New heavy truck, new business, new paperwork. Form 2290 is the federal return that reports the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax on trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more, and it is one of the first filings a new trucking business faces.
The clock starts on the drive home
Your first Form 2290 is due by the last day of the month after the month the truck is first used on a public highway. The IRS is specific about what counts: buying a truck from a dealer and driving it home over public roads is its first taxable use.
The IRS's own example: a trucker buys a new truck on November 3, 2026 and drives it home that day. The return for that truck is due by December 31, 2026, and the tax covers November through June. Find your date with the Form 2290 due date calculator.
Registering before you've filed? The IRS says no proof of payment is required for a vehicle bought in the last 60 days if you show the state a copy of the bill of sale. You still have to file the return and pay the tax by the deadline.
What you need before you start
- An EIN. Form 2290 can't be filed under a Social Security number. If you don't have one, apply first — see EIN for Form 2290.
- The truck's VIN, from the registration, the title, or the truck itself. Use the truck's VIN, not the trailer's.
- The truck's taxable gross weight — empty weight fully equipped, plus customary trailers, plus the maximum load customarily carried. See taxable gross weight.
- The month it was first used on a public highway.
- A way to pay: your bank account for electronic funds withdrawal, an EFTPS enrollment, or a credit or debit card.
What your first return will cost
A truck first used after July pays only for the months left in the July-to-June period, so a first return mid-year costs less than a full year. Enter the weight category and month in the Form 2290 tax calculator to see the exact figure from the IRS tables. Our filing fee is separate and listed on pricing.
Save your business details and EIN now; every later return starts from them. Creating an account is free.
Filing it
- Enter the business: legal name, EIN, business type, address, and the name control printed on your IRS EIN letter.
- Choose Form 2290 as the return type.
- Add the truck with its VIN, weight category, and first-used month.
- Review the tax, pay it, then e-sign and submit.
- Download the stamped Schedule 1 once the IRS accepts the return, and take it to your state for registration.
Every screen is covered in how to file Form 2290 online.
What happens next year
The period resets every July 1. From your second year on, every truck in service in July goes on one return due August 31, and each truck you add later in the year goes on its own return for the month you first use it. Bought a truck that someone else already paid on this period? That has its own rules — see Form 2290 for a used truck.
Keep your records — the truck's VIN and description, when and from whom you got it, and the first month of taxable use — for at least 3 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later.