Author: Santamarina Joseph

All About IFTA (Fuel Tax)

Posted on September 27, 2011 by - express truck tax, Expresstrucktax.com, Form 2290, form 2290 efile, form2290.net, Fuel Tax online, IFTA, International Fuel Tax Agreement, irs 2290, IRS form 2290

IFTA Overview
IFTA, or the International Fuel Tax Agreement, represents an agreement between the 48 contiguous United States and the 10 Canadian Provinces bordering the United States that focuses on an accurate and fair way of collecting taxes on fuel purchased in each state or province. IFTA is a quarterly tax on qualified highway motor vehicles that operate in at least 2 out of all 58 jurisdictions.  

IFTA Payments
A vehicle is considered to be a qualified motor vehicle if it is used, designed, or maintained for the transportation of persons or property and has a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds. A Vehicle is also considered to be a qualified motor vehicle if it has three axles, regardless of its weight.  Finally, a vehicle is considered to be a qualified motor vehicle if the combined weight of all of its parts is greater than 26,000 pounds.

How Does IFTA Work?
Each Vehicle has a Base Jurisdiction, which is the state or province in which the vehicle is registered. The Fuel Tax must be filed with each jurisdiction every quarter. Each state or province has a different Rate and those rates change quarterly. Each driver must keep a trip log of how many miles are traveled in each state or province, as well as how much fuel was purchased in each state or province.  

What is IFTA’s Purpose?
The official purpose of IFTA is “to promote and encourage the fullest and most efficient possible use of the highway system by making uniform the administration of motor fuels use taxation laws with respect to qualified member vehicles operated in multiple member jurisdictions.”  When IFTA is filed with the appropriate jurisdiction, The Fuel Tax Report is then used to determine the tax amount due as well as the refund due. It is also used to redistribute taxes from collecting jurisdictions to jurisdictions that it is due. One of the reasons for the Fuel Tax is to ensure that a vehicle pays taxes to all deserving jurisdictions. For Example: if a vehicle travels through a state, but buys no gas while in that state, then there was no fuel tax paid to that state through the purchase of gasoline.  Part of their tax would then be redistributed to the state that received no fuel tax.

A simple solution for this tax is to use an online E-File Provider. The most advanced of the available services is www.expresstrucktax.com. Express Truck Tax acts as a one stop shop for all truck tax needs. Through them, you can E-File your Form 2290 with the IRS. It also provides a way to keep online records of your mileage and fuel purchases for IFTA reporting. This can make the IFTA process much easier.  

Truck Tax (form 2290) Legislation Has Been Passed!

Posted on September 24, 2011 by - 2290, 2290 form, 2290 tax, 2290 tax form, efile 2290, express truck tax, Form 2290, form 2290 due date, irs 2290, Tax 2290, Truck Tax

The U.S. Senate approved a piece of legislation that will extend the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as for federal highway programs. The funding for these programs would have ceased, had this extension not been passed.
This Transportation bill has been extended several times already, and it is fairly widely agreed upon that a more permanent piece of legislation is needed to regulate this industry. However, this extension will keep up to a million highway workers at work. A simple extension is better than letting the bill expiring, which would furlough thousands of workers as soon as the legislation expired.
This basically serves as a stop-gap measure that will also provide the government with the ability to collect taxes on airline ticket sales through the FAA. Earlier this week, the FAA incurred a partial shutdown for two weeks, which cost the government $400 Million in taxes associated with airline ticket sales.
The Senate was able to pass the pill with a large margin of 92-6. This was largely due to some last minute negotiations by Sen. Barbara Boxer. Sen. Boxer is the chairman of the Senate Public Works Committee, which oversees the highway programs. Boxer negotiated an agreement between Republican senators Rand Paul and Tom Coburn due to their concerns of wasteful spending. This aided to avoiding a last-minute obstacle to the passage, because the FAA funding is set to expire this Friday (September 16).
John Crawley, a reporter for Reuters, had the following to say regarding the current state of Capital Hill:
“It remains unclear ahead of an election year whether the House of Representatives, which approved the extensions earlier this week, and the Senate can come together on the bigger bills before the next renewals are due.
The charged political climate in Washington is largely fuelled by partisan divisions over spending, taxes and budget deficits. The transportation bills would require several hundred billion dollars in funding over several years.”
Although it may be difficult to foresee how our elected officials will work together in the future, it is nice to see a healthy negotiation to pass a bill that the American people need.
This is a positive step for the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Although it is not yet possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions and help drivers file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or call our Truck Tax experts at 704-234-6005. You can also chat online, or email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.   

