Key Takeaways
There is no federal tax on electric vehicles to contribute to the maintenance of roads, bridges, and infrastructure, with only gas and diesel drivers paying the cost.
Many states are now beginning to obtain funding from EV owners by raising fees and assessments to pay for some of the damage their vehicles might be causing.
Electric vehicles weigh considerably more than their internal combustion counterparts, which means more wear and tear on roads and bridges.
Congress is beginning to investigate ways to charge EV owners, rather than just gas and diesel vehicle owners, for the use of roads and highways, but its most recent act was to raise the weight limit of EV semis to 82,000 pounds, another ton above that allowed diesel semis, exacerbating the problem.
The federal government and almost all states have gasoline and diesel taxes to help pay for transportation projects and road maintenance, commonly called a “road tax.” Since pure electric vehicles (EVs) do not use gasoline or diesel, they avoid supporting the roads. Some states have upped registration fees on electric vehicles to deal with the dichotomy. Many legislatures are looking at extra fees to ensure EV owners pay their fair share, mainly since their car’s heavy batteries cause increased wear and tear on state roads beyond those of ICE vehicles. Georgia and Illinois, for example, charge a flat fee, and others like Utah charge based on weight or mileage, which is tracked by the state.
A Consumer Reports analysis shows that 26 states currently have fees on electric vehicles. Existing and proposed fees in these states can be higher than the gas tax and, in some cases, as much as three times higher. The amounts are shown below:
Note: Illinois’ registration fees for electric vehicles are not reflected on the map but are discussed in the text below.
Missouri, for example, has a fee on electric vehicles that is higher than its consumption tax on gasoline, from where most of its transportation funding comes. According to Missouri lawmakers, it is not trying to penalize EV owners, rather they want them to pay their fair share for maintaining the roads and bridges in the state.
Illinois proposed a $1,000 fee on EV owners beginning this year but reduced it to a $248 registration fee, which is $100 more than an owner of a gas-powered car would pay, on average. EV owners had been paying $17.50 per year. The Illinois General Assembly approved a $45 billion package of transportation infrastructure improvements, increasing the gas tax and vehicle registration fees. The gas tax in Illinois — already among the highest in the United States — doubled to 38 cents per gallon. The annual registration fee for most gas-burning vehicles increased from $50 to $148 per year.
The states are basing their EV fees on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model to support “equal tax treatment for all vehicles.” ALEC’s resolution calls for eliminating EV tax credits and increasing user fees so that “all vehicles using public roads share in the cost.” The group notes that heavy battery packs onboard EVs exact a greater structural toll on roads than equivalent gas-powered passenger cars. For example, a Nissan Leaf weighs 3,440 pounds, a thousand pounds more than a Versa compact, a gas-powered model with a similar size and the same amount of room for passengers. The Leaf weighs about 200 pounds more than the larger, roomier Altima sedan.
Because heavy-duty trucks, particularly electric ones, cause the most wear and tear on roads, EV advocates feel they should be taxed more heavily rather than raising fees on personal electric vehicles. Rather than doing that, Congress lifted the current 80,000-pound limit for semis to 82,000 pounds for EV semis, which lose around 5,000 pounds of cargo-carrying capacity due to their much heavier batteries. Robert Atkinson, an economist at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which advocates on behalf of electric vehicles, says that the amount of road damage caused by any kind of car, SUV, or pickup truck is minimal. However, with that argument, internal combustion vehicles fueled by gas or diesel should also not be taxed. He also believes that electric vehicles should not be taxed until the technology makes inroads to become self-sustaining. But, in the meantime, gas and diesel vehicles are subsidizing electric vehicle owners’ use of U.S. roads and the cost of their maintenance.
Vermont, for example, had tabled a special EV fee because it could harm the widespread adoption of the technology. At the end of 2016, fewer than 1,400 electric vehicles were registered in Vermont, and by 2025, there were over 15,000 electric vehicles — over 10 times higher. About 58% are pure plug-in electric vehicles, and 42% are hybrid electrics. The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) essentially doubled the cost of EV and hybrid vehicle registrations for 2025. According to the DMV, it makes up for the loss of gasoline tax revenue, which goes to support road and bridge repair.
Currently, electric vehicles are expensive and owned by the upper echelon of society, who can afford to pay their higher costs and added fees and benefit from federal and state tax credits, the former of which is up to $7,500. Further, residents in many states believe they are subsidizing EV buyers in more affluent, coastal states like California — which has the most EV registrations in the United States.
The federal government has yet to tax EV owners. The federal gas tax is used to pay for the cost and maintenance of the interstate highway system and is currently taxed at 18.3 cents per gallon. President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Sean Duffy, wants to change that imbalance, but the DOT cannot change it on its own. The agency would need to work with Congress to pass new legislation authorizing taxes or fees on electric vehicles. It could amend the Highway Revenue Act, passed in 1956, and establish a federal fuel tax. Still, an implementation framework that provides EV mileage or electricity usage would need to be developed. That act was passed the same year as the National Interstate and Defense Highways System Act of 1956, which created the Interstate Highway System.
Conclusion
There is an imbalance between road taxes for EV owners and owners of internal combustion engine vehicles, particularly at the federal level. The federal gasoline tax is 18.3 cents per gallon, which EV owners do not pay. Many states have gas taxes and now 26 states have some sort of fee on electric vehicles to help pay the cost of roads and their maintenance. Some states impose a flat fee added to the registration fee and others tax based on the mileage or weight of the EV. EVs house heavy batteries that add weight to the vehicles that can be several hundred to 1,000 pounds more than a comparable gasoline model. The issue of who pays for road construction and maintenance — like so many of the issues surrounding electric vehicles — is one that seems to have gotten little scrutiny from those who originally promoted the idea as a national goal.
