Form 2290 tax by weight and first-use month

The Heavy Vehicle Use Tax applies to highway vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lb or more. The IRS table starts at $100 and rises $22 for each 1,000 lb, capping at $550 above 75,000 lb; logging vehicles pay 75 percent of that, and a vehicle first used after July pays only for the months left in the period.

Calculate

Aerial view of an interstate weigh station with its ramp and scale house — Taxable gross weight is what the scale house reads: tractor, trailer and maximum load. Photo: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1At 55,000 lb $100
2Over 75,000 lb $550
3Logging, over 75,000 $412.50
4Suspended under 5,000 mi

Drawing with the page's key figures; the numbered callouts link to the calculators.

HVUT calculator

The full Form 2290 table

Category	Taxable gross weight	Annual tax	Logging vehicles
A	55,000–55,000 lb	$100	$75
B	55,001–56,000 lb	$122	$91.50
C	56,001–57,000 lb	$144	$108
D	57,001–58,000 lb	$166	$124.50
E	58,001–59,000 lb	$188	$141
F	59,001–60,000 lb	$210	$157.50
G	60,001–61,000 lb	$232	$174
H	61,001–62,000 lb	$254	$190.50
I	62,001–63,000 lb	$276	$207
J	63,001–64,000 lb	$298	$223.50
K	64,001–65,000 lb	$320	$240
L	65,001–66,000 lb	$342	$256.50
M	66,001–67,000 lb	$364	$273
N	67,001–68,000 lb	$386	$289.50
O	68,001–69,000 lb	$408	$306
P	69,001–70,000 lb	$430	$322.50
Q	70,001–71,000 lb	$452	$339
R	71,001–72,000 lb	$474	$355.50
S	72,001–73,000 lb	$496	$372
T	73,001–74,000 lb	$518	$388.50
U	74,001–75,000 lb	$540	$405
V	over 75,000 lb	$550	$412.50
W	any weight, 5,000 miles or less (7,500 agricultural)	$0	$0

How the tax is computed

Taxable gross weight is the unloaded weight of the vehicle, plus any trailers customarily used with it, plus the maximum load customarily carried. Category A is exactly 55,000 lb at $100; each category above it adds 1,000 lb (or part) and $22, so a 60,000 lb vehicle is category F at $210 and a 70,000 lb vehicle is category P at $430. The schedule stops rising at 75,000 lb: category V, over 75,000 lb, is $550 whatever the weight.

Logging vehicles — those used exclusively to carry products harvested from a forest and registered as such — pay 75 percent of the standard rate, so $412.50 at the cap.

Proration for vehicles first used after July

The tax period runs 2026-07-01 to 2027-06-30. A vehicle on the road in July owes the full year. One first used later owes the annual figure times the months remaining over 12: first use in October is 9 months, so a category V vehicle owes $412.50; first use in April is 3 months, $137.50. The IRS instructions give the same arithmetic for a privately purchased used vehicle: Buyer of a privately purchased used vehicle prorates: months from the month after the sale through June 30, over 12. Their example is a $550 vehicle bought with 9 months left, taxed at $412.50.

When to file

Last day of the month following the month of first use; next business day if that falls on a weekend or legal holiday. First use in 2026-07 is due 2026-08-31; First use in 2027-06 is due 2027-08-02. Electronic filing is required for any return reporting tax on 25 or more vehicles (suspended category W vehicles do not count toward that), and the IRS encourages it for everyone because the stamped Schedule 1 — the proof of payment state DMVs want before registering a heavy vehicle — comes back in minutes.

Registering in a new state? Form 2290 is federal; the same figures apply in every state. The state pages cover what does change — UCR participation and the IFTA diesel rate.

Sources: IRS Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026), Tax Computation; IRS Instructions for Form 2290. Checked 2026-10-23.