Wisconsin DMV reminds motor carriers to file Form 2290 before plate renewal

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles is reminding motor carriers who are preparing to renew their heavy truck registration to first file IRS Form 2290 before renewing their license plates with the DMV.

The agency is also cautioning drivers that, due to coronavirus concerns, those renewals won’t be happening in-person.

“Motor carriers will not be able to visit a DMV this year due to COVID-19 so they must mail in all the necessary paperwork. DMV is offering this reminder to reduce any unnecessary renewal delays for Wisconsin’s motor carriers,” DMV Administrator Kristina Boardman said in a news release issued on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

IRS Form 2290 is the Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax that goes into the Federal Highway Trust Fund. HVUT is an annual federal highway-use tax on heavy vehicles with a gross weight of 55,000 lbs. and greater, paid to the Internal Revenue Service. The federal government distributes revenues back to the states for highway construction and maintenance projects. A carrier must send proof of payment of the HVUT to the DMV along with their vehicle registration renewal.

Proof of payment of Form 2290 may be either:

• A copy of a receipted Schedule 1 (from IRS Form 2290) with a copy, both sides, of their canceled check, or
• A copy of the electronic receipt of Schedule 1 showing the dated e-file watermark, or a copy of the IRS Form 2290 with a copy of the electronic IRS payment confirmation screen.

WisDOT DMV mails the license plate renewal notice to customers to renew their vehicle registration. Vehicles that are not exempt from HVUT must follow this two-step process to renew registration before DMV will send a Certificate of Vehicle Registration and stickers.

More information on HVUT, as well as credentialing, enforcement, permits and licensing, is available on the motor carrier and trucking section of WisDOT’s website.

Get more info about e-filing it here.

Earlier this fall, the IRS warned that truckers who need proof of their annual Form 2290 payment are likely going to be waiting a while.

“Due to the current health crisis, taxpayers who filed a paper Form 2290 to report and pay the highway use tax for the taxable period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, can expect a significant delay in receiving their IRS-stamped Form 2290 Schedule 1 receipt,” the notice stated.

Form 2290 payments for the July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, period were due Aug. 31. However, owner-operators and fleets who paid by check won’t be getting their Schedule 1 proof of payment anytime soon.

However, there are ways to prove to law enforcement that the Form 2290 obligation has been paid, according to the notice.

“A photocopy of the Form 2290 (with the Schedule 1 attached) that was filed with the IRS for the vehicle being registered, along with sufficient documentation that the taxpayer paid the tax due at the time the Form 2290 was filed,” the notice stated. LL