Rev. Rul. 78-218

The Internal Revenue Service has been asked whether the tax imposed on the use of highway motor vehicles by section 4481(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 may be computed on the basis of a state elective gross vehicle weight schedule under which a vehicle is registered, rather than on the taxable gross weight assigned to it in the use tax schedule set forth in the Highway Motor Vehicle Use Tax Regulations.

Under a state's motor vehicle law, trucks must be registered according to a uniform schedule of elective gross vehicle weights. The law contains a minimum registration weight of 24,000 pounds. Thus, under the state law a truck with a maximum gross vehicle weight rating of 30,000 pounds may be registered at 24,000 pounds. In such case it may only legally operate in that state at the registered weight of 24,000 pounds. Thus, under the state law, where a truck is registered at the minimum gross weight, it can be operated only at a gross weight that is less than the taxable gross weight for the particular vehicle as set forth in the use tax schedule.

Section 4481(a) of the Code imposes a tax upon the use of any highway motor vehicle that (together with the semitrailers and trailers customarily used in connection with highway motor vehicles of the same type as such highway motor vehicle) has a taxable gross weight of over 26,000 pounds.

Section 4482(b) of the Code provides that the term "taxable gross weight" means the sum of (1) the actual unloaded weight of the highway motor vehicle fully equipped for service, and the semitrailers and trailers (fully equipped for service) customarily used in connection with highway motor vehicles of the same type as such highway motor vehicle, and (2) the weight of the maximum load customarily carried on highway motor vehicles of the same type, and on the semitrailers and trailers. That section also provides that taxable gross weight shall be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary (which regulations may include formulas or other methods for determining the taxable gross weight of vehicles by classes, specifications, or otherwise).

Section 41.4482(b)-1(d) of the regulations prescribes a schedule of taxable gross weights for periods after June 30, 1969. The schedule classifies highway motor vehicles according to the type of vehicle (whether equipped for use as a single unit or in combinations), the number of axles, and the actual unloaded weight.

Rev. Rul. 57-499, 1957-2 C.B. 788, concludes that the tax imposed by section 4481 of the Code must be computed in accordance with the schedule of taxable gross weights set forth in the regulations rather than the actual gross maximum weight of a particular vehicle.

The concept of taxable gross weight for purposes of the highway use tax differs from that of actual gross weight. See Atlas Transportation Company v. United States, 263 F.2d 573 (3rd Cir. 1959), cert. denied, 360 U.S. 918 (1959), and North American Van Lines, Inc. v. United States, 169 F. Supp. 252 (Ct. Cl. 1959), cert denied, 359 U.S. 1011 (1959). A determination of the taxability of a vehicle according to its actual gross weight or weight at which it is registered could result in different treatment for similar vehicles for which there is no basis in the statute or regulations. Further, the use of actual gross weights or state motor vehicle weight schedules could result in problems of tax administration that the Congress specifically wished to avoid. See Atlas and North American.

Accordingly, the highway use tax imposed by section 4481(a) of the Code may not be computed on the basis of a state elective gross vehicle weight schedule under which a vehicle is registered. The tax must be computed in accordance with the schedule of taxable gross weights set forth in section 41.4482(b)-1(d) of the regulations.