Trucking Companies
Tax & Accounting for Trucking Companies
Tax & Accounting for Trucking Companies in Washington & Oregon
Trucking is the most tax-complex industry the Pacific Northwest produces. Operating a Vancouver-based fleet means filing Oregon Weight-Mile Tax monthly, Washington Public Utility Tax monthly or quarterly, federal HVUT annually, IFTA quarterly across every state you run, and IRS Form 1040 or 1120-S on top of all of it. Lewis Group CPAs handles the full stack from our office in Vancouver, WA — across the river from Portland — which puts us in the rare position of working both sides of the Columbia every day.
The Pacific Northwest Trucking Tax Landscape
Oregon is the only state that does not levy a fuel tax on heavy vehicles. Instead, motor carriers operating in Oregon at 26,001 lbs or more pay a per-mile tax — the Oregon Weight-Mile Tax (WMT) — administered by the ODOT Commerce and Compliance Division. Washington taxes for-hire trucking through the Public Utility Tax (PUT), not B&O. Federal IFTA, HVUT, and IRP requirements sit on top of both state regimes. A carrier domiciled in Clark County and running loads to Portland, Salem, Spokane, and Boise touches every one of these in a single quarter.
Most accountants who serve trucking clients elsewhere in the country never deal with WMT. Oregon’s mileage tax system is the structural reason Oregon ranks among the highest-cost states for over-the-road carriers — and the reason a fleet that books Oregon revenue without enrolling correctly can owe back-tax, penalties, and lose its IRP credentials.
Complete Financial Support for Trucking Companies
We offer practical accounting solutions tailored to the daily operations of Trucking Companies and owner-operators.
Accounting Services
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Tax Preparation
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Washington Public Utility Tax for Trucking — Not B&O
For-hire trucking in Washington is taxed under the Public Utility Tax, not business and occupation tax. Two classifications apply:
- Motor Transportation — rate: 1.926% (0.01926) of gross income from in-state hauls. This is the default classification.
- Urban Transportation — rate: 0.642% (0.00642). This applies when the haul’s origin and destination are both within the corporate limits of the same city, within 5 miles of those limits, or within 5 miles of two cities whose limits are within 5 miles of each other. A run staying inside the Vancouver UGA qualifies; a haul from Vancouver to Olympia (in-state, but over 100 miles) is taxed at the Motor Transportation rate.
The classification difference is one-third the rate. A Vancouver-area cartage operator running predominantly inside the Portland-Vancouver metro can be overpaying by 3x if a previous accountant defaulted them to Motor Transportation without examining the actual haul geography.
Interstate hauls — origin or destination outside Washington — are not subject to Washington PUT. They are reported through IFTA at the federal level for fuel tax, and to the destination state for any applicable highway use taxes. Revenue allocation between WA and OR for a Vancouver-based carrier needs to be defended with mileage records, not estimates.
Federal Tax & Compliance Obligations
HVUT (Form 2290) — Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. Required for vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lbs or more operating on public highways. The tax is $100 per vehicle plus $22 for each 1,000 lbs over 55,000 lbs, capped at $550 per vehicle annually. The HVUT tax year runs July 1 through June 30, and the return is due by the last day of the month following the month of first use — for most carriers, that’s August 31. A stamped Schedule 1 is required to register or renew the vehicle’s IRP plates.
IFTA — Quarterly Fuel Tax Reporting. Carriers operating qualified motor vehicles in two or more IFTA jurisdictions file quarterly. 2026 filing deadlines:
- Q1 (Jan–Mar): April 30, 2026
- Q2 (Apr–Jun): July 31, 2026
- Q3 (Jul–Sep): October 31, 2026
- Q4 (Oct–Dec): January 31, 2027
Penalty for late filing is the greater of $50 or 10% of net tax due. Washington-based carriers file with WA DOL; Oregon-based carriers file with ODOT CCD. Fuel purchased in one state but consumed in another generates credits or liabilities that net out quarterly.
IRP — Apportioned Registration. Carriers operating in two or more jurisdictions register through the International Registration Plan. Fees are apportioned based on miles operated in each jurisdiction during the reporting period. A Vancouver-based fleet that runs 60% Oregon miles will see Oregon-weighted IRP fees — which is why mileage tracking discipline matters beyond just IFTA.
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Get a Plan That Works For YouI've worked with ... a number of additional team members at Lewis Group CPAs since I opened my business in August. They took tremendous care of my business, personal taxes, payroll, and bookkeeping. I appreciate the practical advice and attention to detail. Each time I visit the office or place a call I am treated well. If you are looking for an office and team of dedicated professionals....look no further.
