26 C.F.R. § 41.6001-2 Proof of payment for State registration purposes.
Title 26 - Internal Revenue
(a) In general. This section sets forth the circumstances under which a State must require proof of payment of the tax imposed by section 4481(a), and the required manner in which such proof of payment is to be received by the State as a condition of issuing a registration for a highway motor vehicle. A State must either comply with the provisions of this section or, in the alternative, comply with such other rules regarding the satisfaction of this proof of payment requirement as may be prescribed by the Commissioner (by Revenue Procedure or otherwise), in order to avoid a reduction of Federal-aid highway funds apportioned under 23 U.S.C. 104(b)(4). The rules of this section apply to highway motor vehicles for which applications for registration are received by a State on or after October 1, 1985. For purposes of this section, an application for registration which is mailed will be considered to be received by a State on the date on which it is postmarked. (b) Proof of payment required—(1) In general. A State to which an application is made to register a highway motor vehicle must receive from the registrant proof of payment of the tax imposed by section 4481(a) (or proof of suspension of such tax under §41.4483–3) unless otherwise provided in this paragraph (b)(1), or paragraph (b)(2) or (5) of this section. See paragraph (c) of this section for the meaning of “proof of payment”. Such proof of payment must be received by the State before the State issues a registration for such vehicle unless the State is using a system of registration provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. The term “proof of payment”, when used in this section, shall be considered to refer in appropriate cases to proof of suspension of the tax imposed by section 4481(a). Except as provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, any proof of payment presented to a State must relate to tax paid (or suspended under §41.4483–3) for the taxable period which includes the date that the State receives the application for registration. A “base state” must be presented proof of payment when issuing an “apportioned plate” under the International Registration Plan (IRP) (or similar agreement) for a highway motor vehicle, but no proof of payment of the tax imposed by section 4481(a) is required to be presented to the other states for which the vehicle is proportionally registered and which are listed on the IRP cab card issued by the base state. Further, a State is not required to receive proof of payment in order to issue special temporary travel permits which allow a vehicle to, (i) operate in a State in which the vehicle is not registered (including proportional or prorate registration), (ii) operate at more than the State's maximum statutory weight limit, or (iii) operate at more than the weight that the vehicle is registered in a State. Further, a State may register a highway motor vehicle without proof of payment if the person registering the vehicle presents the original or a photocopy of a bill of sale (or other document evidencing transfer) indicating that the vehicle was purchased by the owner either as a new or used vehicle during the preceding 60 days before the date that the State receives the application for registration of such vehicle. (2) States required to receive proof of payment with respect to vehicles subject to tax—(i) Registration in States that register vehicles on the basis of gross weight. A State that registers vehicles on the basis of gross weight must require proof of payment with respect to any highway motor vehicle that has a declared gross weight in that State of 55,000 pounds or more. If no declaration of a specific gross weight is made with respect to a highway motor vehicle registered on the basis of gross weight, then the State must require proof of payment with respect to such vehicle if the minimum weight of the registered weight category for such vehicle is 55,000 pounds or more. No such proof of payment is required for any vehicle that does not have a declared gross weight in that State of 55,000 pounds or more. (ii) Registration in States that register vehicles other than on the basis of gross weight. A State that registers vehicles other than on the basis of gross weight must require proof of payment in order to register a highway motor vehicle unless the State receives a written statement stating that during the taxable period which includes the date on which the State receives the application for registration, such vehicle had a taxable gross weight of less than 55,000 pounds. The written statement must state the number of vehicles being registered that have a taxable gross weight of less than 55,000 pounds and must be signed by the person registering the vehicles. A State may register a highway motor vehicle without receiving either proof of payment or a written statement as described above if such vehicle has an unladen weight of 8,000 pounds or less. However, the State must require proof of payment when issuing a “base plate” registration for a vehicle if a gross weight declaration of 55,000 pounds or more is made to the State with respect to such vehicle in order to proportionally register the vehicle in another State under the IRP. (iii) State may require additional proof. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit a State from refusing to register a highway motor vehicle without additional proof that the vehicle is not subject to tax under section 4481(a) even though the person registering the vehicle submits a written statement declaring that the taxable gross weight of such vehicle is less than 55,000 pounds. (3) Suspension registration system. A State may issue a registration with respect to any or all highway motor vehicles subject to tax under section 4481(a) without receiving proof of payment if such vehicles are registered under a “suspension” registration system. Registration of a vehicle subject to tax under a suspension system must be on the condition that, (i) the State receive proof of payment with respect to such vehicle no later than 4 months (or any lesser time to be determined by the State) after the beginning of the vehicle's registration period, and (ii) the State's system provides for the automatic suspension (e.g. through the use of computer-generated notices) of such vehicle's registration if no proof of payment is received within the required time. Following such a suspension of registration, the State must not allow the vehicle to be registered until valid proof of payment is received. A State may either register all vehicles subject to tax under section 4481(a) in the manner described in this paragraph (b)(3) or adopt this manner of registration only in situations which the State deems appropriate. A State that registers vehicles other than on the basis of gross weight may also register vehicles not subject to tax under a suspension registration system for purposes of receiving the written statement described in paragraph (b)(2)(ii). (4) Registration during certain months. In the case of a highway motor vehicle subject to tax under section 4481(a) for which a State receives an application for registration during