Trucker's Center

According to the ATA stats, about 70% of the freight transported annually in the United States is supported by the trucking industry alone. There are about 2.8 million class 8 trucks on the road and 11.7 million commercial trailers registered in 2011. One in nine truck drivers among 3.1 million truck drivers in the U.S. is an independent operator. One in every sixteen people in the United States works in the trucking industry. There are around 442,338 hire carriers and 700,300 private carriers in the U.S.A alone. Among them, about 97.2% of them have fewer trucks, and 90.5% are operating with six or fewer trucks in their fleet.

The trucking industry plays an important and vital role in our nation’s economy. So, you need to pay your truck tax on time and keep the economy running as ever.

IRS Form 2290

Truckers of the United States are very familiar with Form 2290 used to report the Highway Heavy Vehicle Use Tax for using the taxable heavy motor vehicles on the public highways. Generally, the tax period starts from July 1st of every year and lasts till June 30th of the following year. So, the truckers should file the form 2290 tax returns and pay the 2290 tax payments to the IRS before August 31st of every year to comply with the state law and the authorities.

Any heavy motor vehicle with a total gross weight over 55,000 pounds and runs more than 5,000 miles (7500 for agricultural vehicles) is entitled to form 2290 HVUT reports every year, and the tax 2290 amount should be paid for the vehicle before August 31st each year. If your heavy motor vehicle doesn’t is used less than 5,000 miles (or 7500 miles for agricultural vehicles) on the highways, then it is not taxable, and it comes to the tax suspended vehicle category. However, you should file form 2290 tax returns to the IRS claiming it under the tax suspension category in your truck tax form 2290. You should report form 2290 HVUT for every heavy motor vehicle, even if you are an individual trucker, owner operator, LLC, corporation, partnership, or any organization like educational, charitable, non-profit, etc. Every heavy motor vehicle owner should report form 2290 road tax to the IRS every year under their respective category and get the schedule 1 copy without fail.

IRS Watermarked Schedule 1 Proof

Truckers should report their truck taxes annually using form 2290 HVUT, and IRS will process the 2290 tax reports and issue the stamped schedule 1 copy as proof of payment and approval. IRS will e-mail a digitally watermarked/stamped schedule 1 copy if the process is done through the e-filing method.

The Schedule 1 copy is required as proof of form 2290 truck tax payment for vehicle registration purposes with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You can use the IRS watermarked schedule 1 copy as proof for your vehicle’s registration, license plate renewals, insurance purposes, etc.

If your vehicle operates across the borders via Canada or Mexico, your schedule 1 copy will act as the proof/pass to enter into the United States. You may also produce a photocopy of your schedule 1 if you do not have the original copy at that time.

Proof of Payment

You don’t need proof of payment for a newly purchased vehicle to register with a state. You could present a copy of the bill or invoice of sale showing that the vehicle was purchased within the last 60 days. However, you should file form 2290 tax returns and pay the tax dues. Proof of payment is not required for a newly purchased vehicle where the copy of the bill or invoice would serve the purpose of registration at that time.

Note: When you are about to register your taxable heavy motor vehicle with any state during July, August, or September, you can provide the immediate previous year IRS stamped schedule 1 copy as proof. But you should file the truck tax form 2290 for the current year to keep you away from the IRS audits.

In certain states, the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) may forward your form 2290 tax returns to the IRS if certain requirements are met. Only a limited number of states have agreed to participate in an alternate proof of payment program with the IRS. No further proof of payment is required if the form 2290 schedule 1 is submitted to the DMV for registration purposes. You have to contact your local DMV to check if your state participates in this program.

You should choose the e-filing method and e-file form 2290 at truckdues.com. If you submit the form 2290 tax returns to the local DMV to forward it to the IRS, it is not considered filed unless the IRS receives it. You will be responsible for any interests and penalties if the 2290 tax returns get lost in due process. When you e-file form 2290, IRS will process it at once and send the official stamped schedule 1 copy within a few minutes. Therefore, E-filing is the quickest and safest method to get your schedule 1 copy soon.

Record Keeping

You must keep the form 2290 tax records and schedule 1 copy for the last three of the tax payment because the IRS may audit you any time, and they ask for proof of the last three years form 2290 filed returns. If you failed to produce these documents during the time of the IRS audit, then you will be liable to pay penalties as per the regulations.

You should maintain the tax payment records for all the heavy motor vehicles registered under your name. If you applied for tax suspension for a vehicle that runs less than 5,000 miles (7500 for agricultural vehicles) on public highways, you need to keep the tax records for at least three years after the end of the tax period on which the tax suspension was applied.

The records for each heavy motor vehicle should contain all the following information,

• A detailed description of the vehicle, including VIN
• The weight of loads carried by the vehicle in the same form as required by any state in which the vehicle is registered or required to be registered.
• The vehicle’s acquirement date, including the name and address of the person from whom the vehicle was acquired.
• The first month of each period in which a taxable use occurred and any prior month in which the vehicle was used in the period while registered in your name, with proof that the prior use was not taxable.
• The date the vehicle was sold or transferred and the name and address of the purchaser or transferee. If it was not sold, the records must show how and when you disposed of it.
• If the tax is suspended for a vehicle, keep a record of actual highway mileage. For an agricultural vehicle, keep accurate records of the number of miles driven on a farm.

