The federal excise tax on trucks actually refers to two separate taxes that apply to heavy vehicles. The first is a one-time 12% retail tax charged on the first sale of a new heavy truck, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer. The second is the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT), an annual tax owed by the owner of any vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more that uses public highways. They have different triggers, different forms, and different deadlines, and both can apply to the same truck in the same year.
The 12% Retail Tax on New Heavy Trucks
The retail Federal Excise Tax (FET) applies to the first retail sale of heavy truck chassis and bodies, trailer and semitrailer chassis and bodies, and highway tractors. The rate is 12% of the retail sale price, including parts and accessories sold with the vehicle.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4051 – Imposition of Tax on Heavy Trucks and Trailers Sold at Retail
Not every truck sale is covered. The weight thresholds are:
- Trucks with a gross vehicle weight over 33,000 pounds.
- Trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds.
- Tractors with a gross vehicle weight over 19,500 pounds, provided the tractor combined with its trailer also exceeds 33,000 pounds in gross combined weight. A tractor under 19,500 pounds that stays under 33,000 combined is exempt.
The seller collects the FET and sends it to the IRS, but the buyer bears the cost. In a lease, the lessor is treated as the seller and owes the full tax at the start of the lease rather than spreading it across payments. Installment sales work the same way: the full tax is due when the sale occurs, not as the buyer pays.2eCFR. 26 CFR Part 145 – Temporary Excise Tax Regulations Under the Highway Revenue Act of 1982
What Goes Into the Taxable Price
The 12% is computed on the price the buyer pays to get the vehicle ready to use, with a few items carved out first:
- Transportation, delivery, insurance, and installation charges tied to getting the vehicle to the buyer.
- The fair market value of tires (excluding metal rims), which carry their own separate federal tax.
- State and local sales tax stated as a separate charge on the invoice.
- The FET itself. The tax is calculated on the pre-tax price, not on itself.
Trade-ins are the item that surprises buyers most often. They do not reduce the taxable price. Trading a $30,000 truck against a $180,000 purchase still leaves the FET calculated on the full $180,000.3eCFR. 26 CFR 145.4052-1 – Special Rules and Definitions
Aftermarket Parts and Accessories
The FET follows the vehicle past the initial sale. Parts or accessories installed on a taxable vehicle within six months of putting it into service are also taxed at 12%. Two carve-outs apply: replacement parts (swapping something already on the truck) and additions totaling $200 or less in aggregate. Timing matters. Adding equipment such as a refrigeration unit before the sale rolls the cost into the vehicle’s sale price for FET purposes; adding it later triggers the separate parts-and-accessories tax.4eCFR. 26 CFR 145.4051-1 – Imposition of Tax on Heavy Trucks and Trailers Sold at Retail
Exemptions From the Retail Tax
Sales to state or local governments for their exclusive use and sales for export are exempt from the 12% FET, provided the exemption conditions are met within six months of the sale.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4221 – Certain Tax-Free Sales
Several vehicle types are also excluded regardless of weight:
- Camper coaches and self-propelled mobile homes.
- Farm equipment bodies designed for processing, hauling, or spreading feed, seed, or fertilizer.
- House trailers.
- Ambulances and hearses.
- Concrete mixers designed to be mounted on a truck or trailer chassis.
- Trash containers not permanently mounted on a truck chassis.
- Rail trailers designed for dual highway and rail use.
- Mobile machinery with permanently mounted construction, mining, farming, or similar equipment, where the chassis serves only as a carriage for that equipment.
- Idling reduction devices that provide heat, air conditioning, or electricity without running the main engine.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4053 – Exemptions
The Annual Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax
The HVUT is the second federal tax on heavy trucks. It’s paid every year by the vehicle’s owner or operator on any vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more that uses public highways. The tax year runs from July 1 through June 30.