IRS Form 2290 Due Dates for the Tax Year 2011-2012

Posted on September 23, 2011 by - express truck tax, Expresstrucktax.com, Form 2290, form 2290 delay, form 2290 due date, Form 2290 for 2011, form2290.net, irs 2290, IRS form 2290, IRS stamped Schedule 1, Proof of 2290 form


The IRS Form 2290 for Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes (HVUT) must be filed annually for each taxable vehicle that is used on public highways during the current tax period. The normal tax period for heavy vehicles begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th of the following year. A Form 2290 must also be filed once a vehicle is placed in service. The due date for each month is the last day of the following month. For example: if a vehicle is placed in service on October 3rd, the Form 2290 will be due on November 30th.

This Year has been different because the legislation that controls Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes nearly expired. This caused the due dates of several months to be pushed back to November of 2011. That is why the due dates for this year slightly deviate from the traditional dates outlined in the previous paragraph.


Vehicle first used month Due date
July-2011 30-November-2011
August-2011 30-November-2011
September-2011 30-November-2011
October-2011 30-November-2011
November-2011 03-January-2012
December-2011 31-January-2012
January-2012 29-February-2012
February-2012 02-March-2012
March-2012 30-April-2012
April-2012 31-May-2012
May-2012 02-June-2012
June-2012 03-July-2012


IRS Form 2290: Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes

Posted on September 22, 2011 by - express truck tax, Expresstrucktax.com, Form 2290, form 2290 delay, form2290.net, irs 2290, IRS form 2290, IRS stamped Schedule 1, Proof of 2290 form, Schedule 1 2290, Truck Tax

Any Heavy Vehicle operating on a public highway is subject to filing the Form 2290 with the IRS. Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes (HVUT) is imposed on all vehicles with a registered gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. The gross taxable weight is calculated by adding the following amounts:

  • The unloaded weight of any trailers, fully equipped for service, and typically used in combination with the vehicle
  • The maximum weight of the load customarily carried on the vehicle and on any trailers customarily used in combination with the vehicle.
  • The unloaded weight of vehicle itself, fully equipped for service.

You may wonder what the IRS considers to be a taxable highway motor vehicle that is subject to the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. The IRS considers taxable Highway Motor Vehicles to be any self-propelled motor vehicle that is designed to carry a load on public highways. Examples of such vehicles include trucks, truck tractors, as well as buses. The IRS does not usually consider vehicles like vans, pickup trucks, panel trucks, or similar sized vehicles because they do not typically meet the 55,000 pound threshold amount.  

There are three different categories for HVUT rates for these vehicles.

  • Vehicles Below 55,000 pounds do not have HVUT because they do not qualify as a heavy vehicle.
  • Vehicles between 55,000 and 75,000 pounds owe $100, plus $22 per 1,000 pounds over 55,000 pounds.
  • Finally, for vehicles that are over 75,000 pounds the maximum HVUT is $550 per year.

Express Truck Tax is authorized by the IRS to E-File Form 2290. This way you can get a stamped Schedule 1 in about 10 minutes. The file is electronically submitted to the IRS, and within minutes the file is processed by the IRS and sent back to the person filing. The form will then contain a watermark from the IRS as proof that it has been processed.

As anyone in the Transportation Industry will already know, the filing process for Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes (HVUT) will be a little bit different than normal this year. The Schedule 1 of the Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT), which is part of the IRS Form 2290, has been extended to November 30 of 2011. It is also not possible to receive a receipt for the Form 2290 until after November 1st. This means that the majority of those filing this tax will not do so until November. However, Once it is available, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be able to help get those taxes taken care of in no time.

Senate Approves Highway Funding Extensions

Posted on September 20, 2011 by - 2290 efile, 2290 form, efile 2290, express truck tax, Form 2290, form 2290 download, form 2290 efile, heavy vehicle use tax, HVUT, Tax 2290, Truck Tax

On Thursday, September 15th, the U.S. Senate approved a piece of legislation that will extend the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as for federal highway programs. The funding for these programs would have been cancelled without this extension.  

The Transportation bill has been extended many times already, and a more permanent piece of legislation is needed. However, this extension will keep up to a million highway workers at work. A simple extension is better than letting the bill expiring, which would furlough thousands of workers as soon as the funding expired.  

This stop-gap measure will also provide the government with the ability to collect taxes on airline ticket sales through the FAA. The FAA incurred a partial shutdown for two weeks earlier this year which cost the government $400 Million in taxes associated with airline ticket sales.

The Senate was able to pass the pill with a large margin of 92-6. This was largely due to some last minute negotiations by Sen. Barbara Boxer. Sen. Boxer is the chairman of the Senate Public Works Committee, which oversees the highway programs. Boxer negotiated an agreement between Republican senators Rand Paul and Tom Coburn due to their concerns of wasteful spending. This aided to avoiding a last-minute obstacle to the passage, because the FAA funding is set to expire this Friday (September 16).

