Truck first used in September? Form 2290 is due Monday, November 2.

If a taxable highway truck first moved under its own power on a U.S. public highway in September 2026, its Form 2290 is due Monday, November 2, 2026. The normal date would be October 31, but that's a Saturday this year, so the IRS chart in the Form 2290 instructions puts it on the next business day.

That's the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) return for the tax period that runs July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The due date follows the month the truck was first used on the road this period. It doesn't follow your plate month, and it isn't your IFTA quarter.

Who has to file

You file when a highway motor vehicle is registered, or required to be registered, in your name at the time of first use during the period, and its taxable gross weight is 55,000 pounds or more. "Use" means it moved under its own power on a public highway. Driving it home from the dealer counts. That's Example 1 in the Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026).

The month code and the date

Here's the part of the IRS chart that matters right now.

1. First use in September 2026: file and pay by Monday, November 2, 2026. Line 1 is 202609.
2. First use in October 2026: file and pay by Monday, November 30, 2026. Line 1 is 202610. That's its own return.
3. First use in November 2026: file and pay by Thursday, December 31, 2026. Line 1 is 202611.

If you put trucks on the road in more than one month, each month gets its own Form 2290. That's Example 3 in the instructions. Don't stack a September truck and an October truck on one return.

What September costs

A September truck pays 10 months of the year, not 12. Table I in the instructions (vehicles other than logging) lists the SEP column at $83.33 for Category A (55,000 pounds) and $458.33 for Category V (over 75,000 pounds). Logging trucks use Table II, where Category V in September is $343.74.

For reference, the full-year amounts on page 2 of Form 2290 start at $100 for Category A, add $22 for each 1,000 pounds after that (Category B is $122), and top out at $550 over 75,000 pounds. Ten twelfths of $550 is the $458.33 you see for September.

Bought a used truck from a private seller who already paid this period? Your tax is figured differently, from the month after the sale. The IRS example: John buys a used 80,000-pound truck on September 9, 2026 and drives it home the next day. He enters 202610 on line 1, pays 9/12 of $550, which is $412.50, and still files by Monday, November 2, 2026.

How to file and pay

1. Get an EIN first. Form 2290 needs an Employer Identification Number. You can't use your Social Security number. If you don't have one, you can apply online at IRS.gov/EIN.
2. E-file if you can. E-filing is required if the return reports and pays tax on 25 or more vehicles (suspended Category W trucks don't count toward the 25). Under 25 you can still mail paper, but the IRS encourages everyone to e-file. An accepted e-filed return can get you a watermarked Schedule 1 within minutes. Mail it, and the IRS Trucking Tax Center says to expect the stamped Schedule 1 within 6 weeks after it gets your return. You can't file Form 2290 directly on IRS.gov; you go through an IRS-approved e-file provider, and that provider's fee isn't the tax.
3. Pay in full with the return. The four ways are electronic funds withdrawal when you e-file, EFTPS (you have to be enrolled, and the payment has to go in by 8 p.m. Eastern the day before it's due), credit or debit card (the card processor charges a fee), or a check or money order with Form 2290-V.

Keep the stamped Schedule 1

File both copies of Schedule 1. The IRS stamps one and sends it back as proof of payment. Your state generally wants that stamped copy before it'll register a taxable truck, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants proof of payment for Canadian or Mexican vehicles coming into the U.S. Put the same month code on Schedule 1 that you put on line 1 (202609 for a regular September first-use return). Print the watermark clean. The Trucking Tax Center tells you to make sure it's legible before you hand it to your DMV, so reprint it if the ink is faint.

If you're late

The Form 2290 instructions say that if you get a penalty for filing or paying late and you had reasonable cause, you can explain it in a letter to the IRS or ask for relief through IRS.gov/PenaltyRelief. Don't attach the explanation to the return. On the IRS's general penalty pages, the failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month the return is late, up to 25%. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% a month, also capped at 25%, and when both hit in the same month the filing penalty drops to 4.5%. Interest runs on top of that. On a $458.33 truck that isn't going to sink you, but it adds up quickly on a few trucks, and a late Schedule 1 can hold up your plates. That's the bigger hit.

Asking for an extension of time to file doesn't buy you time to pay. The instructions are plain about that.

Same Monday, different envelope

Many base states list the IFTA third-quarter return as due Monday, November 2, 2026 too, because October 31 is a Saturday. That's fuel tax to your base jurisdiction. Form 2290 is HVUT to the IRS. Two filings, two agencies, one Monday. Don't let one bury the other.

Before you file, write this down

1. The VIN of each power unit, not the trailer.
2. The month each one was first used on a public highway this period.
3. Taxable gross weight category, A through V, or W if you're suspending for low miles (5,000 or fewer, 7,500 for agricultural vehicles).
4. Whether it's new to you, a private-sale used truck where the seller already paid, a logging truck, or a suspended one.
5. Your EIN and the legal business name that matches it.

Then file by Monday, November 2, 2026 if first use was in September. Line 1 is 202609. Pull the tax from the Table I SEP column, or Table II if it's logging. Keep one copy of the stamped Schedule 1 in the truck file and one for the registration counter.

Questions? The Form 2290 call site is 866-699-4096 (toll free in the U.S.), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.

DueHaul keeps your 2290, IFTA, and plate dates on one dashboard and reminds you before each one. Try it free for 30 days, no card needed.

Sources

• Instructions for Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026): tax period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; September first use due November 2, 2026, line 1 202609; Examples 1 and 3; Table I SEP Category A $83.33 and Category V $458.33; Table II SEP Category V $343.74; private-sale example ($412.50, line 1 202610, due November 2, 2026); EIN required, no SSN; e-file required at 25 or more taxed vehicles; four payment methods; Schedule 1 proof of payment; penalty relief and extension rules; call site hours. Checked October 21, 2026.
• Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026), PDF: page 2 full-year tax, Category A $100.00, Category B $122.00, Category V $550.00. Checked October 21, 2026.
• IRS Trucking Tax Center: watermarked Schedule 1 within minutes with e-file; stamped Schedule 1 within 6 weeks on paper; keep the watermark legible. Page updated September 3, 2026; checked October 21, 2026.
• When Form 2290 taxes are due: Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday moves the date to the next business day. Checked October 21, 2026.
• E-file Form 2290: e-file required at 25 or more taxed vehicles; approved providers. Checked October 21, 2026.
• IRS: Failure to File Penalty and IRS: Failure to Pay Penalty: 5% a month up to 25%; 0.5% a month up to 25%; 4.5% when both apply in the same month. Checked October 21, 2026.

Access date for linked pages: October 21, 2026. Not legal or tax advice. Confirm your filing, payment, and registration proof rules with the IRS and your base-state office before you act.