Preparing Your Tax Return(s) and Information Returns

Business Taxes

Excise Taxes

This section explains the excise taxes you may have to pay and the forms you have to file if you:

• Manufacture or sell certain products,
• Operate certain kinds of businesses, or
• Use various kinds of equipment, facilities, or products.

For more information on excise taxes, see Publication 510.

The federal excise taxes reported on Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, consist of several broad categories including:

• Environmental taxes,
• Communications taxes,
• Fuel taxes,
• Tax on the first retail sale of heavy trucks and trailers,
• Luxury tax on passenger cars, and
• Manufacturers' taxes on the sale or use of a variety of different products.

There is a federal excise tax on trucks, truck tractors, and buses used on public highways. The tax applies to vehicles having a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. Report the tax on Form 2290, Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Return. For more information, see the Instructions for Form 2290.

If you are in the business of accepting bets or running a betting pool or lottery, you may be liable for federal excise taxes on wagering. Use Form 730, Tax on Wagering, to figure the tax on the bets you receive.

Use Form 11-C, Occupational Tax and Registration Return for Wagering, to register any wagering activity and to pay the occupational tax on wagering.

If you produce, sell, or import guns, tobacco, or alcohol products, or if you manufacture equipment for their production, you may be liable for one or more excise taxes. Report these taxes on forms filed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Important References:

Publication 510                  Excise Taxes
Publication 583                  Starting a Business and Keeping Records
Schedule C (Form 1040)  Profit or Loss from Business
Instructions for Form 720  Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return
Form 2290                          Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Return
Instructions for Form 2290
Form 730                             Tax on Wagering
Form 11-C                          Occupational Tax and Registration Return for Wagering