IRS Form 2290: Heavy Vehicle Use Tax, Schedule 1, and Credits

IRS Form 2290 is the federal return that reports and pays the heavy vehicle use tax, an annual excise tax on trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more that operate on public highways.¹ Once the IRS accepts the return, it issues a stamped Schedule 1, and most states require that Schedule 1 before they will register or renew plates on a heavy vehicle.²

Who Owes the Tax

You must file Form 2290 if a highway motor vehicle registered (or required to be registered) in your name has a taxable gross weight of at least 55,000 pounds.³ That covers owner-operators, corporations, partnerships, and any other entity holding the title, and it covers every qualifying vehicle in the fleet, not just the ones running loads on a given day.

The tax applies to use on any public road in the United States. Vehicles that stay entirely on private property, certain specialized mobile machinery, and vehicles built for off-highway hauling that cannot maintain 25 mph on public roads are not taxable.⁴

When Form 2290 Is Due

The tax period runs July 1 through June 30. For a vehicle already in service at the start of that period, the return and payment are due by August 31.⁵ If August 31 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

For a truck first driven on public highways after July, the deadline is the last day of the month following the month of first use. A truck first used in October, for example, must be reported by November 30.⁵ This deadline is independent of your state registration date.

How Much You Owe

The tax is based on taxable gross weight, not the vehicle’s weight on any given day. Taxable gross weight combines the vehicle’s unloaded weight fully equipped for service, the unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers customarily used with it, and the maximum load typically carried on the full combination.⁶ “Fully equipped for service” includes the body, attached equipment, and full fuel, oil, and water, but not the driver or cargo-handling gear like tarps and load binders. Buses use unloaded weight plus 150 pounds per seat.

Weights fall into lettered categories A through V in 1,000-pound brackets from 55,000 to 75,000 pounds. Category A (55,000 pounds) pays $100 for the year, and the tax increases by $22 for each additional 1,000 pounds.¹ Anything over 75,000 pounds (Category V) pays the maximum annual tax of $550. A 65,000-pound truck is $10,000 above the base, adding $220 to the $100 base for $320.

Logging vehicles get a 25% reduction and are reported under Category W, with their own partial-period table (Table II) in the instructions.⁷

Prorated Tax for a Mid-Year Vehicle

A vehicle first used after July does not owe the full year. The tax is prorated by the months remaining in the period, and the IRS instructions include partial-period tables that give the exact amount by weight category and month of first use.⁸ For a privately purchased used truck, multiply the full-year tax by the number of months from the first day of the month after purchase through June 30, divided by twelve.

Suspension for Low-Mileage Vehicles

A vehicle expected to travel fewer than 5,000 miles during the tax period, or fewer than 7,500 miles if used exclusively in agriculture, can be reported as suspended.⁹ You still file Form 2290 and list each suspended vehicle’s VIN, but no tax is due. If the vehicle later crosses the mileage limit, file an amended return and pay the tax based on the month of first use.

What You Need Before You File

Every filer needs an Employer Identification Number. A Social Security Number will not work, even for a sole proprietor running a single truck.¹⁰ The fastest way to get one is the online application at IRS.gov/EIN, which issues the number immediately at no cost.¹¹ Applying by fax or mail on Form SS-4 takes longer.

You also need the 17-character VIN for every vehicle. One wrong digit produces a Schedule 1 that will not match state registration records, and the state will reject it. Check each VIN against the title.

When e-filing, the IRS matches your business name to your EIN using a four-character name control derived from the legal name on your original EIN application.¹² If the business name has changed or your software builds the name control differently than the IRS expects, the return rejects. Verify by calling the IRS Business and Specialty Help Line at 800-829-4933 before you file.

How to File and Pay

Electronic filing is required if your return covers 25 or more vehicles.¹³ Smaller fleets usually e-file anyway because the stamped Schedule 1 comes back almost immediately after acceptance. Returns go through IRS-authorized third-party providers, which charge their own service fees on top of the tax.

Paper filers send Form 2290 to different IRS addresses depending on whether payment is enclosed and how it’s made; a return paid with a domestic check goes to a Louisville, Kentucky, P.O. box, while returns without payment or paid by EFTPS or card go to Ogden, Utah.¹⁴

You can pay through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, which pulls from a bank account on a date you choose.¹⁵ Credit and debit cards are accepted through approved processors, with convenience fees. If you mail a check or money order, include Form 2290-V, the payment voucher.

Getting and Using Your Stamped Schedule 1

After the IRS accepts your return it issues a watermarked, stamped Schedule 1 as proof of payment. E-filers get it digitally within minutes; paper filers can wait weeks for a stamped copy in the mail, and that lag can hold up state registration.¹³

Most states will not register or renew plates on a taxable vehicle without seeing the stamped Schedule 1.² Keep a copy in the cab for roadside inspections.

Fixing a VIN Error

If a VIN on a filed Schedule 1 is wrong, submit a new Form 2290 with the VIN Correction box checked and the corrected VIN on Schedule 1.¹⁶ Attach a short statement explaining the change, and use the Form 2290 version for the tax period you’re correcting, not the current one. No additional tax is due for a VIN correction on its own.

Replacing a Lost Schedule 1

To replace a lost stamped Schedule 1, send a written request to the IRS at 7940 Kentucky Drive, Florence, KY 41042-2915.² While you wait, a photocopy of the filed Form 2290 with Schedule 1 attached, plus copies of both sides of the canceled check, can serve as proof of payment for state registration.

Credits and Refunds When a Vehicle Leaves Service

If you paid the full-year tax on a vehicle that was sold, destroyed, or stolen before June 1 and not used the rest of the period, you can recover part of the tax.¹⁷ There are two options: take a credit on your next Form 2290, or file Form 8849 with Schedule 6 for a direct refund.¹⁸

The recoverable amount is the difference between the tax originally paid and the partial-period tax for the months the vehicle was actually in service. Count months from the first day of the month the vehicle went into service through the last day of the month it was sold, destroyed, or stolen, then look up the partial-period figure in the IRS tables. Each vehicle is calculated separately, and you attach a worksheet with the math, the VIN, weight category, and date of the event. For sold vehicles, include the buyer’s name and address.

Form 8849 refund claims generally must be filed within three years of the original return or two years from when the tax was paid, whichever is later.¹⁸ A lighter load or lower use than expected does not qualify. Credits apply only to vehicles that left your possession entirely or were destroyed beyond repair.

Penalties for Late Filing or Payment

The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25%.¹⁹ A separate failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month accrues on any unpaid balance, also capped at 25%, and interest compounds on the outstanding amount.

On a truck at the $550 maximum, filing three months late can add roughly $90 in penalties before interest. If you had reasonable cause for the delay, you can request penalty relief by writing to the IRS address on your notice or by going to IRS.gov/PenaltyRelief.²⁰ One trap to know about: if you hand your Form 2290 to a state DMV office to forward to the IRS and it arrives late or gets lost, the penalties are still yours.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4481 – Imposition of Tax
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: Schedule 1 (Form 2290)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2025) – Section: Who Must File
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: Definitions
5
Internal Revenue Service. When Form 2290 Taxes Are Due
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: Taxable Gross Weight
7
eCFR. 26 CFR 41.4483-6 – Reduction in Tax for Trucks Used in Logging
8
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2025) – Section: Partial-Period Tax Tables
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2025) – Section: Mileage Use Limit
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: Getting Started
11
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
12
Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
13
Internal Revenue Service. E-File Form 2290
14
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 2290
15
Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. About the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System
16
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: VIN Correction
17
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2025) – Section: Credits
18
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule 6 (Form 8849), Other Claims
19
Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
20
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026)