'Paying their fair share': EV drivers could see new fees in proposed bill

[AllyCat]

Last edited Mon May 25, 2026, 05:34 PM - Edit history (1)

A new bipartisan bill proposes an annual fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners.
The fee aims to have EV drivers contribute to the Highway Trust Fund, similar to the federal gas tax.
Proposed fees would start at $135 for EVs and $35 for plug-in hybrids, with gradual increases.
Electric car owners could be forced to pay as much as $150 annually under a new tax that is being proposed by bipartisan leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A new proposed EV fee that will start at $135 annually beginning in October 2026 is included in a new bipartisan draft of a five-year surface transportation funding bill that the panel is considering. Under the proposed legislation, which has been dubbed the BUILD America 250 Act, the fee can be increased by $5 each year until it hits a max of $150 annually. Plug-in hybrid owners would be hit with a $35 fee starting in October that can be increased to as much as $50 by the end of the legislation in 2031.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/05/18/ev-driver-fee-proposed-us-congress/90141085007/
—————
Americans buy on average, just over 500 gallons of gasoline a year. Federal tax per gallon is 18.4¢ so gasoline cars are paying about $90 a year.

Under this proposal, EV drivers would start at $130 going to $150 a year by 2029. I already pay an extra $200 for an EV in my state plus hundreds extra at time of purchase. Other states are more.

I don’t want to hear about “the extra weighhhhtttt!!!!” The weight is about 200-300 lbs difference between similar sizes/types of cars. We don’t charge for “weight” on gasoline cars.

I’m all in on having to pay something since I don’t buy gasoline anymore. But fair would be charging on miles driven and weight. Not some increasing fee while gasoline owners are getting a tax holiday on gas no one can afford anyway.

Please contact your congressional representatives and ask for something more fair. We are trying to clean up the environment and this measure will put the US even further behind the rest of the world.

Thank you.

[Melon]

1. Make sense that there's an annual fee for road usage.

If the average gasoline vehicle pays $90 a year, then it makes sense to be taxed $90 a year in road tax. I owned a Tesla model Y, and the weight is a factor in wear. My normal vehicles go through tires between 35,000 - 50,000 miles. The Tesla got its first set of tires at 15,000 which is crazy to me. Cleaning up the environment is savings over gasoline, but the roads need to be funded and it’s by whomever uses the roads. As the percentage shifts to ev, there won’t be enough tax money to fix the roads.

[AllyCat]

8. I did not say that I don't think we should fund the roads.

[WarGamer]

2. Outrageous... California already has something like 200-300 in annual EV fees...

It's easy... commercial vehicles do 90% of the damage to roads, make them pay. The guy in the Nissan Leaf is the least of your problems.

[manicdem]

10. Downsides

Commercial trucking already pays a good bit of the taxes. The problem if they pay all the taxes is the added costs will be passed on to the consumer. This will mean people that don't own cars will be paying the taxes for people that own cars.

Commercial current taxes:
Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT): Commercial motor vehicles with a gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more must pay this annual federal tax, often referred to as Form 2290. It costs ($100) plus ($22) for each 1,000 pounds over 55,000 lbs, capping at a maximum of ($550) per year for vehicles over 75,000 lbs.

International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA): Rather than paying fuel taxes at every pump, IFTA is filed quarterly so commercial drivers pay specific rates based on the gallons consumed in each state they travel through. Current tax rates vary widely by jurisdiction, typically ranging from ($0.30) to over ($0.60) per gallon depending on the state. Check exact quarterly rates per state using the IFTA Tax Matrix.

Weight-Distance or Mileage Taxes: States like Oregon, New York (NY HUT), Kentucky (KYU), and New Mexico charge commercial vehicles operating within their borders a specific tax per mile, directly tied to the truck's loaded weight.

Other Licensing Fees: Motor carriers pay annual fees for the International Registration Plan (IRP) to legally apportion license plates across multiple states.

[haele]

12. Ya, my CA tags were $800 for my (leased) EV SUV this year.

If/when I purchase the lease, it will drop to around $600, then pay-off, it would be around $500, according to info I got from a local "pre-owned" dealer I know.

For some reason, leases in CA pay more in tag fees than financed vehicles.

[DBoon]

4. make fossil fuel users pay for the costs of global climate chage instead

[Bettie]

5. My plug in Prius weighs WAY less

than the giant pickups that everyone else around here drives. (Iowa)

[ColoringFool]

6. OR: Eliminate The Gas Tax. Institute A Vehicle Tax. You Drive,....

You pay.

