What Is Form 720? A Plain-English Guide
Form 720 is the IRS Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return. A business uses it to report and pay federal excise taxes, which are taxes on specific products, services, and activities. The 720 form looks long because it holds dozens of unrelated taxes on one form. The June 2026 revision runs seven pages plus a payment voucher, yet a filer with a single 720 tax may touch one tax line and Part III.
That is the main thing to understand about this form. You don’t work through it from top to bottom. You find your own lines and leave the rest alone. If you aren’t sure the form applies to you at all, start with the Form 720 eligibility checker.
What is on each page of Form 720?
| Page | What it holds | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name, EIN, quarter ending, Final return and Address change boxes. Part I: environmental, communications, air transportation, and fuel taxes | Everyone completes the top. Tax lines only if they apply |
| 2 | Rest of Part I: truck retail tax, ship passengers, remittance transfers, foreign insurance, coal, tires, gas guzzler, vaccines, with the total on line 1. Part II: PCORI fee, sport fishing, archery, tanning, and others, with the total on line 2 | Anyone with those taxes |
| 3 | Part III: total tax, claims, deposits, overpayments, balance due, refund details. Also the third party designee, signature, and paid preparer sections | Everyone |
| 4 | Schedule A (net tax liability by semimonthly period) and Schedule T (two-party fuel exchanges) | Schedule A with Part I liability. Schedule T for certain fuel exchanges |
| 5 to 7 | Schedule C claims, mostly fuel credits, plus tire and chemical claims | Only filers making a claim |
| Voucher | Form 720-V | Those paying by check or money order |
Part I is where taxes generally required to be deposited sit. Part II holds taxes that generally aren’t. Part III is the arithmetic that ties the return together: line 3 is total tax, line 8 adds deposits and earlier overpayments, line 9 adds claims, and the comparison of lines 3 and 9 gives line 10 (balance due) or line 11 (overpayment).
Which IRS Nos. apply to which industry?
Here is the form as a map, sorted by the kind of business likely to report each group. Your actual liability depends on the rules for each tax, so use this to find your lines rather than to decide you owe.
| Who tends to report it | What it covers | IRS No. | Part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel businesses | Diesel, kerosene, gasoline, aviation gasoline, alternative fuels, LUST tax lines | 60, 104, 105, 107, 119, 35, 69, 77, 111, 79, 62, 13, 14, 112, 118, 120 to 124 | I |
| Airlines and charter operators | Passengers, international facilities, property by air | 26, 27, 28 | I |
| Telephone service providers | Local telephone and teletypewriter exchange service | 22 | I |
| Truck, trailer, and tractor sellers | 12% tax on first retail sale | 33 | I |
| Tire makers and importers | Taxable tires | 108, 109, 113 | I |
| Importers and makers of gas guzzling cars | Gas guzzler tax | 40 | I |
| Vaccine makers and importers | Taxable vaccines | 97 | I |
| Coal sellers | Underground and surface mined coal | 36 to 39 | I |
| Chemical and petroleum businesses | Superfund and ozone-depleting chemical taxes | 53, 16, 54, 17, 98, 19 | I |
| Remittance transfer providers | 1% remittance transfer tax | 155 | I |
| Those paying premiums to foreign insurers | Foreign insurance taxes | 30 | I |
| Commercial passenger ship operators | Transportation by water | 29 | I |
| Issuers of certain obligations | Obligations not in registered form | 31 | I |
| Self-insured plan sponsors and health insurers | PCORI fee | 133 | II |
| Sport fishing makers and importers | Equipment, rods and poles, electric outboard motors, tackle boxes | 41, 110, 42, 114 | II |
| Archery makers and importers | Bows, quivers, broadheads, points, arrow shafts | 44, 106 | II |
| Tanning salons | Indoor tanning services | 140 | II |
| Inland waterway fuel users | Fuel use tax and related LUST tax | 64, 125 | II |
| Those recapturing fuel credits | Section 40 fuels, biodiesel sold as but not used as fuel | 51, 117 | II |
| Those with ozone-depleting chemical floor stocks | Floor stocks tax | 20 | II |
| Corporations repurchasing stock | Repurchase of corporate stock | 150 | II |
| Drug manufacturers, producers, importers | Sales of designated drugs during statutory periods | 142 | II |
Two old lines are gone in practice. IRS Nos. 18 and 21, the oil spill taxes, expired after 2025. The newest line is IRS No. 155, for the remittance transfer tax on transfers after 2025. The guide to the June 2026 revision covers those changes.
