Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return

Part I - Figuring the Tax

Line 1

The period begins July 1, 2000, and ends June 30, 2001.

If the vehicle(s) is first used after July, enter the year and month the vehicle(s) was first used. For instance, if the vehicle(s) is first used in December 2000, enter "200012", if the first use is in March 2001, enter "200103".

Note: This same year-month information must be entered on Form 2290-V, Box 4, if not preprinted on the voucher.

Line 2

To figure the tax on line 2, complete the Tax Computation on page 2 (Form 2290). You need to know the taxable gross weight of each vehicle to determine its category. See Determining Taxable Gross Weight on page 8.

Tax Computation

Column 1 - Annual rate. Use the tax rates listed in column 1(a) for a vehicle used during July.

Use the tax rates listed in column 1(b) for logging and Canadian/Mexican vehicles. For more information on these vehicles, see page 8.

Column 2 - Partial-period rate. If the vehicle is first used after July, the tax is based on the number of months remaining in the period. See page 5, Table I, for the partial-period tax rates. Enter the tax in column 2(a) for the applicable category.

For logging and Canadian/Mexican vehicles, see page 5, Table II, for the partial-period tax rates. Enter the tax in column 2(b) for the applicable category.

Column 3. Enter the number of vehicles for categories A-V in the applicable column. Add the number of vehicles in columns (3a) and (3b), categories A-V, and enter the combined number on the total line in column 3. For category W, enter the number of suspended vehicles in the applicable column.

Column 4. Multiply the applicable rate times the number of vehicles. Add all amounts in a category and enter the result in column 4. Then, add the tax amounts in column 4 for categories A through V, and enter the total tax.

Suspended vehicles exceeding the mileage use limit. Once a suspended vehicle exceeds the mileage use limit, the tax becomes due. Mileage use limit means the use of a vehicle on public highways 5,000 miles or less (7,500 miles or less for agricultural vehicles). The mileage use limit applies to the total mileage a vehicle is used during a period, regardless of the number of owners.

Report the tax for the whole period on Form 2290, line 2. Do not complete Part II or Schedule 1. Figure the tax on page 2 based on the month the vehicle was first used in the period. Write the word "Amended" at the top of the return and file it by the last day of the month following the month in which the mileage use limit was exceeded.

Line 3

Complete line 3 only if the taxable gross weight of a vehicle increases during the period and the vehicle falls in a new category. You must file another Form 2290 and pay the additional tax for the remainder of the period. For instance, an increase in maximum load customarily carried may change the taxable gross weight.

Figure the additional tax as shown below. Attach a copy of the following computation for each vehicle.

If the increase in taxable gross weight occurs in July after you have filed your return, use the amounts on page 2 of Form 2290 for the new category instead of page 5 of the instructions.

Line 4

Complete line 4 only if you are claiming a credit for tax paid on a vehicle that was either:

• Destroyed or stolen before June 1 and not used during the remainder of the period or
• Used during the prior period 5,000 miles or less (7,500 miles or less for agricultural vehicles).

The amount claimed on line 4 cannot exceed the tax reported on lines 2 and 3. Any excess credit must be claimed as a refund using Form 8849, Claim for Refund of Excise Taxes, and Schedule 6, Other Claims.

A credit, lower tax, exemption, or refund is not allowed for:

• An occasional light or decreased load.
• A discontinued or changed use of the vehicle.
• The sale of a vehicle.

Information to be submitted. Attach an explanation detailing the facts for each credit.

For vehicles destroyed or stolen include: the VIN, the date of the accident or theft, and the computation of the amount claimed. See Figuring the credit on page 4. A vehicle is destroyed when it is damaged by accident or other casualty to such an extent that it is not economical to rebuild.

Figuring the credit. Use the partial-period rate tables on page 5 and follow the steps below:

1. Figure the number of months of use. Start counting from the first day of the month in the period in which the vehicle was first used to the last day of the month in which it was destroyed or stolen.
2. Find the number of months of use in the table on page 5. The months are shown in parentheses at the top of the table next to each month.
3. Find the taxable gross weight category of the vehicle.
4. Find where the category and months of use meet. This is the partial-period tax.
5. The difference between the annual tax and the partial-period tax is the amount that can be claimed as a credit. Enter the credit amount on line 4 of the next Form 2290 required to be filed. Attach this computation to the return.

