IRS Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) also known as 2290 tax is required if you operate a vehicle in the United States with a gross weight over 55,000 lbs. All such vehicles in your fleet that travel into the U.S. are required to be listed on your HVUT return, however payment is only required for those vehicles expected to travel 5000 miles or more. The filing year for Form 2290 runs from July 1st to June 30th of the following year. Returns must be filed by the end of the month following the month of the vehicles first use on public highways.
If you add a taxable vehicle to your fleet and expect it will travel 5000 miles or more in the U.S. during the tax year you are required to submit a form 2290 and pay the tax. Partial-period tax applies in scenarios where vehicles are added through the tax year. For example, if you add a vehicle with a registered gross vehicle weight of 80,000 lbs to your fleet in January, you will pay $275.00 USF rather than the full year amount of $550.00 USF.
Credits and EIN’s
Did you know you can claim credits? Often carriers are eligible to receive a credit on vehicles they included on their yearly form 2290 HVUT return that did not travel 5000 miles or more during the tax year. In such cases, carriers can claim credit for those units and then utilize that credit on future returns. Credits for the remaining months in the tax year can also be utilized for trucks that are sold or wrecked.
If you are an Owner Operator (incorporated or not), or are starting a new trucking business and are filing HVUT for the first time, you need to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. A common error we see involves carriers filing and paying 2290 tax on behalf of their O/O’s on their company return. HVUT must be filed by the registered vehicle owner (or long term lessee) and not by the carrier that employs the O/O.
For over 25 years TransReport Services has assisted carriers with HVUT filings and credit management.
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