. HMRC's own example of mixing that isn't manufacturing is a duty-paid shortfill combined with a duty-paid nic shot. So the most popular way to mix at home is the one HMRC has named directly.

It's also the easiest. A shortfill is a larger bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid, part-filled to leave space for a nic shot. A nic shot, meanwhile, is a 10ml bottle of unflavoured nicotine liquid. Mixing them takes a minute:

1. Check your shortfill is 0mg, so you don't end up with a stronger blend than you meant.
2. Remove the shortfill's cap and nozzle, then squeeze in the nic shot.
3. Refit the nozzle and cap firmly, then shake well until it's fully mixed.

As a guide, one 10ml 18mg nic shot in a 50ml shortfill gives you 60ml at around 3mg.

A quick tip from us: match your nic shot to your shortfill's VG/PG ratio. VG gives thicker clouds, while PG carries more flavour and throat hit. So a 70/30 shortfill pairs best with a 70/30 nic shot, and your blend stays consistent in your kit. You'll find the ratio printed on the shortfill's label.

Better still, you keep everything that made DIY appealing in the first place. You choose the flavour, set the strength and step your nicotine down whenever you feel ready. Our shortfill collection has a wide choice of flavours, ready to pair with nic shots in the strength and ratio that suit you.

Weighing up the cost side too? Our look at whether shortfills are still worth it after the duty compares them with pods and nic salts.

How to tell your liquid is duty-paid

A valid duty stamp is the quickest check. These stamps are physical labels on the bottle or box, and the newer digital ones carry a scannable code. A stamp shows the product is duty-paid.

You may still see some unstamped stock for now. That's because shops can sell eligible stock made before the duty until March 31st, 2027. From April 1st, 2027, every vaping product outside duty suspension needs a duty stamp. For more on how stamps work, our vaping products duty explainer covers them in detail.

FAQs

Mix your own with confidence

The vape duty changed the price of liquid. However, it hasn't changed how easy mixing can be. Buy your shortfills and nic shots duty-paid, mix them at home, and you're on firm ground. At My Vapery, everything we sell is genuine, tested and fully compliant, so you never have to second-guess what goes into your blend.

Browse our shortfill collection and nic shots to build your next mix.