Installment payment. If you are paying in installments, the credit may be less than the amount figured in 5 above because you cannot make a claim for unpaid installment amounts. If you still owe tax, include an explanation with the installment notice and reduced payment. If you do not owe or have overpaid, include an explanation with the installment notice. You may use Schedule 6 (Form 8849) to make a claim for refund instead of claiming a credit on Form 2290.

Vehicle used less than the mileage use limit. If the tax has been paid for a period on a vehicle that is used 5,000 miles or less (7,500 for agricultural vehicles), the person who paid the tax may make a claim for the credit. Claim a credit on line 4 of the first Form 2290 filed for the next period.

You may use Schedule 6 (Form 8849) to make a claim for refund instead of claiming a credit on Form 2290. Form 8849 cannot be filed until after June 30 of the period for this claim.

Part II - Statement in Support of Suspension

Line 7

Complete line 7 to suspend the tax on vehicles expected to be used less than the mileage use limit during a period.

You must also:

• Enter the total number of tax-suspended vehicles in category W, column (3), on page 2 of Form 2290 and
• List the vehicles on which the tax is suspended in Part II of Schedule 1. See the Schedule 1 instructions below.

Line 8

If in the prior period, line 7 of Form 2290 was completed, check the box on line 8a to verify that the vehicles were used less than the mileage use limit for that period. If any of the vehicles listed as suspended in the prior period exceeded the mileage use limit, list the vehicle identification numbers for those vehicles on line 8b. Attach a separate sheet if needed.

Line 9

If in the prior period, line 7 of Form 2290 was completed and the tax-suspended vehicles were sold, complete line 9.

Sales. If you sell a vehicle while under suspension, a statement must be given to the buyer and must show the seller's name, address, and EIN; VIN; date of the sale; odometer reading at the beginning of the period; odometer reading at the time of sale; and the buyer's name, address, and EIN. The buyer must attach this statement to Form 2290 and file the return by the last day of the month following the month the vehicle was purchased.

If, after the sale, the use of the vehicle exceeds the mileage use limit (including the highway mileage recorded on the vehicle by the former owner) for the period, and the former owner has provided the required statement, the new owner is liable for the tax on the vehicle. If the former owner has not furnished the required statement to the new owner, the former owner is also liable for the tax for that period. See Suspended vehicles exceeding the mileage use limit on page 3.

Signature

Sign the return. Returns filed without a signature will be sent back to you for signing. An unsigned return is not considered filed.

Note: If you want someone other than yourself to inspect and/or receive your tax information from any office of the IRS, get Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization.

Schedule 1 (Form 2290)

Complete both copies of Schedule 1 and file them with your return. Your return may be rejected if Schedule 1 is not attached to Form 2290. A copy of Schedule 1 will be stamped and returned to you.

Note: If you want a copy of a prior-period Schedule 1 returned to you, you must send a written request to the Internal Revenue Service Center, Cincinnati, OH 45999-0031.

Name and address. The first time you file, enter your name and address on Schedule 1 exactly as you entered it on Form 2290. See Name and Address on page 2.

Part I. Enter by category the VIN of each vehicle for which you are reporting tax. If you need more space, attach separate lists. Be sure to write your name and EIN on each list you attach.

Part II. Enter the VIN of each vehicle for which you are claiming suspension from the tax. If you need more space, attach separate lists. Be sure to write your name and EIN on each list you attach.

Note: Instead of completing Parts I and II, you may attach a statement to Schedule 1 that lists the VINs by category. You must attach two copies of the statement. Be sure to write your name and EIN on each statement you attach.

Part III. Complete as follows:

• Enter on line a, the total number of taxable vehicles that you reported on page 2, column (3), categories A-V.
• Enter on line b, the total number of taxable vehicles that you reported on page 2, column (3), category W.

