Form 2290 Due Dates by First-Use Month for 2026-2027

Form 2290 has twelve possible due dates per tax period — one for each first-use month. The rule from the IRS Form 2290 Instructions: file by the last day of the month following the month the vehicle is first used on a public highway, and if that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file by the next business day. Here is every 2026-2027 deadline computed, including the five that shift.

The 2026-2027 Due-Date Table

Bolded dates are the five that shift off the statutory last day: October 31, 2026 and July 31, 2027 are Saturdays; January 31 and February 28, 2027 are Sundays; and May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day — the only federal-holiday shift in this period.

How the Rule Works

Two moving parts. First, the trigger: the deadline keys off the first-use month — the first month the vehicle runs on a public highway during the tax period — never off the purchase date or the registration renewal date. The IRS is explicit that a vehicle's registration renewal date does not change the filing due date. Second, the shift: when the last day of the following month is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date moves to the next business day per the Form 2290 Instructions.

Proration: What a Mid-Year First Use Actually Owes

Under 26 USC §4481(c), the tax for a vehicle first used after July is “reckoned proportionately” from the first day of the first-use month through June 30. In practice: annual rate × months remaining ÷ 12. An over-75,000 lb truck (the $550 maximum category) first used in October 2026 owes 9/12 of the annual tax — $412.50. The same truck first used in April 2027 owes 3/12 — $137.50. A 55,000 lb Category A truck first used in January 2027 owes $50 instead of $100. The IRS publishes exact partial-period tables in the Form 2290 Instructions; our 2290 tax calculator pulls the exact cell for any weight category and first-use month, and the cost guide covers the full annual rate schedule.

Edge Cases Worth Knowing

A used truck takes the buyer's first-use month — the seller's earlier filing doesn't transfer, so a truck bought in November and put to work the same month has a return due December 31, 2026 regardless of what the seller filed in July. A suspended vehicle follows the same due-date table even though it owes $0. And the annual renewal for a truck that files every year is always the July line — August 31, 2026 this season — because continuous-service vehicles are treated as first used in July, the opening month of the period. The season-specific walkthrough lives in the 2026-2027 filing guide.

If a Date in This Table Has Already Passed

File now rather than waiting for the next period — penalties accrue per month started, so each additional month is the expensive unit, not each day. The late-filing guide covers the catch-up process and the penalty-relief paths the IRS actually grants.