IRS New Instructions For Every Tax Year - How Can That Affect Your Tax Liability?

Some have been E-filing their 2290’s for decades, others are new to the trucking industry and have been E-filing for the past few years. No matter the level or expertise, the IRS has launched new tax instructions that will affect all truck owner-operators. Let’s first discuss what has remains the same. All truck owners are still required to provide their Business Details when E-filing 2290, which includes their Name or Business Name, EIN, Address and Signing Authority. The big change comes in regarding the month first used of trucks purchased from private-party sellers and when claiming a credit request.

When purchasing a used truck or from a private party seller, the buyer must acquire proof that the truck taxes has been paid prior to the purchase. For example, if John buys a truck from Mark on December 10th 2016, John(buyer) must obtain proof from Mark(seller), that Mark E-filed and paid any taxes due on this truck for the tax period of July 2017 - June 2018. John must also request evidence showing whether there was a use of the vehicle or suspension from tax before the vehicle became John’s. Acceptable proof can be the Stamped Schedule 1 and / or a written statement signed and dated by the person(or dealer), in this case from Mark. In the instance that John receives a notification from the IRS that Mark did not pay the truck taxes prior to selling the truck for the current fiscal year, John will be liable for those unpaid taxes for the entire tax period prior to owning the truck. The IRS will give the buyer, John, until the last day of the month after receiving the notification letter to pay those taxes.

The new rules also affects drivers whose month, first used is the same month as when the truck was purchased. In John’s case, he purchased the truck on December 10th, 2015. His first use was driving the truck home from Mark’s house. In this case, John’s tax liability will begin on January; it will not include the month of sale. This is assuming that Mark has paid all taxes due. The next change applies to those requesting a credit from the IRS. Let’s return to the example above. Mark paid full taxes on his truck from July 2016-June 2017 prior to selling his vehicle. In order to file a credit request on a 2290 HVUT, he must have his vehicle buyer’s full name, address and date of sale. This information will be requested by the E-file Provider that Mark submits the credit request. Mark will enter the date of sale as December 10th, 2016. The IRS will issue a refund from the month after the date of sale, to the end of the tax period. In this case, Mark will receive a refund from January 2017-June 2018.

As always, when new instructions are introduced, there will be many scenarios that may cause confusion and even trouble determining what information is required. Everyone’s case is different. Tax2efile counts with a team of experts trained on these new IRS regulations. Tax2efile’s Customer Support center can be reached at 703-229-0326. If you need any help while E-filing 2290 Form, you can connect our tax support team at 703-229-0326 or live chat or email to support@tax2efile.com.