There is one rule, and everything else follows from it: Form 2290 is due by the last day of the month after the month in which you first used the vehicle on public highways during the tax period.
The 31 August deadline
The tax period opens on 1 July. A truck that was already in service on that date counts as first used in July, so the return is due by 31 August. That is why 31 August is the date everybody talks about: it covers most of the trucks on the road.
If it falls on a weekend or a legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
A truck bought part-way through the year
Buy a truck and put it on the road in November, and your Form 2290 for that vehicle is due by 31 December. The tax is prorated for the months left in the period, so you are not paying a full year on a truck you have had for seven months.
| Month first used | Return due by | Months taxed |
|---|---|---|
| July (or already in service) | 31 August | 12 |
| August | 30 September | 11 |
| September | 31 October | 10 |
| October | 30 November | 9 |
| November | 31 December | 8 |
| December | 31 January | 7 |
| January | 28/29 February | 6 |
| February | 31 March | 5 |
| March | 30 April | 4 |
| April | 31 May | 3 |
| May | 30 June | 2 |
| June | 31 July | 1 |
What happens if you are late
The IRS can charge penalties for filing late and for paying late, plus interest. Separately and often more painfully, without a stamped Schedule 1 you cannot renew the registration, which takes the truck off the road. Filing late is still better than not filing.
One deadline that is not the IRS's
Your state registration renewal has its own date, and it is usually the one that actually bites. If your plates come up in October, you need the stamped Schedule 1 in hand before then, whatever the IRS deadline says.