Internal Revenue Service
Revenue Ruling

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 Rev. Rul. 70-100

1970-1 C.B. 242

IRS Headnote

The conversion of a two-axled truck-tractor to a three-axled truck-tractor, or vice versa, by the addition or removal of a multi-purpose hitch after the first taxable use of the vehicle does not affect the highway use tax for that taxable period.

Full Text

Rev. Rul. 70-100

The Internal Revenue Service has been asked whether the addition of a multi-purpose hitch alters the classification of a two-axled tractor for purposes of the tax on the use of certain highway motor vehicles imposed by section 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

A two-axled truck-tractor is converted into a three-axled truck-tractor by the addition of a multi-purpose hitch attached to the rear of the tractor chassis. The hitch consists of an axle, wheels, tires, and a fifth wheel assembly. The hitch may be attached to the truck-tractor by means of an alignment bracket bolted to the rear cross member of the tractor chassis. In other cases the hitch may be attached to the fifth wheel of the truck-tractor. The hitch is designed so that it can be easily added to or removed from the truck-tractor.

Section 4481(a) of the Code imposes a tax for each taxable period on the use of any highway motor vehicle which (together with the semitrailers and trailers customarily used in connection with highway motor vehicles of the same type as such highway motor vehicle) has a taxable gross weight of more than 26,000 pounds. Section 4482(b) of the Code provides in part that taxable gross weight shall be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate (which regulations may include formulas or other methods for determining the taxable gross weight of vehicles by classes, specifications, or otherwise).

Section 41.4482(b)-1(d) of the Highway Motor Vehicle Use Tax Regulations provides schedules of taxable gross weights for periods before July 1, 1969, and after June 30, 1969. Any highway motor vehicle that falls in one of the categories in a schedule is considered, for purposes of these regulations, to have the taxable gross weight assigned to such category.

Section 41.4482(c)-1(b) of the regulations defines the term "taxable period" as (1) any one-year period beginning with July 1 and ending with the following June 30 during the period after June 30, 1956, and before July 1, 1972, and (2) the three-month period beginning with July 1, 1972, and ending with September 30, 1972.

Revenue Ruling 57-259, C.B. 1957-1, 423, holds that the tax due for any tax year on the use of a highway motor vehicle is computed on the basis of the taxable gross weight of the vehicle at the time of its first taxable use in that year, and any alteration in the vehicle subsequent to such first taxable use will not affect the tax for that year, even though the alteration changed its classification under the schedule of taxable gross weights set forth in the regulations.

Revenue Ruling 57-226, C.B. 1957-1, 425, holds that the term "axle" as it is used in the schedule of taxable gross weights, is not restricted to the driving axles of a vehicle. Rather, the term includes all axles that are, in fact, parts of the vehicle.

Therefore, it is held that the tax on the use of the highway motor vehicle in question is computed on the basis of the taxable gross weight of the vehicle determined from the use tax schedule at the time of its first taxable use in the taxable period. Any alteration of the vehicle subsequent to such first taxable use will not affect the tax due for that taxable period. However, liability for the subsequent tax period will be based on the taxable gross weight assigned to the category of the schedule of taxable gross weights in which the vehicle falls at the time of its first taxable use in that taxable period.

If the vehicle at the time of its first use in the taxable period was not equipped with the multi-purpose hitch, it would be classified as a two-axled truck-tractor under the use tax schedule. Subsequent addition of the multi-purpose hitch during the same taxable period would not affect the tax liability for that period.

Conversely, if at the time of the first taxable use of the vehicle in the taxable period it was equipped with the multi-purpose hitch, it would be classified as a three-axled truck-tractor for purposes of computing the highway use tax. Removal of the multi-purpose hitch during the taxable period, which would convert the unit to a two-axled truck-tractor, would not affect its status for tax purposes during the period.