EV Road Use Tax by State 2026 — Are You Paying?

Why This Exists — The Highway Trust Fund

America's roads, bridges, and highways are funded through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) — a federal mechanism that finances roughly 90% of federal highway programs. The problem? Its main revenue source is broken.

Funded by Gas Tax

The federal gas tax is 18.4¢/gallon for gasoline and 24.4¢/gallon for diesel. It hasn't been raised or inflation-adjusted since 1993.

Purchasing Power Halved

In real terms, the gas tax is worth about half what it was in 1993. Inflation has eroded its value while road costs have soared.

EVs Pay $0 Gas Tax

Electric vehicle owners use the roads but contribute nothing to the gas-tax-funded Highway Trust Fund. As EV adoption grows, the gap widens.

States Fill the Gap

To recoup lost revenue, 41 states have introduced annual EV surcharges — flat fees that EV owners pay at registration.

State-by-State EV Fee Lookup

Search for your state to see the annual EV road use fee. Fees shown are for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) — hybrids and PHEVs may differ.

The Federal Picture

There's no federal EV road use tax yet — but that may change. The gas tax that funds the Highway Trust Fund hasn't kept pace with reality.

Proposed: Federal EV Fee

A bipartisan highway bill in Congress (the BUILD America 250 Act, which cleared the House Transportation Committee 62–2 in May 2026) would have states collect a $130/year federal fee on fully electric vehicles and $35/year on plug-in hybrids, rising by $5 every two years from FY2029 (capped at $150 and $50) and ending in 2036. It would stack on top of existing state fees: an EV owner in New Jersey ($270 state fee) would face $400/year in combined road use fees. As of our last check in October 2026 the bill had cleared committee but had not become law, and key Senate Democrats have said the EV fee is off the table. We'll update this page if it passes.

The chart below shows how the 18.4¢/gallon federal gas tax has lost purchasing power since 1993. If it had been indexed to inflation, it would be roughly 36¢/gallon today.

Pennsylvania Spotlight

Pennsylvania charges one of the highest EV fees in the nation: $250/year. But is it fair? PA also has one of the highest gas taxes at 57.6¢/gallon. Here's how the math works out for an average PA driver:

Gas Car Driver

$288

~500 gal/year × 57.6¢ state gas tax

EV Driver

$250

Flat annual EV registration fee

The EV driver pays slightly less — $38 less per year — but the gap is narrow. Pennsylvania's EV fee was designed to approximate what a typical gas-car driver contributes in state fuel taxes.

Is a Flat EV Fee Fair?

A flat fee is the simplest way for a state to recover lost gas tax, but it treats every EV owner the same no matter how much they drive. Gas taxes work like a per-mile charge: the more you drive, and the less efficient your car, the more you pay. A flat fee flips that. Someone who drives an EV 4,000 miles a year pays the same as someone who drives 25,000.

As a rough benchmark, a gas car averaging 25 miles per gallon over 12,000 miles burns about 480 gallons a year. At the federal rate of 18.4¢ that's about $88 a year in federal gas tax, plus whatever your state charges per gallon. State gas taxes range from under 20¢ to around 70¢ a gallon, so the typical gas-car driver pays anywhere from under $50 to around $340 a year in state fuel tax. Most state EV fees sit inside that range.

There is also an argument about weight. EVs are typically several hundred pounds heavier than comparable gas cars because of their batteries, and road wear rises steeply with axle weight. Engineers often cite the "fourth power" rule of thumb: doubling an axle's load causes roughly sixteen times the pavement damage. In practice, passenger cars of any kind cause a tiny share of road wear compared with heavy trucks, so the weight argument matters far more for freight than for the family EV.

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids

Many states charge a separate, smaller fee for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and sometimes for conventional hybrids, because those cars still buy some gasoline and so still pay some gas tax. Check your state's DMV for the exact rule. The lookup above shows fees for fully electric vehicles only.

The alternative: pay by the mile

A few states let EV owners choose a per-mile charge instead of the flat fee, which addresses the low-mileage fairness problem. Oregon's OReGO program, launched in 2015, was the first in the country. Utah's Road Usage Charge program lets EV owners pay per mile, with the total capped at the flat fee, so you never pay more than you would have anyway. Virginia's Mileage Choice program works the same way. Per-mile charging is widely seen as the long-term replacement for the gas tax, but it raises privacy questions about tracking mileage, and it costs more to administer than a flat fee collected at registration.

How to check what you owe

EV fees are almost always collected with your annual vehicle registration, so they appear on your renewal notice rather than as a separate bill. Some states adjust the amount automatically for inflation each year (New Jersey's fee, for example, rises $10 annually). If you've just moved states, expect the new state's fee at your first registration there. Fees on this page are annual amounts for passenger battery-electric vehicles; commercial vehicles, motorcycles and trucks can be charged differently.

Did You Know?

The 18.4¢ federal gas tax has been unchanged for 33 years — set in 1993 when gas cost $1.07/gallon.

If the gas tax had kept up with inflation, it would be ~36¢/gallon today — nearly double the current rate.

An EV driver in New Jersey + the proposed federal fee would pay $400/year in road use fees alone.

9 states still charge $0 for EVs — but that number is shrinking fast as more states introduce legislation.

You Bought Electric. Now Pay Up.