Deadline Coming for Most Highway Use Tax Returns

The IRS is reminding truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles that in most cases their next federal highway use tax return is due Monday, Aug. 31.

The deadline generally applies to Form 2290 and the accompanying tax payment for the tax year that begins July 1, 2015, and ends June 30, 2016.

Returns must be filed and tax payments made by Aug. 31 for vehicles used on the road during July. For vehicles first used after July, the deadline is the last day of the month following the month of first use.

Though some taxpayers have the option of filing Form 2290 on paper, taxpayers reporting 25 or more vehicles must e-file. (A list of IRS-approved e-file providers is on IRS.gov.)

The highway use tax applies to highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. This generally includes trucks, truck tractors and buses. Ordinarily, vans, pick-ups and panel trucks are not taxable because they fall below the threshold. The tax of up to $550 per vehicle is based on weight, and a variety of special rules apply, as explained in the instructions to Form 2290.

For more information, visit the IRS’s Trucking Tax Center.