Form 2290 HVUT Calculator

Part of Authority, Registration & Taxes

Form 2290 is the federal heavy vehicle use tax return for any registered truck with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lb or more. The tax runs from $100.00 to $550.00 a year, cut down by the month the truck first went on a public highway. Put in the weight and that month to get the category, the amount and the IRS deadline for the July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 period.

What this truck owes on Form 2290

Pre-filled with an 80,000 lb tractor-trailer first put on the road in October 2026. Change any field; the tax, the category and the deadline move with it.

Category
V
Weight band
over 75,000 lb
Line 1 entry
202610
File and pay by
November 30, 2026
E-file required
No

Tax for the period

$412.50

$412.50 per vehicle — 9 of 12 months, read from the IRS partial-period table.

Low-poly render of an interstate crossing flat country
A highway use tax, paid once a period for each heavy truck.

What it checks

Four things the IRS asks on page 2 of the form. First, the category: A is exactly 55,000 lb, each letter after it covers the next 1,000 lb, and V is everything over 75,000 lb. Second, the month of first use, which sets both the amount and the line 1 entry. Third, whether the truck is a logging vehicle, which pays the reduced column. Fourth, whether expected highway mileage keeps it under the suspension limit.

Taxable gross weight is not the scale ticket. The IRS builds it from the empty weight of the truck and any trailer it customarily pulls, plus the heaviest load it customarily carries. Where a state registers you at a declared gross weight, including IRP, it can be no less than the highest weight you declared. If you run on apportioned IRP plates registered at 80,000 lb, you are in category V whatever you actually haul.

Worked example

Four trucks, each run through the calculator above. The October truck is the one people overpay on: it owes 9 months of tax, not twelve.

VehicleWeight (lb)CategoryTaxDue
Tractor-trailer, on the road in July80,000V$550.00August 31, 2026
Same truck, bought and first driven in October80,000V$412.50November 30, 2026
Log truck, first hauled in January62,500I$103.50March 1, 2027
Farm truck, about 6,000 highway miles70,000W$0.00August 31, 2026

The farm truck still files: a suspended vehicle goes on Schedule 1 as category W by the same deadline. If it later passes 7,500 highway miles, the tax for its first-use month falls due on an amended return. The HVUT is one line in a carrier's fixed costs; the cost per mile calculator spreads it across the miles you actually run.

Deadlines for this period

The return is due by the last day of the month after first use, whatever your state registration date. Where that day is a weekend or holiday the IRS moves it, which is why some dates below are the 1st or 2nd.

First usedLine 1File and pay by
July 2026202607August 31, 2026
August 2026202608September 30, 2026
September 2026202609November 2, 2026
October 2026202610November 30, 2026
November 2026202611December 31, 2026
December 2026202612February 1, 2027
January 2027202701March 1, 2027
February 2027202702March 31, 2027
March 2027202703April 30, 2027
April 2027202704June 1, 2027
May 2027202705June 30, 2027
June 2027202706August 2, 2027

You need an EIN to file; the IRS will not accept a Social Security number on Form 2290. The stamped Schedule 1 is what your state asks for at plate renewal, and what new carriers need before their first-year budget closes.

The rule it comes from

26 U.S.C. §4481(a) sets the rate: $100 a year plus $22 for each 1,000 lb (or fraction) over 55,000, and a flat $550 over 75,000 lb. §4481(c) prorates it from the month of first use, and §4481(e) requires e-filing for a return covering 25 or more vehicles. The category amounts, partial-period tables and deadlines above are copied from the IRS's July 2026 revision of Form 2290 and its instructions. Keep your records for at least 3 years.

Sources

Keep reading