How to Pay Form 2290: Methods, Due Dates, and Late Penalties

To pay Form 2290, the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax, you have four options: authorize an electronic funds withdrawal (direct debit) at the time you e-file, pay through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), pay by credit or debit card through an IRS-authorized processor, or mail a check or money order with Form 2290-V, the payment voucher. The tax runs from $100 to $550 per vehicle per year depending on taxable gross weight, and for vehicles already in service on July 1, both the return and the payment are due by August 31.¹

The Four Ways to Pay

Electronic Funds Withdrawal (Direct Debit)

When you e-file Form 2290, you can authorize the IRS to pull the payment straight from a checking or savings account. You enter the routing and account numbers during submission, and the filing and payment go through together in a single step. Check those numbers carefully before you submit. A rejected debit because of a wrong digit can put you into late-payment territory even though you thought you had paid on time.

EFTPS

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System lets you schedule the 2290 payment in advance and keeps a record of all your federal tax payments in one place. Enrollment is required first, and it takes up to five business days because the system has to link and verify your business bank account. Sign up at EFTPS.gov or by calling 800-555-4477.² If the deadline is a few days away and you aren’t already enrolled, this method won’t be ready in time.

Credit or Debit Card

The IRS accepts card payments through authorized third-party processors listed on IRS.gov. The processors charge a convenience fee that runs roughly 1.75% to 2.95% of the payment, depending on the processor and whether the card is personal or commercial.³ The IRS itself doesn’t collect that fee. On a $550 tax bill, expect roughly $10 to $16 in processor charges on top of the tax.

Check or Money Order

If you pay by check or money order, include Form 2290-V, the payment voucher, in the same envelope as your return. Make the payment out to “United States Treasury” and write your Employer Identification Number and the tax period on the memo line.⁴ The voucher is what lets the IRS apply the money to the right account. If you already paid electronically, skip the voucher entirely.

Paper returns with a payment go to Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 932500, Louisville, KY 40293-2500. Returns without a payment, including those where you paid electronically, go to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0031.⁵

What You Need Before You Pay

Every 2290 filer needs an Employer Identification Number. The IRS will not accept a Social Security Number on this return.⁵ If your business doesn’t have one, apply online at IRS.gov/EIN and you’ll receive it immediately. Applying by mail on Form SS-4 takes four to five weeks.⁶

You also need the Vehicle Identification Number and taxable gross weight category for every vehicle you’re reporting. Taxable gross weight includes the tractor, any trailer regularly used with it, and the maximum load it typically carries. The tax by category works out this way:

At 55,000 pounds, the tax is $100.
From 55,001 to 75,000 pounds, it’s $100 plus $22 for each 1,000 pounds over 55,000.
Over 75,000 pounds, it caps at $550.⁷

Logging vehicles used exclusively to haul products from a forested site get a 25% reduction: $75 at 55,000 pounds and $412.50 at the top of the range.⁸ Vehicles you expect to drive 5,000 miles or fewer on public highways during the tax period (7,500 for agricultural vehicles) can be reported under category W and owe no tax unless the vehicle later exceeds the limit.⁵ Get the weight category wrong and you’ll trigger an adjustment or penalty later on, so match every VIN to its correct category before you submit.

When the Payment Is Due

The 2290 tax period runs from July 1 through June 30. For vehicles already in service on July 1, the return and the tax are due by August 31.¹ When August 31 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

For a vehicle first put on the road after July, the deadline is the last day of the month following the month of first use. A truck that starts running in October has a November 30 deadline, and the tax is prorated. A vehicle over 75,000 pounds first used in October owes $412.50 rather than the full $550, because only nine months remain in the tax period.⁹ The Form 2290 instructions include partial-period tables giving the exact amount for every weight category and month of first use.

An extension to file, requested by letter before the due date, does not extend the time to pay. The tax is still owed on the original deadline even if the IRS grants more time for the paperwork.⁵

What Late Payment Costs

Two penalties apply when you miss the deadline, and they stack. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax per month, capped at 25%. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% per month, also capped at 25%. In any month both apply, the failure-to-file portion is reduced by the failure-to-pay portion, so the combined monthly hit is effectively 5% (4.5% plus 0.5%).¹⁰

Interest also runs daily on any unpaid balance from the original due date. The rate is the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points, compounded.¹¹ On a $550 tax, five months of stacked penalties alone add roughly $137 before interest. The IRS can waive penalties for reasonable cause, but “I forgot” isn’t typically enough.

Proof of Payment

Whichever payment method you use, keep the stamped Schedule 1 the IRS returns after processing. Most states require it before they will register or renew the vehicle.⁵ E-filers usually receive a watermarked Schedule 1 within minutes of IRS acceptance. Paper filers should include both copies of Schedule 1 with the return; the IRS stamps one and mails it back. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a paper trail if the IRS later questions whether the return went out on time.

Getting Money Back After Payment

If you paid the tax and the vehicle is later sold, destroyed, or stolen before June 1 of the tax period, a prorated portion of the payment is recoverable. You have two routes. Claim a credit on Line 5 of your next Form 2290, which offsets the new tax owed, or request a cash refund using Form 8849 with Schedule 6.¹²

The credit route is simpler if you’re filing another 2290 anyway, but the Line 5 credit can’t exceed the tax shown on Line 4 of the current return. If the credit is bigger than what you owe, use Form 8849 for the excess.⁹ Either route requires the VIN, weight category, the date of the sale, destruction, or theft, and (for vehicles sold on or after July 1, 2015) the buyer’s name and address.

The same credit or refund is available for a vehicle you paid tax on that ended up driven 5,000 miles or fewer during the period (7,500 for agricultural vehicles), but the claim can’t be made until after the tax period ends on June 30.⁹ Refund claims generally have to be filed within three years of the original return or two years from when the tax was paid, whichever is later.¹²

1
Internal Revenue Service. Key Filing Deadlines for the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax
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Internal Revenue Service. EFTPS – The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
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Internal Revenue Service. Pay Your Taxes by Debit or Credit Card or Digital Wallet
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 2290 Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return (Rev. July 2025) – Section: Form 2290-V, Payment Voucher
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4481 – Imposition of Tax
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 2290 Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return (Rev. July 2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2025)
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6621 – Determination of Rate of Interest
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule 6 (Form 8849)