What schedules and attachments can go with the form?
The three schedules are printed on the form itself. Separate forms are attached only when a specific tax calls for one.
| Item | When you need it |
|---|---|
| Schedule A | You have Part I liability, even if net liability is under $2,500. Not for Part II alone or a one-time gas guzzler filing |
| Schedule C | You are making a claim and also reporting a liability in Part I or II |
| Schedule T | You received or delivered taxable fuel in a two-party exchange within a terminal |
| Form 6627 | Environmental taxes, including IRS Nos. 53, 16, 54, 17, 98, 19, and 20 |
| Form 6197 | Gas guzzler tax, IRS No. 40 |
| Form 7208 | Stock repurchase tax, IRS No. 150. Attached to the Form 720 for the first full quarter after your tax year closes |
| Form 8833 or disclosure statement | Foreign insurers taking a treaty-based position, filed with the first-quarter return |
| Form 720-V | You pay a balance due by check or money order. Not needed if you pay by IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS, or direct debit |
A small return, line by line
Seeing one filled in makes the form less alarming. Say a made-up salon, Sample Sun Tanning LLC, charged customers $30,000 for indoor tanning services from October through December 2026 and collected the 10% tax, $3,000. Nothing else applies to it, and it has no claims or overpayments.
| Where | Entry |
|---|---|
| Top of page 1 | Name, address, EIN, quarter ending December 2026 |
| Part II, IRS No. 140 | $3,000.00 |
| Line 2 (total Part II) | $3,000.00 |
| Line 3 (total tax) | $3,000.00 |
| Lines 4 to 9 | Nothing, because there are no claims, deposits, or overpayments |
| Line 10 (balance due) | $3,000.00 |
| Schedule A | Not used, because tanning is a Part II tax |
| Signature | A person authorized by the business signs and dates |
That return would be due Monday, February 1, 2027. The indoor tanning tax page goes further on that particular tax, and our excise tax calculators can help you estimate others.
How to complete Form 720 without searching every line
On paper, you find your lines and apply the rates and totals yourself. When you file Form 720 online with EasyFile720, the guided steps start with your business details and cover the Part I and Part II categories plus Schedules A, C, and T. Rates for the return are built in and the math is calculated after you enter your figures. An account is free to create, no credit card is needed to start, and you pay $39.95 per filing when you file.
FAQ
What does IRS No. mean on Form 720?▼
It is the number the form assigns to each excise tax, such as 62 for gasoline or 140 for indoor tanning. You report your liability by IRS No.
Is Form 720 the same as Form 720-X or Form 720-V?▼
No. Form 720 is the return. Form 720-V is the payment voucher used when paying by check or money order, and Form 720-X is used to correct a Form 720 you already filed.
Do I fill out every part of Form 720?▼
No. You complete the lines for taxes you report, then Part III. Schedule A applies when you have Part I liability, and Schedules C and T apply only if you have claims or two-party fuel exchanges.
Why do some lines say reserved for future use?▼
Those lines are not currently in use. For example, the oil spill taxes under IRS Nos. 18 and 21 expired after 2025, and the instructions say not to enter them unless Congress extends them.
File Form 720 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: Form 720 (Rev. June 2026); Instructions for Form 720 (Rev. June 2026); Publication 510 (Rev. December 2025). General information, not tax advice. Confirm how the rules apply to you with a qualified advisor or the IRS.
