If you are a trucker, owner operator, or trucking company, you are subject to filing a tax return for the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. These taxes have typically been filed with the IRS Form 2290. Until recently, this form could only be filed by paper. However, there have been great advances in technology over the past few years and the IRS now accepts and encourages taxpayers to E-File their 2290 Form.
The IRS has approved several third party service providers to E-File the Form 2290 on behalf of those taxpayers who need to file. This list is posted on the IRS website. The IRS itself does not provide a way to E-File this form through their website. In deciding how to file, there are a few things that should be considered. When you select a provider, it is important to be sure that they are an Authorized IRS E-File Provider, make sure that they can handle all of your truck tax needs, and it is safest to find a provider that is entirely web-based.
- When selecting an Authorized E-File Provider, you should look on their website for something to verify that they are actually authorized by the IRS to E-File tax forms. Again, you can also refer to the IRS Website for a complete list of Authorized E-File Providers. Be sure that the provider you choose is on that list!
- If you need to file several types of Truck Taxes and not only the Form 2290, like IFTA or Form 8849 then it would be helpful to have them all filed from the same place. Some service providers are only for Form 2290, or Form 8849, etc. The most convenient and economical way of filing would be to have them all filed with the same service.
- If an E-Filing system is not web-based, then there is less reason to use it. If a so-called E-Filing system is not web-based, meaning you need to download a program onto your computer in order to run the program, then it is not a true E-Filing system. The IRS recommends E-Filing because of its speed and security. If you are required to download lots of files and store information on your computer, your system is not completely web based. The benefits of a web-based system are obviously the speed of transfer to the IRS when you are finished, but also the security of storing your information online instead of on your computer. If you rely on your computer to store your information, you run the risk of losing all of your information if your computer crashed or if you spill something on it, etc.