the months of July, August or September, proof of payment for the immediately preceding taxable period may be used to verify payment of the tax imposed by section 4481(a). (5) Registration in a State several times during the taxable period. A State is required to receive proof of payment with respect to a highway motor vehicle subject to tax under section 4481(a) only once during a taxable period. Thus, in the case of a State that allows a highway motor vehicle to be registered on a quarterly basis, rather than annually, proof of payment will be required to be presented to the State only once during the taxable period. The State may designate any one of the four quarterly registration periods as the time for submitting proof of payment. (6) Proof of payment records. See 23 CFR Part 669 for a description of the supporting documentation and records that will be required by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in order to allow the FHWA to verify that the State is in compliance with the rules of this section. (c) Proof of payment—(1) In general. (i) The proof of payment required in paragraph (b) of this section shall consist of a receipted Schedule 1 (Form 2290) that is returned by the Internal Revenue Service to a taxpayer who files a return of tax under section 4481(a) and pays the amount of tax (or installment thereof) due with such return. A photocopy of such receipted Schedule 1 shall also serve as proof of payment. Such Schedule 1 shall serve as proof of suspension of such tax under §41.4483–3 for the number of vehicles entered in that part of the Schedule 1 designated for vehicles for which tax has been suspended. Except as provided in paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section, the vehicle identification number of the vehicle being registered must appear on the Schedule 1 (or an attached page) in order for the Schedule 1 to be a valid proof of payment for such vehicle. (ii) With respect to taxable periods beginning before July 1, 2000, if a receipted Schedule 1 is submitted as proof of payment for the registration of one or more highway motor vehicles and— (A)(1) The total of the number of vehicles on such Schedule 1 for which tax has not been suspended under §41.4483–3 exceeds 21, or (2) The total of the number of vehicles on such Schedule 1 for which tax has been suspended under §41.4483–3 exceeds 9, and (B) The name of the taxpayer appearing on such Schedule 1 is one of the names in which such vehicles are sought to be registered, such Schedule 1 shall be accepted as proof of payment in support of the registration of a number of vehicles equal to or less than such total and a list of the vehicles (or their vehicle identification numbers) is not required as part of such proof of payment. (iii) With respect to taxable periods beginning before July 1, 2000, if a Schedule 1 which does not include a list of vehicle identification numbers is submitted as proof of payment for the registration of one or more highway motor vehicles and the name of the taxpayer appearing on such Schedule 1 is not one of the names in which such vehicles are sought to be registered then such Schedule 1 shall be accepted as proof of payment in support of the registration of a number of vehicles equal to or less than the total number of vehicles on such Schedule 1 provided the Schedule 1 is accompanied by a written statement executed by the taxpayer. Such written statement shall contain the vehicle identification numbers of the vehicles sought to be registered and a statement that the tax under section 4481(a) has been paid with respect to such vehicles for the taxable period. The statement must be signed by the taxpayer whose name appears on the Schedule 1. (2) Acceptable substitute for receipted Schedule 1. For purposes of this section, a State shall accept as proof of payment a photocopy of the Form 2290 (with the Schedule 1 attached) which was filed with the Internal Revenue Service for the vehicle being registered with sufficient documentation of payment of tax due at the time the Form 2290 was filed (such as a photocopy of both sides of a cancelled check). This substitute proof of payment may be used to register a vehicle when, for example, the receipted Schedule 1 has been lost, or when at the time required for registration of a vehicle, a receipted Schedule 1 has not been received by a taxpayer who has filed a Form 2290 with respect to such vehicle. The rules of paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section regarding the circumstances in which a list of vehicle identification numbers is not required as part of a valid proof of payment, apply to a non-receipted Schedule 1 received by a State with a Form 2290 as a substitute proof of payment under this paragraph (c)(2). (d) Examples. The application of this section may be illustrated by the following examples: Example (1). A applies to register a 3-axle single unit truck in State R, a member of the International Registration Plan, on November 1, 1985. State R registers vehicles based on unladen weight. At the same time, A applies for a proportional registration under the IRP to use the truck in State S. State S does not register vehicles on the basis of unladen weight. For purposes of the proportional registration in State S, A declares the gross weight of his truck at 50,000 pounds. A does not register the truck in any other states. A's truck has a taxable gross weight, as determined under §41.4482(b)–1, of less than 55,000 pounds and therefore is not subject to tax under section 4481(a). A submits a written statement along with his application for registration in State R. The written statement states that A's vehicle has a taxable gross weight of less than 55,000 pounds and is signed by A. State R may register A's truck and issue a proportional registration for A to use his truck in State S without receiving proof of payment. Example (2). Assume the same facts as in example (1) except that A applies for proportional registration under the IRP in State S and declares the truck to have a gross weight of 60,000 pounds. The taxable gross weight of A's truck, as determined under §41.4482(b)–1 is 60,000 pounds. State R may not register A's truck unless it receives proof of payment within the meaning of paragraph (c) of this section. Example (3). On October 10, 1985, C applies to register 9 vehicles in State U and declares the gross weight of each vehicle to be 70,000 pounds. C has not applied for registration in any other states. At the time of applying for registration, C presents a photocopy of a receipted Schedule 1 (Form 2290) that shows a total of 9 vehicles which are subject to tax under section 4481(a) and for which tax is not suspended under §41.4483–3(a). The vehicle identification numbers of the vehicles that C is seeking to register must be listed on the Schedule 1 in order for State U to register the vehicles. [T.D. 8027, 50 FR 21251, May 23, 1985, as amended by T.D. 8879, 65 FR 17154, Mar. 31, 2000]
Title 26: Internal Revenue
PART 41—EXCISE TAX ON USE OF CERTAIN HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLES
Subpart C—Administrative Provisions of Special Application to Tax On Use of Certain Highway Motor Vehicles
§ 41.6001-2 Proof of payment for State registration purposes.