The information mentioned above is very important, and you need to produce it when the IRS asks you. You need to keep all these documents safe for three years, carefully maintained, and ready to use.

Truckdues.com saves all your tax 2290 information records and schedule 1 copy for you. You can even access the returns filed more than three years ago. You can log in to your TruckDues account and access all the records from your dashboard anytime you want.

Get Prompt Tax Help

Truckdues.com can assist you in everything regarding the truck tax and heavy vehicle use tax, but you cannot know all the IRS compliances for other taxes.

To help the taxpayers in every way with the IRS compliances, there is a service called the Taxpayers Advocate Service (TAS) at the IRS. This is a special and independent division within the IRS to assist the taxpayers who face economic threats and seek help resolving tax problems that cannot be handled through normal channels. The main job of this division is to ensure the fair treatment of taxpayers by the IRS and make the taxpayers understand all their rights. You can check https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-advocate for information on the TAS.

EIN

Taxpayers need their own Employer Identification Number (EIN) to e-file form 2290 tax returns at truckdues.com. EIN is also referred to as the Federal Tax ID Number.

EIN is required for the IRS to know your identity, maintain records and protect your privacy. IRS uses the combination of name and EIN to identify every taxpayer. IRS will reject the e-file if the EIN doesn’t match with IRS records in the system.

If you do not have an EIN, click here to apply for one online. And you may also apply for an EIN by calling 1-800-829-4933, or you can fax or mail Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, to the IRS.

DBA (Doing Business As) Name

The phrase ‘doing business as’ (abbreviated DBA, dba, d.b.a., or d/b/a) refers to the trade name or fictitious business name of an organization. It is not regarded as the legal name registered with the concerned authorities to conduct business. However, it is still the legal name used across the United States and Canada in which the business is actually conducted and presented.

DBAs are officially referred to using another term in several states of the U.S. Many U.S. jurisdictions request the businesses operating with fictitious names to file a DBA statement for consumer protection purposes. This process also reduces the possibility of two businesses operating under the same name.

Note: Filing a DBA statement is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. It carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights.

EIN is the corporate equivalent of having a Social Security Number (SSN). It is issued to anyone, including the individuals who have to pay the withholding taxes on employees. It is also issued to the entities like state, government agencies, corporations, LLCs, or any other organization, including educational, non-profit, charitable, etc. Each of them should have their own EIN for certain purposes other than reporting or withholding tax, such as opening a bank account or a brokerage account.

EFTPS

The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) is a convenient platform developed by the federal government to schedule and pay the tax dues online. EFTPS is a secured platform that allows you to pay your taxes online with the help of your personal computer and smartphone through the EFTPS Voice Response System. EFTPS is a free service offered by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

You must enroll in EFTPS before making your tax payment dues through the EFTPS service. Visit the site www.eftps.gov to enroll in EFTPS, and you can call 1-800-555-4477 for more information on this.

You must initiate the transaction one business day before your payment due date when using the EFTPS method to pay your tax dues. You can pay using your checking account, and while reporting form 2290 truck tax through truckdues.com, you can choose EFTPS as a payment option and make the 2290 payment on time. You hold the responsibility of maintaining and carrying out the payments through EFTPS. When you paper-file your form 2290 tax reports, you can schedule the payment through EFTPS and send the form 2290 tax reports to,

• Department of the Treasury
• Internal Revenue Service
• Ogden, UT 84201-0031

Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW)

The other effective form 2290 tax payment other than EFTPS is through the Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW) or Direct Debit. The IRS or the state tax authority will directly debit the due tax amount from your bank account in the EFW payment method.

EFW payment is a convenient method for every taxpayer to e-file and pays their form 2290 tax returns online in a single step. This method is the easiest, quickest, and most secured mode of payment for 2290 tax dues online. Payment information is used only for the authorized form 2290 tax payments. The electronic payment will be effective on the date the tax return gets filed. After the return due date, the effective date for EFW payments is when the return or form is successfully submitted.

This payment option is on federal returns if you e-file them. And the direct debit method is not available for partial tax payments.

Information to provide for EFW

You need to include your bank account number, account type (checking or savings), routing transaction number, or routing number for the federal authorities to withdraw the tax liabilities directly from your bank account.

Bank Account Number: Your bank account number should be 17 digits without hyphens, spaces, and other special symbols. You should enter the account number from left to right and leave the unused boxes blank. For example, the account number is 20202086 on the above sample check for your reference, and it doesn’t include the check number.

Type of Account: Your bank account can be a savings or a checking account. But many credit unions don’t allow an electronic funds withdrawal from savings accounts, so you need to check with your financial institution for further details.

Routing Transit Number: The first two digits of the routing number must be 01 to 12 or 21 to 32. Please don’t use a deposit slip to verify the number because it may contain internal routing numbers that are not a part of the actual routing number. The routing number is 250250025 on the sample check above for your reference.