Proof of payment for state registration. Generally, states will require verification of payment of the tax for any taxable vehicle before they will register the vehicle.

Use the stamped copy of Schedule 1 as proof of payment when:

• Registering vehicles with the state or
• Entering into the United States a Canadian or Mexican vehicle.

If you do not have the stamped copy, you may use a photocopy of Form 2290, Schedule 1, and both sides of your canceled check as proof of payment.

No proof of payment is required for a newly purchased vehicle, if you present to the state a copy of the bill of sale showing that the vehicle was purchased within the last 60 days. However, you must file a return and pay any tax due. See When To File on page 1.

A limited number of states have agreed to participate in an alternate proof of payment program with the IRS. In those states, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may forward your return to the IRS if certain requirements are met. If you give your Form 2290 (with voucher and payment) to your DMV to be forwarded to the IRS, no further proof of payment is needed to register your vehicle. Contact your local DMV to see if your state participates in this program.

If you give the DMV your Form 2290 to forward, keep in mind that:

• Your return is not considered filed until it is received by the IRS.
• You assume the risk of your return being lost or filed late and may owe penalties and interest.
• The DMV is not an agent or contractor of the IRS.
• This program is voluntary.

of Installment Payments

How To Pay the Tax

Do not use EFTPS to make your payment. Using EFTPS will delay the return of the stamped copy of Schedule 1 (Form 2290) to you.

You may pay the tax in full with your Form 2290, or pay the tax in as many as four equal installments if your return is filed on time.

Payment Voucher

If you did not receive a preprinted payment voucher, complete Form 2290-V, Payment Voucher, if you are making a payment with Form 2290. Even if you elect to pay the tax in installments, you must use Form 2290-V for your first installment payment due when you file Form 2290. If you have your return prepared by a third party, provide this payment voucher to the return preparer.

Box 1 - Amount paid. Enter the amount paid with Form 2290.

Box 2. Enter the first four characters of your last name or business name. Omit The if followed by more than one word.

Box 3 - Employer identification number (EIN). If you do not have an EIN, see page 3.

Box 4. Enter the same date that you entered on Form 2290, Part I, line 1.

Box 5 - Name and address. Enter the name and address as shown on Form 2290.

How To Make Your Payment

• Do not send cash. Make your check or money order payable to the United States Treasury. Write your name, address, EIN, Form 2290, and the date (as entered in Box 4) on your payment.
• Detach the voucher and send it with the return, both copies of Schedule 1, and your payment. See Where To File on
  page 1.
• Do not staple your payment to the voucher or the return.

Paying in Installments

If you file on time, you may pay the tax due in installments.The first installment payment is due with Form 2290. However, if the vehicle is first used in April, May, or June, you cannot pay in installments.

To figure when to pay, use the following table.

Installment table

How to figure the installment payment. Divide the amount on line 5 (Form 2290) by the number of installments shown in column (b) from the table on this page. Pay this amount by the due dates shown in columns (c) and (d). Enter the installment amount due on line 6 and make your first installment payment with the return. Fill in the Record of Installment Payments below for your records.

After the first installment, the IRS will send you a notice of each installment before it is due. Return your installment payment with that notice. If you do not get a notice for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th installment payments, send your check or money order with the required information on it. Do not:

• Complete a payment voucher or
• Prepare another Form 2290 or send a copy of the original you filed.

Mail your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th installment payment to the Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati, OH 45999-0031.

If you pay in installments and later sell the vehicle, you are still liable for the full tax and must pay any remaining installments.

Late payments. If you pay an installment late, the whole amount of the unpaid tax becomes due and is payable upon notice and demand from the IRS.

Definitions

Taxable Vehicles

Highway motor vehicles that have a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more are taxable.

A highway motor vehicle includes any self-propelled vehicle designed to carry a load over public highways, whether or not also designed to perform other functions. Examples of vehicles that are designed to carry a load over public highways include buses, trucks, and truck tractors. Generally, vans, pickup trucks, panel trucks, and similar trucks are not subject to this tax because they have a taxable gross weight less than 55,000 pounds.

