# Form 2290 Vehicle Categories: How the A Through V Weight Table Works

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Category: HVUT & Form 2290
Published: 2026-08-17
Updated: 2026-08-19
Read time: 7 min read

> Form 2290 weight categories run A ($100 at 55,000 lbs) through V ($550 over 75,000 lbs), plus W for suspended vehicles. How to find yours and prorate it.

## TL;DR

> Form 2290 assigns every taxable truck a weight category from A (55,000 lbs, $100) through V (over 75,000 lbs, $550), climbing $22 for each 1,000 lbs of taxable gross weight. Logging vehicles pay 75% of each rate, and suspended vehicles are listed under Category W at $0. Your category comes from taxable gross weight, and a truck first used after July owes a prorated share of the annual amount.

## Key takeaways

- Categories A through V are taxable; W is for suspended vehicles that still must be listed on Schedule 1.
- Tax starts at $100 for 55,000 lbs, rises $22 per 1,000 lbs, and caps at $550 over 75,000 lbs.
- Logging vehicles pay 75% of the standard rate in every category, from $75 up to $412.50.
- Taxable gross weight is truck plus trailers plus maximum load - not GVWR or the plate weight alone.
- A truck first used after July owes the category rate times the months remaining, divided by 12.

## Cited entities

- 26 USC §4481 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/4481)
- IRS Form 2290 (https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2290)
- IRS Form 2290 Instructions (https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2290)
- Taxable gross weight
- Logging vehicle
- Category W (tax-suspended vehicle)

## FAQ

### What are the Form 2290 vehicle categories?

Form 2290 uses lettered weight categories. A is a taxable gross weight of exactly 55,000 lbs ($100 a year), B is 55,001-56,000 lbs ($122), and each letter through U adds 1,000 lbs and $22, up to $540 at 75,000 lbs. Category V is any truck over 75,000 lbs at the $550 maximum. Category W is for suspended vehicles that expect 5,000 highway miles or less (7,500 for agricultural use) and owe no tax.

### How do I know which category my truck is in?

Use taxable gross weight: the unloaded weight of the truck fully equipped, plus the unloaded weight of trailers customarily used with it, plus the maximum load customarily carried. The IRS also requires it to be at least the highest gross weight you declared for registration in any state. Most tractors plated at 80,000 lbs are Category V. Then read the letter off the tax computation table on page 2 of Form 2290.

### What category is an 80,000-pound truck on Form 2290?

Category V, which covers any taxable gross weight over 75,000 lbs. The annual tax is $550 for a truck used in July, or $412.50 if it qualifies as a logging vehicle. If the truck is first used later in the period, the amount is prorated - a Category V truck first used in October, for example, owes 9/12 of $550, or $412.50, the same figure the Form 2290 instructions use in their used-vehicle example.

### What is Category W on Form 2290?

Category W is the tax-suspended category for trucks that meet the 55,000-lb threshold but are expected to travel 5,000 miles or less on public highways during the tax period (7,500 miles or less for agricultural vehicles). The vehicle is still listed on Schedule 1 and you still sign the suspension statement, but the tax is $0. If it later exceeds the mileage limit, an amended return and the full annual tax are due.

### Do I pay the full category amount if my truck starts mid-year?

No. Under 26 USC §4481(c) the tax on a truck first used after July is prorated from the first day of the first-use month through June 30. Multiply the annual rate for the category by the number of months remaining, including the first-use month, and divide by 12. The IRS publishes the resulting partial-period amounts in Table I (regular vehicles) and Table II (logging vehicles) at the end of the Form 2290 instructions.

### What if my truck moves into a higher category during the year?

File an amended Form 2290 for the increase in taxable gross weight, due the last day of the month after the month the weight went up, and pay the difference between the higher and lower category amounts for the months remaining in the period. A decrease in weight does not require an amendment and does not produce a refund; you simply report the lower category on the next annual return.

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