Components · recycled content · returns
Plastic Packaging Tax software: component by component
Plastic Packaging Tax software records each plastic packaging component a business makes or imports, with its weight and recycled content.
The same data often feeds packaging EPR, so many businesses run both from one packaging dataset.
The tax is explained on the Plastic Packaging Tax guide.
The tax
What does Plastic Packaging Tax software need to calculate?
The tax is charged at £228.82 per metric tonne of chargeable plastic packaging components of a single specification (Finance Act 2021 s.45).
That rate applies from 1 April 2026, and older rates still quoted in the market are wrong.
The software therefore needs weight and recycled content per component specification, not per product.
Changes
What changes in April 2027?
A mass-balance amendment has been enacted but is not in force until 1 April 2027 (Finance Act 2026 s.106).
Software should be able to hold chemically recycled content on a mass-balance basis from that date, without changing earlier periods.
Packaging EPR
Can the same software handle packaging EPR?
Often, yes: packaging EPR runs under separate regulations with its own producer tiers, fees and recycling obligations (SI 2024/1332).
The two regimes count different things, so the software must keep them as separate outputs from shared data.
The demonstration
What should you test before buying?
Load five of your packaging component specifications.
Software demo · evidence check
Plastic Packaging Tax demo coverage
Tick a test only when the vendor has demonstrated it with a representative record and shown the evidence or export.
0 of 5 tests demonstrated (0%). This is a checklist result, not a score for the vendor.
Still to test: Record weight and recycled content per component specification; Calculate the liability at £228.82 per tonne; Hold recycled content evidence for each specification; Keep PPT and packaging EPR as separate outputs; Export the records HMRC can ask to see.
Frequently asked
Plastic Packaging Tax software, answered
What is Plastic Packaging Tax software?
Software that records the plastic packaging components a business manufactures or imports, their weight and recycled content, and produces the figures for the quarterly return.
What is the Plastic Packaging Tax rate?
£228.82 per metric tonne of chargeable plastic packaging components, from 1 April 2026.
When does the mass-balance rule change?
The mass-balance amendment has been enacted but is not in force until 1 April 2027.
Is Plastic Packaging Tax the same as packaging EPR?
No. They are separate regimes with separate data and returns, though much of the underlying packaging data overlaps.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- LegislationFinance Act 2021, section 45
- LegislationFinance Act 2021, Part 2 (Plastic Packaging Tax)
- LegislationFinance Act 2026, section 106 (mass balance)
- HMRCCheck if you need to register for Plastic Packaging Tax
- HMRCPlastic Packaging Tax: records and accounts
- LegislationSI 2024/1332, packaging EPR regulations
- LegislationSI 2024/1332 Schedule 5
- PackUKOperational plan 2026 to 2027