John Crawley, a reporter for Reuters, had the following to say regarding the current state of Capital Hill:

“It remains unclear ahead of an election year whether the House of Representatives, which approved the extensions earlier this week, and the Senate can come together on the bigger bills before the next renewals are due.

The charged political climate in Washington is largely fuelled by partisan divisions over spending, taxes and budget deficits. The transportation bills would require several hundred billion dollars in funding over several years.”


Although it may be difficult to foresee how our elected officials will work together in the future, it is nice to see a healthy negotiation to pass a bill that the American people need.  

This is a positive step for the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Although it is not yet possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions and help drivers file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or call our Truck Tax experts at 704-234-6005. You can also chat online, or email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.

House of Representatives Approves Extension of Transportation Bill

Posted on September 16, 2011 by - 2290 efile, 2290 form, efile 2290, efile form 2290, express 2290, express truck tax, Form 2290, IRS form 2290, Tax 2290, Truck Tax

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, the House of Representatives approved the extension of the Transportation Bill as well as continue programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  With both parties focused on jobs and the economy, this bill has been viewed as a no-brainer by many.  However, it has been hard to predict what Congress will do as of late.

This legislation, H.R. 2887 was introduced to the House of Representatives by the Transportation Committee chairman, John Mica (R-FL), as well as other influential members of that sub-committee.  The response by the House was unanimous in support of the extension.

The current Transportation Bill has already been extended several times, and a new piece of legislation is needed, but this extension will help continue funding for this nations highways and keep up to a million people at work.  Rep. Mica understands this and made the following statement regarding a more permanent solution: “Unfortunately, this bill is the 22nd FAA extension and the 8th surface transportation extension. Congress has delayed passing a long-term FAA bill for over four years, and a surface transportation bill for two years. This action represents a last chance to roll up our sleeves and get transportation projects in America moving again.”

For a Senator’s perspective, when asked to comment on the decision, Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey stated: “The American people didn’t send us here to make unemployment worse and allow our roads to crumble—and that’s why we must act swiftly to extend this law,” he continued. “Instead of putting up roadblocks to this extension, I hope our colleagues will work with us to fix the economy, help Americans get back to work and keeps our country moving forward. Once we have passed this short-term fix, we need to complete work on a long-term bill that strengthens investment in our national transportation network to create jobs, maintain our roads and bridges, and invest in rail and transit to ease commutes.”

This is a positive step for the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Although it is still not possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions and help drivers file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or call our Truck Tax experts at 704-234-6005. You can also chat online, or email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.

The Transportation Bill Faces the Gridlock of Capital Hill

Posted on September 14, 2011 by - 2290 e-file, 2290 form Express truck tax, 2290 online, e-file 2290, Federal HVUT 2290 filing, Form 2290, heavy vehicle use tax, HVUT, IRS form 2290, Truck Tax

while most politicians love to talk about creating jobs for the American people, there is now a real opportunity to avoid thousands, if not close to a million, of American jobs being lost. The Transportation Bill that is currently in Congress funds this nation’s infrastructure. The current bill in place has already been extended many times, and many argue that a new piece of legislation should be created instead of simply extending this old bill. However, the time to act is now, and the simplest way to continue funding this nation’s highways and transportation projects is to extend the current legislation again.

Congressman Hank Johnson represents Georgia’s 4th congressional district and had the following to say regarding the Transportation Bill:

Cutting funding for infrastructure is no way to grow our economy or create jobs.  Republicans who threaten the highway bill are way off base. Short-sighted pandering to their tea party political activists may be easy, but it is deeply irresponsible.
Instead of threatening to slash federal infrastructure spending, we should be making bold, forward-looking investments in America’s future.
President Barack Obama is right on the money when he calls upon Congress to aggressively invest in America’s infrastructure. It’s a common-sense vision backed by both business and labor because it’s the right policy at the right time.

Congressman Johnson argues that extending this bill simply makes sense, and that it is a smart investment because it is literally investing in America. The United States’ aging infrastructure has caused our overall rank to fall from 15th to 24th in the past year according to The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. Countries like China, India, and Brazil are making larger investments in their nation’s infrastructure, while we are busy arguing over the idea of funding it at all.  

Although there is a tendency for intense gridlock in Washington, there is still good reason to believe that this bill will be extended due to the sheer necessity. Even if this is slightly delayed, it would have a harsh impact on the highway and transit system. This party politics is becoming something of a game in Washington where both parties refuse to negotiate until it is nearly too late.  

Once this is enacted, anyone wishing to File IRS Form 2290 for Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes will be able to file during the month of November. The IRS-Authorized e-file provider, Express Truck Tax, will be able to help any Truck Driver, Trucking Company, or Service Provider get their Excise & HVUT taken care of. To e-file through ExpressTruckTax.com it only takes a few minutes and can cost as little as $9.90. If you have any questions about the process, you can call them at 704-234-6005 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            704-234-6005      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or send an email to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.

