The United States imposes excise taxes on a variety commodities and services. Retail sellers of commercial and vocational vehicles, some truck and truck bodies, trailer and semitrailer bodies and chassis and truck tractors are subject to one of these federal excise taxes (FET). The current version of the FET (I.R.C. §§ 4051-4053) affecting trucks levies a 12% tax on the first retail sale of a taxable body, chassis or tractor.
The NTEA is one of the foremost authorities on the Federal Excise Tax for the work truck industry.
Information Specific to the Work Truck Industry:
Federal Excise Tax Guide
The NTEA Federal Excise Tax (FET) Guide is the first and only publication of its kind for the industry. It is an essential reference for the people in your company who make FET decisions on sales and who prepare your company’s tax returns.
Excise Tax Enquirer Articles
Excise Tax Enquirers, also available to members in the NTEA News, are expert insights presented in a question and answer format to a specific FET issue. The answers incorporate IRS rulings and interpretations relevant to the taxability of items in the work truck industry.
Excise Tax Quarterly
This publication summarizes the latest IRS rulings and interpretations concerning the Federal Excise Tax as they apply to the work truck industry. Archived issues are available at no additional cost to NTEA members.
Federal Excise Tax Exemption Certificate
This certificate can be used for documenting the tax-free sale of a product for the purposes of resale.
Federal Excise Tax Manual
The NTEA has compiled FET Bulletins, Quarterlies, Enquirers and Special discussions published since the retail excise tax took effect in 1984. You may order only the Manual or include an optional one, two or three-year update service providing copies of all of the NTEA's FET materials published in the previous calendar year.
Contact Us
Members needing personalized FET assistance are encouraged to call NTEA’s toll-free FET and Engineering Hotline at (800) 441-6832, 8:00AM–5:00PM EST, Monday through Friday.