Form 2290 Calculator (HVUT), 2026 to 2027

Pick your truck's taxable gross weight and the month it first went on the road this tax period, and this calculator gives you the heavy vehicle use tax (HVUT) category, the amount owed on Form 2290 and the filing deadline. It uses the IRS tax tables for the period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

The tax is per truck, per year. A truck first used in July pays the full year. A truck first used later pays a share, from the IRS partial-period tables.

How to use the Form 2290 calculator

1. Work out the taxable gross weight. Add the empty weight of the truck, the empty weight of the trailers you customarily use with it, and the heaviest load you customarily carry. For most semis on full loads, that lands at or near 80,000 lbs. It's not the GVWR on the door label.
2. Pick the month of first use. The month the truck first drove on a public highway during this tax period. Driving a new truck home from the dealer counts.
3. Logging? Trucks used only to haul logs from where they're cut pay a lower rate. Most carriers choose no.
4. Expected miles. If the truck will run 5,000 miles or less on public roads this period (7,500 for farm trucks), the tax is suspended, but you still file.

The tax rule

The amounts come from the IRS Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026) and its instructions, including the partial-period tables. Logging vehicles pay 75% of the regular amount. The calculator is updated each July when the IRS publishes the new revision.

Common weights and their tax

Worked examples

• New semi, first used in October 2026 (calculator example). Taxable gross weight of 80,000 lbs puts it in category V. October is nine months before the period ends, so the tax is $412.50 instead of $550, due November 30, 2026.
• Hotshot rig at 41,000 lbs. Under 55,000 lbs, so no heavy vehicle use tax and no Form 2290, even though the rig may need a CDL. Use the CDL calculator for the license question.
• Day cab at 66,500 lbs, on the road since July. 11,500 lbs over 55,000 is 12 steps of 1,000 (part of a step counts), so 100 + 12 × 22 = $364, category M, due August 31, 2026.
• Spare tractor kept for emergencies. If it will run 5,000 miles or less this period, choose that option: category W, $0 tax, but you still file by the deadline.

How to read your result

Your state needs the stamped Schedule 1 to register or renew plates, including IRP apportioned plates. Brokers don't usually ask for it, but your plate office will. The IRS page about Form 2290 covers filing options and recent updates.

Common mistakes

• Using GVWR instead of taxable gross weight. They're different. Taxable gross weight is empty weights plus your customary heaviest load.
• Filing by your plate renewal date. The deadline follows first use, not registration.
• Forgetting a truck bought mid-year. A truck first used in March needs its own return by April 30.
• Assuming suspended means no filing. Category W trucks still need a return.
• Mixing up tax periods. July to June, not January to December.
• Leaving it out of your costs. The tax is a yearly fixed cost. Add it to the permits line in the cost per mile calculator.

Where Form 2290 fits in your year

The 2290 is one of several yearly deadlines. Our owner-operator compliance calendar lists them all, from IFTA quarters to UCR and the MCS-150. The IFTA calculator estimates your quarterly fuel tax, and the MCS-150 due date tool finds your registration update month. Starting a new authority? The 2290 belongs in your startup budget, and the startup cost calculator includes it.

Tax filings are your job as the carrier, and a dispatcher can't file them for you. What we can do is keep your loads moving and your paperwork with brokers clean, so your office time goes to dates like this one. See how our new authority dispatch works, or read the glossary entry on Form 2290.

This calculator follows the IRS tables for July 2026 to June 2027. It's not tax advice. The IRS instructions and your tax preparer have the final word.