Highway motor vehicles that have a taxable gross weight of
55,000 pounds or more are taxable.
A highway motor vehicle includes any self-propelled
vehicle designed to carry a load over public highways,
whether or not also designed to perform other functions.
Examples of vehicles that are designed to carry a load over
public highways include trucks, truck tractors, and buses.
Generally, vans, pickup trucks, panel trucks, and similar
trucks are not subject to this tax because they have a taxable
gross weight less than 55,000 pounds.
A vehicle consists of a chassis, or a chassis and body,
but does not include the load. It does not matter if the vehicle
is designed to perform a highway transportation function for
only a particular type of load, such as passengers,
furnishings, and personal effects (as in a house, office, or
utility trailer), or a special kind of cargo, goods, supplies, or
materials. It does not matter if machinery or equipment is
specially designed (and permanently mounted) to perform
some off-highway task unrelated to highway transportation
except to the extent discussed later under Vehicles not
considered highway motor vehicles
Use means the use of a vehicle with power from its own
motor on any public highway in the United States.
A public highway is any road in the United States that is
not a private roadway. This includes federal, state, county,
and city roads
The gross taxable weight of a vehicle is determined by adding:
- The actual unloaded weight (actual tare weight) of the vehicle fully equipped for
service
- The actual unloaded weight of any trailers or semitrailers fully equipped for service
customarily used in combination with the vehicle, and
- The weight of the maximum load customarily carried on the vehicle and on any trailers
or semitrailers customarily used in combination with the vehicle
- For Buses, The taxable gross weight of a bus is its actual unloaded
weight fully equipped for service plus 150 pounds for each seat provided for passengers
and driver.