Form 2290 HVUT Tax Estimator
Work out your federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax in seconds — using the official IRS Form 2290 tax table, with partial-period proration for vehicles first used after July.
Who must file Form 2290
If you operate a heavy highway vehicle on public roads in the United States, you probably have to file IRS Form 2290 and pay the heavy vehicle use tax, known as HVUT. The rule applies to the owner of a truck, tractor or bus with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. That covers most over-the-road tractors, many straight trucks and heavy buses, whether you run under your own authority or lease the vehicle to a carrier. It does not matter whether the truck is used for long-haul freight, regional work or local hauling: if the vehicle is registered in your name and its taxable gross weight reaches the threshold, the filing duty falls on you.
Taxable gross weight is not simply what the truck weighs empty. It is the unloaded weight of the vehicle, plus the unloaded weight of any trailers or semi-trailers customarily used with it, plus the maximum load the vehicle is designed to carry. In practice, that means the weight shown on the registration and the manufacturer’s rated capacity, together with the trailers you normally pull, decide whether you cross the 55,000-pound line. If you are close to the threshold, check those figures carefully before you decide you are exempt, because a combination that looks borderline empty can easily be taxable once its rated load is added.
How the IRS tax table works
The IRS sets the annual tax by weight category, using categories A through V in the Form 2290 tax table. Category A covers vehicles from 55,000 to 55,999 pounds and carries a tax of $100 per year. From there the tax rises by $22 for each additional 1,000 pounds or part of 1,000 pounds over 55,000 pounds, so a heavier truck always pays more than a lighter one in the next category. The table tops out at $540 for the 74,001 to 75,000-pound range, which is Category U, and then reaches its cap of $550 for any vehicle over 75,000 pounds, which is Category V. That $550 cap is why a fully loaded 80,000-pound tractor-trailer pays the same annual HVUT as a 76,000-pound truck: once you pass 75,000 pounds, the tax stops rising. Logging vehicles are taxed at a reduced rate under the same table, so the estimator asks whether your vehicle is a logging vehicle before it calculates.
- Category A (55,000 to 55,999 lbs): $100 per year
- Each additional 1,000 lbs or part over 55,000 lbs: add $22
- Category U (74,001 to 75,000 lbs): $540 per year
- Category V (over 75,000 lbs): $550 per year, the maximum
Paying only for part of the year
The tax year for Form 2290 runs from July 1 through June 30, and the full annual amount applies when a vehicle is first used on public highways in July. If you put a truck into service later in the tax year, you do not pay for the months before you used it. Instead, the tax is prorated by the month in which the vehicle was first used. A vehicle first used in October, for example, is taxed for nine of the twelve months in the year, so a Category U truck that would owe $540 for a full year owes $405 for that partial period. The estimator above does this proration for you: enter the first-used month and it multiplies the full-year amount by the number of months remaining in the tax year, including the first-used month itself. If you run more than one taxable vehicle, the same calculation applies to each one, and the figures are added together for your total.
Category W: the low-mileage suspension
Not every heavy vehicle that files Form 2290 owes tax. Under Category W, a vehicle that is expected to travel no more than 5,000 miles on public highways during the tax year is suspended from the tax, and the limit is 7,500 miles for agricultural vehicles. The tax due for such a vehicle is $0, but the filing duty does not disappear: you must still file Form 2290 and claim the suspension, so that the IRS has the vehicle on record and can issue the stamped Schedule 1. If the vehicle later exceeds the mileage limit during the year, the suspension ends and the tax becomes due for the remaining months, so keep your odometer records and watch the total as the year goes on.
Filing deadlines and the stamped Schedule 1
For a vehicle first used in July, Form 2290 is due by August 31, which is the deadline for the regular annual filing. For any other first-used month, the return is due by the last day of the month after the month the vehicle was first used, so a truck first used in October must be filed by November 30. Filing late can bring penalties and interest, and it can also delay the document every owner-operator needs most: the stamped Schedule 1. Once the IRS accepts your Form 2290, it returns a stamped Schedule 1 as proof that the heavy vehicle use tax has been paid or suspended, and state registration offices require that stamped Schedule 1 before they will issue or renew your plates and registration. That is the practical reason to file on time even when the tax due is $0 under the Category W suspension.
Use the estimator above to work out your number before you file, then explore the other free tools in the Trucking Tools hub, including the IFTA Estimator for your quarterly fuel tax and the Per-Mile Profit Calculator for checking what a load really earns you after costs.
Frequently asked questions
Who has to file Form 2290?
Anyone who owns a highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more and uses it on public roads must file Form 2290 and pay the heavy vehicle use tax, unless the vehicle qualifies for the Category W low-mileage suspension, in which case you still file but the tax is $0.
When is Form 2290 due?
If the vehicle was first used in July, Form 2290 is due by August 31. For a vehicle first used in any other month, it is due by the last day of the month after the month it was first used — for example, a truck first used in October is due by November 30.
How much is the tax on an 80,000-lb truck?
An 80,000-pound truck falls in Category V, so the tax is $550 per year for a full tax year, which is the maximum under the IRS table. If the truck was first used part-way through the tax year, the amount is prorated by the first-used month.
What is the Category W suspension?
The Category W suspension applies to low-mileage vehicles that are expected to travel 5,000 miles or fewer on public highways during the tax year, or 7,500 miles or fewer for agricultural vehicles. Those vehicles owe $0 in tax, but the owner must still file Form 2290 to claim the suspension and receive a stamped Schedule 1.