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Form 2290/HVUT tax due by end of August

If you operate a truck, you are all too familiar with the federal highway use tax for heavy vehicles, also known as the HUT or HVUT tax. It’s that $550 fee you pay each year when you file an IRS Form 2290 on each truck or taxable vehicles you own.

In general, the federal heavy vehicle use tax applies to trucks, truck tractors and buses with a gross taxable weight of 55,000 pounds or more.  

For the tax period beginning on July 1 every year and ending by June 30 the next year, if a taxable highway motor vehicle is registered, or required to be registered in your name under state, District of Columbia, Canadian, or Mexican law at the time of its first use during the period and the vehicle has a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more, you are required to figure and pay the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax to the IRS. By “you” the IRS means an individual, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or any other type of organization.

The balance due shown on the Form 2290 must be paid in full by Aug. 31. Payment can be made by check or money order, either mailed or walked into an IRS office. Fleets with 25 or more vehicles must pay online with the IRS.

Although you can make this payment yourself, the Business Services staff at the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association provides a special service for OOIDA members to help them get the tax paid.

OOIDA Permits & Licensing Department can now offer the Association’s members the convenience and speed of filing their 2290s online. Call 800-444-5791 for additional information.

The tax is based on weight and normally ranges from $100 to $550 per vehicle. A variety of special rules, discussed in the instructions for Form 2290, apply to vehicles with minimal road use; logging or agricultural vehicles; vehicles transferred during the year; and those first used on the road after July.

State governments are required to receive proof of payment of the federal heavy vehicle use tax as a condition of vehicle registration.

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