Not on mileage, not on type of energy, not on weight, make, or model of automobile (trucks excluded from this particular law).

There's probably lots of flaws with this idea, as I've spent only two minutes on it.

[AllyCat]

9. Others have thought of this. Weight and miles driven.

For areas with no vehicle inspection, it could get harder.

Your idea is not half-baked. Lots of folks would agree with you.

[manicdem]

7. Proposal makes sense

The fees are to pay for the road maintenance and construction. Pure EV's do weigh a lot more, typically 500 to 1,000 pounds more than a pure gas car. My Tesla weighs around 4,400lbs while an equivelant Rav4 gas powered one weights 3,400 lbs. We do currently tax according to a cars weight. Heavier cars tend to burn more gas and in turn pay more gas taxes.

It does make sense charging on exact miles driven and weight, but it would be more complex and lead to privacy concerns. How is the mileage and weight going to be verified? Would that require going to a service station to get it verified costing you time and a fee?

[AllyCat]

13. I wouldn't consider a RAV4 similar to a Tesla sedan.

Unless you have a Y?

The weight of vehicles is NOT taken into consideration federally and in most states. Even fuel economy isn’t taken into consideration. My hybrid 7 seater SUV gets worse gas mileage than my husband’s ICE sedan. Yet I pay an extra $200 a year to the state of Wisconsin for it than he does.

Weight of enormous tractor-trailers, busses, work vehicles add far more damage to the roads than our EVs.

Again, I don’t disagree that EVs should pay to maintain the roads we use. But if this passes, I will pay $230-250 that an ICE does not. They will continue to pay their 18.4¢ a gallon or $90 a year.

We also pay a 3¢/kWh excise tax to charge right now.

This is a gift to the oil companies and the auto dealers who will lose money on service fees.

[manicdem]

15. You'd have to make an apples to apples comparison

I have a Model Y so it's a fair comparison to a ICE RAV4.

Hard to compare your vehicles since a 7 seat SUV is entirely different from a sedan. I'm sure the hybrid SUV gets noticably better milage than a similar ICE one. But the total energy required to move that 7 seat SUV will be considerably more than that needed for a sedan, regardless if either is EV, ICE or hybrid.

To get a fair comparison, you'd have to break everything down.

What is the weight difference between your SUV and Sedan?

Whats the annual milage on both?

What is the full gas and electricity taxes, and registration fees you pay for both?

If you have those numbers, you can figure out the actual price you pay between both.

[AllyCat]

16. Doesn't matter. I am buying MORE fuel than my husband.

Yet I am taxed $100 more on that car because, according to Wisconsin republicans, I don’t buy as much gas. $200 more in the EV.

Fair is base the federal fee on what the average ICE vehicle pays.

OR, if their argument is wear and tear on the roads, base it on weight and miles driven.

[manicdem]

17. example

Using AI I check the stats of a 7 seater SUV with ICE/Hybrid/EV varients with a model. The ICE model below has a minimal electric motor booster only. The weight difference is very dramatic. I was surprised by how high the MPG estimate is on the Hybrid, & assuming the similar for pure EV. I thought it would be half that. Guess a large hybrid SUV could get better mileage than an ICE sedan.

But in your case assuming similar milage, the SUV would be paying similar taxes to the sedan based on milage. However the SUV probably weighs close to twice your sedan hence the added taxes and fees you have to pay.


Powertrain TypeModel & TrimCurb WeightEstimated Mileage / Range
Mild-Hybrid (ICE)Volvo XC90 B5 / B6~4,442 - 4,600 lbs23 City / 30 Hwy MPG
Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV)Volvo XC90 T8 Recharge~5,075 - 5,104 lbs58 MPGe / 33 mi pure electric range
Pure Electric (EV)Volvo EX90~6,135 lbsUp to 310 mi total electric range

[AllyCat]

19. Other vehicles are NOT taxed by weight.

Why is this suddenly an argument for EVs to cough up more money than their polluting equivalents?

[Bettie]

11. Honestly, it doesn't seem like an onerous fee

for road use.

Roads are part of the commons that we all use, so paying a small fee for using less gas isn't a huge deal.

[AllyCat]

14. Why should we pay more than ICE owners?

[Bettie]

20. For me, it's because I like driving on decent roads

it's a public good and I'm willing to pay for things that benefit everyone.

And we're not paying more, they are paying their road repair taxes at the gas pump, we don't contribute as much toward roads in that way.

Simple difference of opinion. Have a good day (evening where I am).

[Renew Deal]

18. Democrats aren't in a rush to pass universal healthcare but they can't wait to tax EV's.