The best UK Plastic Packaging Tax software in 2026

The best UK Plastic Packaging Tax software right now is Ecoveritas, with Valpak for large operations, Ecosurety for the mid-market, and Lorax EPI for producers juggling plastic taxes in several countries.

This guide is for a UK manufacturer or importer over the 10 tonne threshold who wants software to take the pain out of the tax. We ranked five tools on how much of the real work they actually do for you, and we are straight about where each one stops.

What the UK Plastic Packaging Tax asks of you

The Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) is a UK tax on plastic packaging that does not contain enough recycled plastic. Before you shop for software, it helps to know exactly what it asks of you.

• The rate is £228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026, charged on finished plastic packaging components that contain less than 30% recycled plastic.

• You register once you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of finished plastic packaging in a 12 month period.

• You file a return every quarter and keep records that prove your recycled-content figures, because HMRC can ask to see them.

• Low recycled content is not the only trigger. Over the 10 tonne threshold you still register and file even when all your packaging is 30% or more recycled. You just owe nothing.

Here is the part that decides which software you need. The return itself is free to file on HMRC's own portal.

The hard part is the data behind it. You have to know the weight and recycled content of every plastic component, collect supplier declarations to back it up, and keep an audit trail. That data work is what you are really buying.

How we ranked the tools

We judged each tool on how much of that data work it takes off your plate, not just whether it mentions the tax. Five things mattered:

1. Data capture. How easily you get component weights and recycled-content figures into it, supplier declarations included.

2. Recycled-content tracking. Whether it shows your recycled percentage per component and flags what tips over the 30% line.

3. Liability calculation. Whether it works out the bill, not just stores the numbers.

4. Return support. How close it gets you to a filed HMRC return.

5. Scope and price. Whether it is UK-only or global, and whether pricing is public.

All five come down to one choice: how much of the data work you keep, and how much you hand to someone else. The gauge below places each tool on that spectrum, from the fully managed services on the left to the software you run yourself on the right.

One note before the list. Four of these are UK compliance specialists. The fifth, Repax, is not a tax tool at all. It earns a place only because the packaging data it holds is the same data a PPT return is built on, and the entry below is clear about that.

The best UK Plastic Packaging Tax software

Here is the ranking, with what each tool genuinely does for the tax and where it stops.

1. Ecoveritas (best overall for the Plastic Packaging Tax)

Ecoveritas is a packaging-data specialist, and the Plastic Packaging Tax sits squarely in their wheelhouse.

Their Ecoview platform includes a recycled-content module that breaks your recycled percentage down by component and department, plus a built-in UK Plastic Packaging Tax estimator that projects the bill.

A free data-collection tool lets you gather the raw figures across suppliers and products before you commit to anything.

• Best for: producers who want one platform to hold the data, show the recycled percentages, and estimate the tax.

• Strengths for PPT: recycled-content module, PPT estimator, cross-supplier data collection, and consultancy support if you want it.

• How it is delivered: a web platform, Ecoview, backed by managed data and advisory services.

• Pricing: sales-led, no public price. A free data-collection tool is available to start.

• Watch-out: it gets you to a correct figure, but you still file the return yourself, and pricing is quote-based.

2. Valpak (best for large or complex UK operations)

Valpak, now part of Reconomy, is the UK's largest packaging compliance business, and their Plastic Packaging Tax service is built for scale.

Their expert team helps you navigate the rules, applies mass balance accounting (pooling recycled content across a production run), and manages shifting recycled-content requirements.

Their Packaging Analysis work goes further and helps you redesign packaging to cut the bill. They earn their place when the estate is large and the data is messy.

• Best for: large or complex UK operations that want expert hands on the problem.

• Strengths for PPT: mass balance accounting, expert guidance, packaging analysis to reduce liability, and one of the largest packaging datasets in the UK.

• How it is delivered: expert-led managed service.

• Pricing: sales-led, no public price.

• Watch-out: built for scale, so it can be more than a small producer near the 10 tonne threshold needs.

3. Ecosurety (best mid-market all-rounder)

Ecosurety is a UK compliance scheme that turns raw packaging data into submission-ready numbers.

For the Plastic Packaging Tax they process and validate your data, work out your obligation, and hand you a submission-ready figure to file with HMRC. They also cover UK packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and deposit return schemes, so a single relationship can carry more than the tax.

• Best for: mid-market UK producers who want validation and a clean number without a full enterprise engagement.

• Strengths for PPT: data validation, obligation calculation, submission-ready output, and broader UK compliance under one roof.

• How it is delivered: managed service with review tools.