What Lewis Group CPAs Handles for Trucking Clients
Our trucking practice is built around the Vancouver-Portland metro, with clients operating across Washington and Oregon. The work typically includes:
- Federal income tax preparation for owner-operators and fleets (1040, 1065, 1120-S)
- Oregon Weight-Mile Tax monthly reporting and flat-fee election analysis
- Washington Public Utility Tax filings (Motor Transportation and Urban Transportation classification review)
- Quarterly IFTA preparation and reconciliation
- Annual HVUT (Form 2290) filing
- IRP apportionment support
- Worker classification analysis (1099 vs. W-2) under WA and OR law
- Section 179 and bonus depreciation modeling for equipment purchases
- S-corp election analysis for owner-operators crossing income thresholds
- Quarterly estimated tax planning
- Year-round bookkeeping with revenue-per-mile and cost-per-mile tracking
Why Pacific Northwest Trucking Companies Work With Us
Lewis Group CPAs is based in Vancouver, WA. Our day-to-day mix of clients means we cross the Columbia constantly — most accountants in the region work one side or the other, not both. For a trucking company headquartered in Clark County and running loads through both states, that matters: your tax planning isn’t a WA problem with an OR footnote, or vice versa. It’s both, simultaneously.
We don’t claim industry-wide savings figures. The actual savings any client sees depends on their fleet size, prior filing accuracy, prior CPA’s classification choices, and current equipment cycle. What we will commit to: an initial review that identifies whether your prior filings have been accurate, whether your classifications under WA PUT and OR WMT are correct, and whether you’ve been capturing the per-diem, Section 179, and fuel-credit deductions available to you.
Schedule a Trucking Tax Review
A 30-minute review covers your current filing structure, the WA/OR allocation on your last return, and the deductions we typically see being missed in the industry. We’ll tell you what we’d change and what we’d leave alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
A general CPA can prepare a trucking return. Whether they will prepare it accurately depends on whether they know the Oregon Weight-Mile Tax system, the WA Public Utility Tax classifications, the DOT-specific per-diem rules, and IFTA reconciliation. If your previous returns don’t show WMT miles being reconciled against IFTA miles, or your PUT classification has never been reviewed, those are signs the preparer wasn’t applying trucking-specific knowledge.
Motor Transportation is the default for in-state for-hire trucking and is taxed at 1.926% of gross income. Urban Transportation applies to hauls where origin and destination are both within the same city’s corporate limits, within five miles of those limits, or within five miles of two cities whose limits are within five miles of each other. The Urban Transportation rate is 0.642% — about one-third of the Motor Transportation rate. Carriers running primarily inside a single metro area often qualify for the lower rate and don’t realize it.
Any motor carrier operating vehicles of 26,001 lbs or more on Oregon roads owes Oregon WMT regardless of where the company is based. A Vancouver-WA carrier running into Oregon must either enroll in ODOT’s WMT program (monthly or quarterly filing) or purchase a temporary 10-day Weight-Mile Tax Pass for occasional trips. Enrollment requires posting a bond and meeting ODOT’s filing requirements.
The IRS transportation-industry per diem rate is $80 per day for travel within the continental U.S. and $86 per day for travel outside CONUS. This rate took effect October 1, 2024 and remains in place through September 30, 2026. The per diem covers meals and incidental expenses only — lodging is separate. Transportation workers subject to DOT hours-of-service regulations may deduct 80% of the per-diem amount, higher than the 50% general meal-deduction limit.
HVUT (Form 2290) covers the federal tax year of July 1 through June 30. The return is due by the last day of the month following the month of first use for any taxable vehicle. For vehicles in service at the start of the tax year, that filing deadline is August 31. Tax is $100 per vehicle plus $22 per 1,000 lbs above 55,000 lbs gross weight, capped at $550 per vehicle annually.
Often, yes — once net self-employment income clears roughly $80,000 to $120,000 annually. An S-corp election allows the owner to take part of the earnings as W-2 wages (subject to payroll taxes) and the remainder as distributions (not subject to self-employment tax). The breakeven depends on reasonable-compensation requirements, payroll administration costs, and state unemployment insurance and workers’ comp obligations. We model the comparison annually for owner-operators close to the threshold.
We handle quarterly IFTA preparation as part of our trucking engagements. We reconcile the IFTA report against the Oregon WMT mileage report and the IRP apportionment record so that miles reported across the three systems agree — discrepancies are a common audit trigger.
Trip-level mileage records with date, origin, destination, route, and vehicle ID. ELD logs alone are not sufficient for tax purposes — they document hours of service, not state-line crossings tied to revenue. Most fleets need a separate trip log or fuel-tax software that tracks miles by jurisdiction. We help clients set up the recording structure if they don’t already have one.
Fees vary by scope — an owner-operator with monthly bookkeeping and annual tax preparation looks different from a 20-truck fleet with quarterly estimates, multi-state filings, and equipment-purchase planning. We quote engagements after the initial review so the scope is known.