- August 13, 2021
IRS Form 2290 also referred to as the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Form is used to calculate and pay taxes for heavy vehicles, based on their gross weight. If the vehicle weighs 55,000 pounds or more, it is required to file Form HVUT with the IRS. The due date to file this form falls on August 31st of every year.
For vehicles that are newly purchased, this Form 2290 can be filed on the last day of the month, which follows the month of first use of this vehicle. And if the truck owner wants to pay the tax for additional taxable trucks that are registered in one’s name for any other month other than July, then it is important to file separate 2290 Forms for the months during which the vehicles were in service.
Knowing the exact due date to file Form 2290
The heavy use vehicles (e.g., trucks) that are first used on the public highway during July should file Form 2290 and pay the applicable tax between 1st July to 31st August for the tax year. The first four pages of Form 2290 should be filled, along with the last two pages if they are applicable.
If you place an additional taxable truck that is registered in your name on the road, in other months of the year, other than July, you are still liable to file the HVUT form that is prorated for the months during which it was in operation. For example, if a person purchases a new taxable vehicle on the 6th September 2021 and drives it home on a public highway, then he has to register the truck in his name and file a separate Form 2290, reporting the new vehicle on or before October 31st, 2021, for the tax year 2021-2022.
And if the vehicle is still being used in July in the following year, then Form 2290 should be filed before August 31st for the next tax year. If the due date happens to falls on a weekend or a legal holiday, then the due date falls on the next business day. It is beneficial to not wait until the due date to file Form 2290 but to file it in advance so that there is ample time to make changes and correct errors and to ward off the chances of the Form getting rejected and attracting penalties.
Ways to compute tax for privately purchased used vehicles
For vehicles that are purchased from a seller who has paid tax for the current period and the first use of the buyer is in the month in which in purchased the truck, then the total tax that the buyer has to pay will not include the tax for the month of sale. The due date to pay the tax will however not change, but he should enter the month after the sale on Form 2290 in line 1. The tax on the buyer’s use of the vehicle will be prorated and this prorated tax should be entered in column 2 on Page 2 of Form 2290.
Penalties for not paying the tax within the due date
If the IRS Form 2290 is not filed by August 31st, then the penalty that will be levied will be 4.5 percent of the total taxes that are due and this will be assessed every month for up to 5 months. Apart from these federal penalties, some states also suspend the registrations of the vehicles for which the proof of payment of the tax has not been submitted. Thus it is beneficial to file the Form in advance and e-file it to reach the IRS at the earliest.
