Families face a £1.36billion annual coronavirus testing bill once free kits are scrapped next month, the Lib Dems warned tonight.
Ministers are axing taxpayer-funded devices from April 1 as part of the Government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan.
High street shops are expected to offer a range of kits for people to test themselves.
Boots plans to charge £5.99 for a single lateral flow set.
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But official NHS documents reveal the Government typically pays pharmacies £2.04 for each box of seven tests they hand to the public for free - suggesting, according to the Lib Dems, the cost of a single test to the Government could be as low as 29p.
Latest NHS figures show nearly 4.6 million lateral flow and “gold standard” PCR tests were taken in the week starting February 17.
The Lib Dems said that if that rate of testing continued, the public would face costs of up to £1.36bn over a year - assuming each test costs £5.99.
But the Department of Health stressed packs of tests on high streets would be cheaper than just buying one at a time - and people were likely to test less often anyway as the virus ebbed and they returned to normal.
Party leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Scrapping free Covid tests will hit families in the pocket just as taxes are being hiked and energy bills are going through the roof.
“This is the wrong move at the wrong time.
“It is a tax on caring for those doing the right thing, whether that’s taking a test before visiting a vulnerable family member or getting your child tested before school.
“Buying tests in bulk has allowed the country as a whole to benefit from cheaper prices.”
He added: “ Boris Johnson must scrap the short-sighted decision to scrap free Covid tests for the public, and confirm whether the government plans to continue buying tests in bulk at lower prices.”
Critics have warned that people will be far less likely to take tests once free kits are axed.
They fear this could lead to people going to work or school or socialising while sick - fuelling a fresh surge in cases.
A Government spokesman attacked the Lib Dem research, saying: “These claims misunderstand the figures quoted and do not give a true account of the cost of providing free tests to the public.
"The £2.04 figure refers to the money we pay pharmacies to distribute tests to the public - it is not the price of the tests.
“Therefore it does not reflect the total costs of testing as part of the wider Test and Trace programme - which includes procurement, distribution and infrastructure costs.
“The risks of Covid-19 have been reduced due to the fantastic uptake of the vaccination programme – and therefore for most people it is no longer necessary to test routinely. As we learn to live with Covid-19, free testing should rightly be focused on at-risk groups.”
Announcing the end of free tests last month, the Prime Minister claimed it was time for people to “get our confidence back”.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid previously defended the axing of free tests from April, saying it did not make sense to continue them indefinitely.
Tests would be targeted at vulnerable people and settings, he insisted.
Figures tonight showed 300,017 people tested positive for coronavirus over the past seven days.
A total of 4,375,155 tests were carried out.
Another 711 deaths were recorded during the week.
Some 91.6% of over-12s have had a first vaccine dose, 85.4% a second and 66.7% a third or booster jab.
