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.
| 1. |
From page 2 of Form 2290, determine the new taxable gross weight category. Next, go to page 5. Find the month when the vehicle's taxable gross weight increased. Read down the column to the new category; this is the new tax. Enter the amount here |
$______ |
| 2. |
On page 5, find the tax under that month for the previous category reported. Enter the amount here |
$______ |
| 3. |
Additional tax. Subtract line 2 from line 1. Enter the additional tax here and on line 3 of Form 2290 |
$______ |
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Find the taxable gross weight category of the
vehicle.
- Find where the category and months of use meet. This is the
partial-period tax.
- 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.
- Specially designed mobile machinery for nontransportation
functions. A self-propelled vehicle is not a highway vehicle if it
consists of a chassis that:
- 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,
- 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
- Because of its special design, could not, without
substantial structural modification, be used as part of a vehicle
designed to carry any other load.
- Vehicles designed for off-highway transportation. A
self-propelled vehicle is not a highway vehicle if:
- 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
- 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:
- The actual unloaded weight of the vehicle fully equipped for
service,
- The actual unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers
fully equipped for service customarily used in combination with the
vehicle, and
- 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:
- In a state in which it is not registered,
- At more than a state's maximum weight limit, or
- 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:
- It is used exclusively during the period to transport
products harvested from a forest,
- The products are transported to and from a point within the
forest, and
- 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:
- Used (or expected to be used) primarily for farming purposes
and
- 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.
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