The Internal Revenue Service is extending the deadline for truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles to file federal highway use tax returns from Aug. 31 to Nov. 30 this year, largely to avoid the potential for multiple filings if the tax, currently set to expire on Sept. 30, gets reinstated or modified by Congress.
The new Nov. 30 filing deadline for Form 2290 – applying to trucks, truck tractors and buses with a gross taxable weight of 55,000 lbs. or more – covers the tax period that began July 1 and applies to vehicles used during July, as well as those first used during August or September.
The IRS stressed that returns should not be filed and payments should not be made prior to Nov. 1.
The agency added that to aid truckers applying for state vehicle registration on or before Nov. 30, the new regulations require states to accept as proof of payment the stamped Schedule 1 of the Form 2290 for the prior tax year ending on June 30.
This is because under federal law, state governments are required to receive proof of payment of the federal highway use tax – which can total up to $550 per vehicle based on weight – as a condition of vehicle registration, the IRS noted.
Last year, the IRS said it received about 650,000 2290 forms, with highway use tax payments totaling $886 million.