• Pricing: sales-led, no public price.

• Watch-out: they prepare the return for you to file rather than filing it, and they are UK-first, so lighter if you sell widely outside the UK.

4. Lorax EPI (best for multinationals)

Lorax EPI is for producers who owe plastic taxes in more than one country, not just the UK.

Their ENVI platform tracks EPR and plastic taxes across more than 100 jurisdictions, so the UK Plastic Packaging Tax becomes one report among many. If your compliance map spans the UK, the EU and beyond, keeping it all in one system is the draw.

• Best for: multinationals tracking plastic taxes and EPR across many markets.

• Strengths for PPT: global coverage, one platform for packaging, electronics (WEEE), batteries and plastic taxes, backed by consultancy.

• How it is delivered: cloud software plus consulting and subscription.

• Pricing: sales-led, no public price.

• Watch-out: enterprise-grade and priced to match, so more than a UK-only producer needs.

5. Repax (the packaging data underneath the tax)

Repax is our own product, so we will be straight: it is not a Plastic Packaging Tax tool, and it does not belong at the top of this list.

What Repax Core is, is the data layer the tax runs on. It holds every product as components and materials with their weights, freezes each spec at the time of sale, and keeps an audit trail.

That audit trail is the kind of record HMRC expects behind a recycled-content claim. If you already use it for UK and EU packaging EPR, you are not rebuilding that data for the tax.

What it does not do is calculate your PPT bill or file the quarterly return, so pair it with one of the specialists above for the tax itself.

• Best for: producers who already run EU EPR in Repax and want one clean source for their packaging data.

• Strengths for PPT: structured component and material weights, each spec frozen at the time of sale, an audit trail, and reporting across EU schemes from the same data.

• How it is delivered: self-serve software you run yourself.

• Pricing: public. Repax Core has a free tier at €0 a month, paid plans from €29 a month, and a custom enterprise tier (as of July 2026).

• Watch-out: it is not built for the UK tax. It does not track recycled content as a tax feature, calculate your liability, or file the HMRC return.

Which one is right for you

The right tool depends less on your size than on how much you want to hand over and where you sell.

• Just over the 10 tonne threshold, doing it for the first time: start with Ecoveritas. Their free data-collection tool and estimator get you to a number without a big commitment.

• A large or complex UK packaging estate: Valpak. Mass balance accounting and expert help earn their keep when the data is messy.

• Mid-market, want a clean validated number: Ecosurety. They check your data and hand you something ready to file.

• Plastic taxes in several countries: Lorax EPI, so the UK sits inside one global system.

• Already running EU EPR and want to own your data: keep it in Repax Core and add a PPT specialist on top, rather than building the same packaging data twice.

Full comparison

Here is the same picture side by side.

Frequently asked questions about Plastic Packaging Tax software

A few questions come up again and again when producers start looking.

What is the best Plastic Packaging Tax software?

For most UK producers, Ecoveritas is the most complete option. Their Ecoview platform captures the data, shows recycled content per component, and estimates the tax with a built-in calculator.

Valpak suits large or complex operations, Ecosurety fits the mid-market, and Lorax EPI is for companies with plastic taxes in several countries.

Is there free Plastic Packaging Tax software?

Not a full free tool, but there are free starting points. Ecoveritas offers a free data-collection tool to gather your figures, and HMRC's own online service to file the return costs nothing.

What you pay for is the data work in between: capturing recycled content, backing it with supplier evidence, and calculating the bill.

Do I need software to file the Plastic Packaging Tax?

No. You can register and file directly on HMRC's portal for free. Software earns its place on the data behind the return: knowing the weight and recycled content of every component, collecting supplier declarations, and keeping an audit trail HMRC can check.

How is the Plastic Packaging Tax calculated?

You pay £228.82 per tonne, from 1 April 2026, on finished plastic packaging components that contain less than 30% recycled plastic.

So the calculation needs two numbers for every component: its weight, and its recycled-content percentage. That is why capturing accurate data matters more than the filing itself.

Do I still need to report if all my packaging is 30% or more recycled?

Yes. If you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of finished plastic packaging in a 12 month period, you must register and file quarterly returns even when you owe nothing because everything is 30% or more recycled. The reporting duty comes with the threshold, not with the tax bill.

Can Repax file my Plastic Packaging Tax return?

No. Repax Core is a product-data platform, not a tax tool. It holds the component and material data a PPT return is built on and keeps an audit trail, but it does not calculate your liability or submit the return. Pair it with a PPT specialist such as Ecoveritas or Ecosurety for the tax itself.