Filing HVUT with Form 2290 in 2011

Posted on September 13, 2011 by - 2290 Amendments, 2290 form, 2290 tax, e-file 2290, efile tax 2290, Express2290, expresstrucktax, file form 2290, file tax 2290, Form 2290, Tax 2290, tax 2290 efile

As anyone in the Transportation Industry will already know, the filing process for Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes (HVUT) will be a little bit different than normal this year. The Schedule 1 of the Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT), which is part of the IRS Form 2290, has been extended to November 30 of 2011. It is also not possible to receive a receipt for the Form 2290 until after November 1st. This means that the majority of those filing this tax will not do so until November.

Since a stamped Schedule 1 is required to register a vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles, they will be accepting the HVUT proof of payment for the previous tax year of July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011, to make things go as smoothly as possible this year. The IRS has informed taxpayers of the Form 2290 delay and the available options for payment once the form is available.

The following items may be accepted by the DMV as proof of HVUT payment until November 30, 2011:

  • Original or copy of a Stamped Schedule 1 from the Form 2290 (electronically watermarked or manually stamped) for the previous tax year of July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011.

  • A copy of the IRS Form 2290 from the previous tax year, filed with the IRS as well as a copy of the front and back of the check to the IRS for the entire HVUT payment.
  • Original or copy of an IRS Form 2290 (electronically watermarked or manually stamped), listing the vehicle as a “Credit Vehicle” for the previous tax year.

Once the IRS begins issuing the Form 2290 again, the process will revert to the normal procedures. The proof of HVUT payment will then be able to be sent to the DMV for any applications requiring HVUT verification.

This tax that the IRS collects is an annual tax on commercial motor vehicles that weigh
55,000 pounds or more. This is referred to as the taxable gross weight of a vehicle. Congress is in the process of extending the tax, and the previously mentioned due date exists as a temporary regulation that postpones the due date until November 30, 2011.

Although it is still not possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290 yet, the Truck Tax experts at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions as well as help drivers and trucking companies file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or give the Truck Tax experts a phone call at 704-234-6005. You can also email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.

The IRS Reminds Truckers They Have Extra Time

Posted on September 10, 2011 by - 2011 form 2290 delay, 2011 hvut delay, Form 2290, form 2290 download, Form 2290 due on Nov 30 2011, Form 2290 filing delay, form 2290 record keeping, heavy vehicle use tax, hvut delay, truck tax delay

Truckers should wait until November to file their federal highway use tax returns – a three-month extension — in this new YouTube video.

Watch this and other videos on the IRS’s YouTube Channel

Transportation Bill clears Senate committee

Posted on September 10, 2011 by - 2290, Form 2290, Form 2290 E-file, Form 8849, heavy vehicle use tax, Internal Revenue Service Form 2290, irs 2290, irs form 2290 e-file, tax 2290 e-file, tax 2290 filing online

As of Thursday, September 8, 2011 the much talked about Transportation Bill known as SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) was approved by a Senate committee.

This bill has had a significant amount of publicity ever since President Barack Obama made a speech from the White House Rose Garden last week, in which he was joined by Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, as well as Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, and also David Chavern, the chief operating officer of the Chamber of Commerce. He gave Congress another warning at that time also, stating that letting the transportation bill expire at the end of the month would be “not acceptable” and “inexcusable.”

The Senate Committee approved an extension of the current bill. This is the eighth time the bill has been extended. This will serve as a step in the right direction for the Transportation Industry, but as many have said, an extension is like a band aid on a bigger problem. There still needs to be new legislation put in place for this industry, it cannot simply be ignored.

However, the act of extending the bill seems to be all either party can agree to.  The Democratically-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have presented vastly different options for this bill.  The House proposed spending $235 billion over the next six years, while the senate proposed spending $109 billion over the next two years.

When asked to comment on the decision, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey stated: “The American people didn’t send us here to make unemployment worse and allow our roads to crumble—and that’s why we must act swiftly to extend this law,” he continued. “Instead of putting up roadblocks to this extension, I hope our colleagues will work with us to fix the economy, help Americans get back to work and keeps our country moving forward. Once we have passed this short-term fix, we need to complete work on a long-term bill that strengthens investment in our national transportation network to create jobs, maintain our roads and bridges, and invest in rail and transit to ease commutes.”

This is a positive step for the Trucking and Transportation Industry. Although it is still not possible to file Heavy Vehicle Use Taxes with Form 2290, the folks at Express Truck Tax will be available to answer any questions and help drivers file those taxes. For more information, visit the Express Truck Tax website or call our Truck Tax experts at 704-234-6005. You can also email any questions to support@ExpressTruckTax.com.