A vehicle consists of a chassis, or a chassis and body, but does not include the load. It does not matter if the vehicle is designed to perform a highway transportation function for only a particular type of load, such as passengers, furnishings, and personal effects (as in a house, office, or utility trailer), or a special kind of cargo, goods, supplies, or materials. It does not matter if machinery or equipment is specially designed (and permanently mounted) to perform some off-highway task unrelated to highway transportation except to the extent discussed below.

Use means the use of a vehicle with power from its own motor on any public highway in the United States.

A public highway is any road in the United States that is not a private roadway. This includes Federal, state, county, and city roads.

Exemptions. To be exempt from the tax, a highway motor vehicle must be used and actually operated by:

• The Federal Government,
• The District of Columbia,
• A state or local government,
• The American National Red Cross,
• A nonprofit volunteer fire department, ambulance association, or rescue squad,
• An Indian tribal government but only if the vehicle's use involves the exercise of an essential tribal government function, or
• A mass transportation authority if it is created under a statute that gives it certain powers normally exercised by the state.

Vehicles not considered highway motor vehicles. Generally, the following kinds of vehicles are not considered highway vehicles.

1. Specially designed mobile machinery for nontransportation functions. A self-propelled vehicle is not a highway vehicle if it consists of a chassis that:
   1. Has permanently mounted to it machinery or equipment used to perform certain operations (construction, manufacturing, drilling, mining, timbering, processing, farming, or operations similar to any of these) if the operation of the machinery or equipment is unrelated to transportation on or off the public highways,
   2. Has been specially designed to serve only as a mobile carriage and mount for the machinery or equipment, whether or not the machinery or equipment is in operation, and
   3. Because of its special design, could not, without substantial structural modification, be used as part of a vehicle designed to carry any other load.
2. Vehicles designed for off-highway transportation. A self-propelled vehicle is not a highway vehicle if:
   1. The vehicle is designed primarily to carry a specific kind of load (other than over the public highway) for certain operations (construction, manufacturing, mining, processing, farming, drilling, timbering, or similar operations), and
   2. The vehicle's design to carry this load substantially limits or impairs its use over public highways. To determine if the vehicle's use is substantially limited or impaired, you may take into account whether the vehicle may travel at regular highway speeds, requires a special permit for highway use, is overweight, or is too tall or too wide for regular highway use.

      However, for purposes of item 2b, equipment that is attached to the vehicle and used for loading, unloading, storing, vending, or handling is equipment associated with moving the load over public highways even though it may be used off highway.

Taxable Gross Weight

The taxable gross weight of a vehicle (other than a bus) is the total of:

1. The actual unloaded weight of the vehicle fully equipped for service,
2. The actual unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers fully equipped for service customarily used in combination with the vehicle, and
3. The weight of the maximum load customarily carried on the vehicle and on any trailers or semitrailers customarily used in combination with the vehicle.

Actual unloaded weight of a vehicle is the empty (tare) weight of the vehicle.

A trailer or semitrailer is treated as customarily used in connection with a vehicle if the vehicle is equipped to tow the trailer or semitrailer.

Fully equipped for service includes the body (whether or not designed for transporting cargo (such as a concrete mixer)); all accessories; all equipment attached to or carried on the vehicle for use in its operation or maintenance; and a full supply of fuel, oil, and water. The term does not include the driver, any equipment (not including the body) mounted on, or attached to, the vehicle, for use in handling, protecting, or preserving cargo, or any special equipment (such as an air compressor, crane, or specialized oilfield equipment).

Buses

The taxable gross weight of a bus is its actual unloaded weight fully equipped for service plus 150 pounds for each seat provided for passengers and driver.

Determining Taxable Gross Weight

The weight declared for registering a vehicle in a state may affect the taxable gross weight used to figure the tax.

State registration by specific gross weight. If the vehicle is registered in any state that requires a declaration of gross weight in a specific amount, including proportional or prorated registration or payment of any other fees or taxes, then the vehicle's taxable gross weight must be no less than the highest gross weight declared for the vehicle in any state. If the vehicle is a tractor-trailer or truck-trailer combination, the taxable gross weight must be no less than the highest combined gross weight declared.

