New York Highway Use Tax Registration (New York HUT): Things You Need To Know

The New York Highway use tax is also called the fuel use tax. The state of New York is going to tax you both for the fuel you consume and the highways that you use within its geographical boundary. When you talk about the fuel use tax, it applies to vehicles above a certain weight. These vehicles operate across state lines and also to and from Canada. 

Note: When you talk about a highway use tax or a heavy highway vehicle use tax, the vehicles that these taxes are applicable to fall under a certain weight category. In this case, this vehicle must operate in New York too. There are special exemptions and reporting requirements as well for every tax.

You should know that the state of New York participates in the IFTA which is the International Fuel Tax Agreement. There are 48 states and all Canadian provinces included in the IFTA. If you are a passenger carrier or a freight carrier based in New York, you are required to pay the fuel use tax only to the state of New York. The base jurisdiction has the responsibility of remitting due taxes to other jurisdictions. The base jurisdiction performs a single audit for all member jurisdictions. The biggest purpose that the IFTA solves is that of eliminating the need to file separate fuel tax reports for each jurisdiction where you operate your vehicle.

Owners and operators are required to get a highway use tax registration immediately and also relevant decals before they start operating across the state of New York.

Understand What A Certificate Of Registration And Decals Mean For You

If you intend to operate your commercial motor vehicle on the New York State Public Highways, you must obtain your certificates of registration and relevant decals. Remember that each motor vehicle that you operate is going to be subject to the highway use tax. You should be aware of the two major types of registrations given below:

The HUT Certificate Of Registration

If you operate a truck, tractor, or any other self-propelled vehicle that has a gross weight of more than 18,000 pounds, you require this registration. Any truck or vehicle that has an unloaded weight of more than 8,000 pounds and also a tractor that has an unloaded weight of more than 4,000 pounds is required to get this registration done.

Automotive Fuel Carrier Certificate Of Registration

This registration is required for any kind of trailer, semi-trailer, truck, or any device that is attached to the vehicle that transports automotive fuel. The same weight rules are going to apply here as well. Creating your account to apply for your New York Highway use tax registration

Form TMT-39

If you want to fill out a new application for your highway use tax and automotive fuel carrier tax registration, you need to fill up this form.

Form TMT-1

You can use this application to get your highway use tax and automotive fuel carrier certificate of registration in addition to your decals.The state of New York allows you to apply for various operating credentials online using a single point of contact. Once you have created your HUT account, you will be able to use several services through the internet.

For more information regarding your certificate of registration and whether you require to install decals on your commercial vehicle or not, you should connect with your third-party administrator right away. They can explain everything to you much better and can also do everything on your behalf and rid you of this responsibility once and for all.

Your third-party administrator can help you understand better whether you are suited for a traditional registration or a HUT trip permit/certificate of registration depending upon the frequency you operate your commercial motor vehicles across the state of New York.

What Are Excluded And Exempt Vehicles? 

As the words suggest, excluded and exempt vehicles are excluded from the highway use tax registration. They do not have to fulfill any requirements if they are used for certain specific purposes. If a vehicle is used for an exempt activity exclusively, the HUT registration requirements are not going to apply to it.

A few examples of such vehicles include Omnibus, power shovels, Road building machines, road rollers, road sweepers, sand spreaders, snow plow machines, tractor cranes, truck cranes, well drillers, and the like.

Filing Your New York Highway Use Tax On Time

It is very important for you to complete your New York highway use tax filing on time. You are required to perform this quarterly, unlike HVUT filing which is an annual fee. If you have received your certificate of registration, you need to do the filing even if you do not have any taxes due. It applies to you even if somebody else is going to pay the tax that is due on the use of your vehicle which was operated under your certificate of registration. You can file this tax in the following ways:

HUT Web Filing Method/File NYHUT Online

This is the easiest and fastest way to file your taxes. You will get an electronic configuration number. It is going to include the details of your filing including the time and date when you made the payment.

Filing Through Mail

This is a more traditional way of filing your New York Highway use tax. Just download Form MT-903 and fill it out. You are then required to mail it to the address given on the form.

Determining Your New York Highway Use Tax

This tax can be calculated in two ways. One is based on the mileage that you have traveled on New York State Public Highways. The other is the weight of the motor vehicle that you drive across the New York State highways. You will be required to choose one of the methods. You can either pick the gross weight method or the unloaded wait method. After you have chosen your preferred method to compute the tax, you must make sure that the same method is used for each return throughout the year. You can only change this method in the coming year. Make sure to use the same process for each of your vehicles.

Record-Keeping Requirements For Your New York Highway Use Tax Registration And Tax Filing

If you are a motor carrier subject to the highway use tax, remember to keep daily records of the miles that you have traveled in New York. This applies to every vehicle that you operate and have been issued a certificate of registration for. Remember that if you do not comply with these requirements and any of the rules that have been mentioned here, the tax department is at liberty to do the following:

Conclusion

Why do you want to risk the failure to comply with these regulations at all? These are important guidelines and protocols that every commercial motor vehicle and carrier should follow if they intend to operate or do business on New York State Highways. It is better to associate with a dependable DOT compliance facilitator or third-party administrator. They will help you stay compliant throughout the year without any hassles.