Who Files Truck FET: Dealer or Buyer?
Who pays truck FET? In the normal case, the dealer files and the buyer does not. Publication 510 is direct: "The seller is liable for the tax." That seller reports it on Form 720 under IRS No. 33. If you bought a new heavy truck from a dealer in an ordinary sale, you generally have no Form 720 to file for that purchase.
That is only the ordinary case, though. The 12% retail tax attaches to the first retail sale, and a few transactions change who that seller is, or replace the sale with a lease or a use. The table below sorts them out. For the rate and the vehicles covered, see the 12% heavy truck tax overview.
Who owes the tax, transaction by transaction
| What happened | Who is liable | Rule from Pub. 510 |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer sells a new taxable truck to the end user | Dealer | First retail sale; the seller is liable |
| Manufacturer sells directly to the end user | Manufacturer | Seller is liable; base includes the presumed markup |
| Manufacturer sells to a dealer, and the dealer gives a signed resale statement | Nobody yet; the later seller | Not a first retail sale, if accepted in good faith |
| Manufacturer sells to a dealer with no such statement | Manufacturer | The sale is treated as the first retail sale unless an exception applies |
| Long-term lease (1 year or more, counting renewal options) before any first retail sale | Lessor, at the time of the lease | Treated as a taxable sale |
| Short-term lease (under 1 year, counting renewal options) before any first retail sale | Lessor, at the time of the lease | Treated as a taxable use |
| Anyone uses the article before its first retail sale | The person using it | Liable as if they had sold it at retail |
| A later sale, after a taxable sale, lease, or use | Nobody, generally | Not a first retail sale. Trailers and semitrailers resold within 6 months are the exception |
The three exceptions to seller liability
A sale counts as the first retail sale, with the seller liable, unless one of three things is true.
- There was a prior taxable sale, lease, or use. The tax has already been triggered once, subject to the trailer resale rule.
- The sale is tax free under section 4221. Publication 510 lists sales for state or local government exclusive use, certain sales to Indian tribal governments, nonprofit educational organizations, qualified blood collector organizations, further manufacture, export, and the United Nations. In general, seller and buyer must both be registered, using Form 637, with certain exceptions. Our exemptions guide covers these in more detail.
- The buyer signs a statement of intent to resell or lease long term. The seller must accept it in good faith, and the buyer signs it under penalties of perjury and in good faith. Publication 510 includes a sample as Model Certificate T.
When does a buyer end up owing truck FET?
Buyers are not off the hook in every case. These are the situations to watch, using invented examples.
You buy for resale, then put the truck to work. Delta Haulers buys a tractor from a manufacturer on a resale statement, then uses it for its own freight for a few months. Delta is now liable as though it had sold the truck at retail. The tax attaches when the use begins. If Delta regularly sells such trucks at retail at arm's length, the tax is figured on its lowest established retail price at that time. If not, the IRS determines a constructive price. A later sale of that truck does not trigger the tax again.
You buy tax free for further manufacture, then do something else. If you buy articles tax free and resell or use them other than in making another article, you are liable just as if you had manufactured them and made the first retail sale. Mounting certain equipment, such as a fifth wheel or a liftgate, does not count as manufacturing an article, by itself.
You add parts within 6 months of delivery. This one is triggered by what the owner, lessee, or operator installs, not by the dealer's sale. If non-replacement parts and accessories installed within 6 months after the vehicle is placed in service total more than $1,000, including installation, the tax applies to all of them. The owners of the trade or business installing the parts are secondarily liable.
You rebuild a vehicle. Repairs and modifications do not generally trigger the tax. They do if the cost is more than 75% of the retail price of a comparable new article. This generally does not help an article that was not subject to the tax when new.
The vehicle comes back from abroad. A vehicle exported before its first retail sale, used in a foreign country, and then returned is taxable on its first domestic use or retail sale after importation.
Leasing companies: why the base differs
Lessors face a different base, because no sales price exists at that point. A lessor that is not the manufacturer, producer, importer, or related person uses the price it paid for the article, plus the cost of parts and accessories it installed, plus a presumed markup percentage. A manufacturer that leases long term uses a constructive sales price plus the presumed markup. The presumed markup is 4% for trucks and truck-tractors, and zero for truck trailers, semitrailers, and remanufactured trucks and tractors.
To see how the 12% and the tire credit work out in dollars, try the truck excise tax calculator.
If you are the one liable, what do you do?
- Figure the tax for each vehicle and total it for the quarter on IRS No. 33, in Part I of Form 720.
- Complete Schedule A, which records net liability for each semimonthly period, even if the net liability is under $2,500.
- Make semimonthly deposits by electronic funds transfer, unless your net Part I liability for the quarter is $2,500 or less. In that case the tax is payable with the return.
- File by the due date: April 30, July 31, October 31, or January 31, moved to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or legal holiday.
- Keep records that support any claims and exemptions, including resale statements you accepted. The instructions call for at least 4 years from the latest of when the tax became due, you paid it, or you filed a claim.
Dealers and one-time filers alike can file IRS No. 33 online with EasyFile720, an IRS-authorized e-file provider for Form 720. It guides you from business details through submission, including Schedules A and C, and calculates the math once you enter your figures. Preparers can file for multiple dealerships under one account. See how it works for truck dealers. It is free to set up, and you pay $39.95 when you file.
FAQ
Can the dealer add the 12% to my invoice?▼
Publication 510 says who is liable to the IRS. It does not address how a dealer shows the tax on an invoice or whether it is passed on, so read your purchase contract. Either way, the tax itself is excluded from the base the 12% is figured on.
I bought a truck under a resale certificate and kept it. What now?▼
If you use the truck before a first retail sale, you are liable as if you had sold it at retail yourself. The tax attaches when the use begins, and you would report it on Form 720.
Does a truck buyer have to keep filing Form 720 after one report?▼
You must file for each quarter after a liability until you have filed a final return. The instructions say to file a final return if you have been filing Form 720 and won't owe excise taxes reportable on it in future quarters.
How long does a blanket resale certificate last?▼
The IRS model certificate can cover all orders for a stated period, and that period cannot exceed 12 calendar quarters.
File the truck excise tax online
Create a free account with no credit card and build your return. You pay $39.95 only when you file. EasyFile720 is an IRS-authorized e-file provider, and you get an acknowledgment when the IRS accepts your return.
Sources: IRS Publication 510 (Rev. December 2025); Instructions for Form 720 (Rev. June 2026). General information, not tax advice. Confirm how the rules apply to you with a qualified advisor or the IRS.