State registration by gross weight category. If the vehicle is registered in any state that requires vehicles to be registered on the basis of gross weight, and the vehicle is not registered in any state that requires a declaration of specific gross weight, then the vehicle's taxable gross weight must fall within the highest gross weight category for which the vehicle is registered in that state.

State registration by actual unloaded weight. If the vehicle is registered only in a state or states that base registration on actual unloaded weight, then the taxable gross weight is the total of the three items listed under Taxable Gross Weight on page 7.

Special permits. In determining a vehicle's taxable gross weight, do not consider weights declared to obtain special temporary travel permits. These are permits that allow a vehicle to operate:

1. In a state in which it is not registered,
2. At more than a state's maximum weight limit, or
3. At more than the weight at which it is registered in the state.

However, special temporary travel permits do not include permits that are issued for your vehicle if the total amount of time covered by those permits is more than 60 days or (if issued on a monthly basis) more than 2 months during a taxable year.

Logging Vehicles

A vehicle qualifies as a logging vehicle if:

1. It is used exclusively during the period to transport products harvested from a forest,
2. The products are transported to and from a point within the forest, and
3. It is registered as a highway motor vehicle used in the transportation of harvested forest products under the laws of the state in which the vehicle is, or is required to be, registered. A special tag or license plate identifying the vehicle as used in the transport of harvested products is not required for the vehicle to be considered a logging vehicle.

Products harvested from the forested site may include timber that has been processed for commercial use by sawing into lumber, chipping, or other milling operations if the processing occurs prior to transportation from the forested site.

Canadian/Mexican Vehicles

These are vehicles that have a base registration in Canada or Mexico. Base registration means registered in Canada or Mexico and not registered in the United States other than proportional registration under a proration agreement.

Agricultural Vehicles

An agricultural vehicle is any highway motor vehicle that is:

1. Used (or expected to be used) primarily for farming purposes and
2. Registered (under state laws) as a highway motor vehicle used for farming purposes for the entire period. A special tag or license plate identifying the vehicle as used for farming is not required for it to be considered an agricultural vehicle.

A vehicle is used primarily for farming purposes if more than half of the vehicle's use (based on mileage) during the period is for farming purposes (defined below).

Do not take into account the number of miles that the vehicle is used on the farm when determining if the 7,500-mile limit on the public highways has been exceeded. Keep accurate records of the miles that a vehicle is used on a farm.

Farming purposes means the transporting of any farm commodity to or from a farm, or the use directly in agricultural production.

Farm commodity means any agricultural or horticultural commodity, feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, or wildlife. A farm commodity does not include a commodity that has been changed by a processing operation from its raw or natural state.

Example. Juice extracted from fruits or vegetables is not a farm commodity for purposes of the suspension of tax on agricultural vehicles.

A vehicle is considered used for farming purposes if it is used in an activity that contributes in any way to the conduct of a farm. Activities that qualify include clearing land, repairing fences and farm buildings, building terraces or irrigation ditches, cleaning tools or farm machinery, and painting. But a vehicle will not be considered used for farming purposes if used in connection with operations such as canning, freezing, packaging, or other processing operations.

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. Section 4481 requires that the use of certain types of highway motor vehicles be taxed. Form 2290 is used to determine the amount of tax you owe. Section 6109 requires you to provide your taxpayer identification number. Routine uses of tax information include giving it to the Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation, and to cities, states, and the District of Columbia for use in administering their tax laws. If you fail to provide this information in a timely manner, you may be subject to penalties and interest.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as required by section 6103.

The time needed to complete and file Form 2290 and Schedule 1 will vary depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average time is: Recordkeeping, 39 hr., 13 min.; Learning about the law or the form, 18 min.; Preparing, copying, and sending the form to the IRS, 57 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can write to the Tax Forms Committee, Western Area Distribution Center, Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001. Do not send the tax form to this address. Instead, see Where To File on page 1.

2001 Instructions Index | 2001 Tax Forms Main | IRS-Forms Main | Home