Rates start at $100 for a vehicle at exactly 55,000 pounds and climb by $22 for each additional 1,000 pounds (or fraction of 1,000 pounds), capping at $550 for vehicles over 75,000 pounds.7eCFR. 26 CFR Part 41 – Excise Tax on Use of Certain Highway Motor Vehicles A vehicle placed into service after July is prorated: the annual amount is multiplied by the number of months left in the tax period divided by twelve, with any partial month counted as a full month.8eCFR. 26 CFR 41.4481-1 – Imposition and Computation of Tax
Vehicles used exclusively to transport harvested forest products from the forest to a mill get a 25% reduction, but only if they’re also registered under state law as logging vehicles. Both conditions must be met.9eCFR. 26 CFR 41.4483-6 – Reduction in Tax for Trucks Used in Logging At the top of the rate schedule, the reduction takes the tax from $550 to $412.50.10Internal Revenue Service. Form 2290 (Rev. July 2025)
How Taxable Gross Weight Works
The HVUT is not based on the weight printed on the registration or the empty curb weight. Taxable gross weight combines three things: the unloaded weight of the truck fully equipped for service, the unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers typically used with that type of vehicle, and the heaviest load actually carried during the tax period. A truck that weighs 45,000 pounds empty but regularly hauls loads that push the total past 55,000 pounds owes HVUT. If your loaded weight never reaches 55,000 pounds during the tax period, you owe nothing.
HVUT Exemptions and Mileage Suspensions
Several categories of vehicles are exempt from the annual tax:
- Vehicles used by a state, political subdivision, or the District of Columbia.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4483 – Exemptions
- Commercial vehicles driven fewer than 5,000 miles on public highways during the tax period.
- Vehicles used primarily for farming and registered under state law as farm vehicles, driven fewer than 7,500 miles during the tax period.
The mileage thresholds work as a suspension rather than a waiver. You still file Form 2290 and report the vehicle as suspended. If mileage later crosses the limit, the full tax becomes due for the entire period and requires an amended return.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4483 – Exemptions
Credits and Refunds
If HVUT was paid for the year and the vehicle is later sold, destroyed, or stolen, you can recover the tax attributable to the months after the vehicle left service. The claim can be taken as a credit on a future Form 2290 or as a cash refund on Form 8849, Schedule 6.12Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return The IRS expects supporting documentation: a bill of sale for a transfer, an insurance statement for a destroyed vehicle, or a police report for theft. A vehicle that paid the tax but stayed under the mileage threshold can also claim a credit on the following year’s Form 2290.
Filing and Deadlines
The two taxes use different forms.
Form 720 for the Retail Tax
The seller reports and pays the 12% FET on Form 720, filed quarterly:
- January through March: due April 30.
- April through June: due July 31.
- July through September: due October 31.
- October through December: due January 31.
A due date falling on a weekend or federal holiday shifts to the next business day.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 720
Form 2290 for the Highway Use Tax
Owners file Form 2290 annually. For vehicles in use during July (the first month of the tax year), the return and payment are due by August 31. For vehicles first driven later in the year, the return is due by the last day of the month following the month of first use. A truck first driven on public roads in October, for example, requires Form 2290 by November 30.14Internal Revenue Service. When Form 2290 Taxes Are Due Filers with 25 or more taxed vehicles must file electronically.15Internal Revenue Service. E-file Form 2290
After processing, the IRS returns a stamped Schedule 1. Most states require it before they’ll register or renew registration on a heavy vehicle. Without the stamped copy, a photocopy of the filed Form 2290 with both sides of the canceled check can serve as temporary proof. Newly purchased vehicles get a 60-day grace period, and a bill of sale showing a recent purchase can substitute for proof of HVUT payment at the state registration counter.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025)
Penalties for Missing a Deadline
Excise taxes follow the same general penalty structure as income taxes. Failure-to-file runs 5% of the unpaid tax per month (or partial month) the return is late, capped at 25%. Failure-to-pay runs 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%. When both apply in the same month, the failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay amount so you’re not charged twice for the same month.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax Interest accrues on unpaid balances from the original due date.
There’s a practical consequence beyond the money. Without a stamped Schedule 1, you can’t register or renew registration in most states, which sidelines the truck until the tax is paid and the IRS returns proof.
A Note on the Heavy Truck Tire Tax
A third federal excise tax touches heavy trucks indirectly. Tires of the type used on highway vehicles are taxed by weight, with tires of 40 pounds or less exempt. Above 40 pounds the tax is 15 cents per pound over 40; between 70 and 90 pounds it is $4.50 plus 30 cents per pound over 70; over 90 pounds it is $10.50 plus 50 cents per pound over 90.18eCFR. 26 CFR 48.4071-1 – Imposition and Rates of Tax The tire tax is paid by the manufacturer or importer, not at the point of vehicle sale, which is why tires are pulled out of the retail FET calculation. It’s not something the buyer files, but it’s built into what tires cost.