Let the Howling Begin: Congress Proposing $130/Yr EV Highway Fee

Hotair ^ | 05/18/2026 | Beege Welborn

[SeekAndFind]

WEEEEE!

Oh, muh gosh, this is going to be so much fun, I can hardly stand the thought.

What I especially love about the whole concept is being able to turn the progressive mantra about 'paying your fair share' right on its ear and right back at them. blockquote>

Electric car owners could be forced to pay as much as $150 annually under a new tax that is being proposed by bipartisan leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A new proposed EV fee that will start at $135 annually beginning in October 2026 is included in a new bipartisan draft of a five-year surface transportation funding bill that the panel is considering. Under the proposed legislation, which has been dubbed the BUILD America 250 Act, the fee can be increased by $5 each year until it hits a max of $150 annually. Plug-in hybrid owners would be hit with a $35 fee starting in October that can be increased to as much as $50 by the end of the legislation in 2031.

I love the verbiage: EV drivers could be FORCED to pay.

Oh, really? Nothing like what American taxpayers were FORCED to pay to develop and manufacture these things, not to mention finance the handsome subsidies to both the car companies and the consumer to get someone - ANYONE to buy the damn things.

And now we're going to whine about having a yearly, tiny little $10 or so a month fee after all the bragging about not paying for gas, ete. that these insufferable snots do?

Gas taxes pay for the roads EVs drive on that EVs do not and have never paid for.

🚨NEW: Proposed EV Fee Could Raise $30 Billion

A new bipartisan highway reauthorization bill – the BUILD America 250 Act – proposes, among other changes, new annual registration fees on EVs and plug-in hybrids, starting at $130 and $35, respectively, to help fund the Highway Trust Fund. We estimate the fees would raise about $30 billion over a decade.

Read more about the proposed EV fee here ➡️ https://crfb.org/blogs/proposed-ev-fee-could-raise-30-billion.

pic.twitter.com/NhthMvyv96— CRFB.org (@BudgetHawks) May 18, 2026

Call a WAAHMBULANCE

The pity party is already starting in Planet Greenville.

WE DON'T WANNA HAFTA PAY NO STINKIN' FEES

ZETA: Surface Transportation Bill’s Punitive EV Fee And EV Charging Program Changes Harm Drivers In Time Of High Prices

https://t.co/rkTJUm56TE pic.twitter.com/sUXRjprYX4— Zero Emission Transportation Association (@zeta_updates) May 18, 2026

It's punitive.

And those EV cars are so expensive to begin with - it's just mean.

...A new $135 annual fee for EV drivers would eat into those savings. EV supporters have argued that annual fees would add significant financial burdens to owners of electric vehicles who are already typically driving more expensive cars that are better for the environment.

It's a plot by Big Oil!

Meanwhile: safety and transit gets underfunded, and pollution goes up.

This might as well have been written by fossil fuel lobbyists. Congress should strip the EV fee and invest in transportation that actually works for people—not polluters. 2/3— Evergreen Action (@EvergreenAction) May 18, 2026

Oh, look. The little Gore has objections. How nice that the wee wastrel could get a leg up into the green grifting industry.

All in the family, no?

..."This draft includes an irresponsible tax for EV and plug-in hybrid drivers that will fail at meaningfully closing the Highway Trust Fund shortfall," said Katherine García, director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Campaign. "Now is the time to incentivize, not penalize, clean transportation options that curb emissions harmful to our health and climate." 

Zero Emission Transportation Association’s Executive Director Albert Gore bashes the $130 EV fee proposed in the highway bill as "a punitive tax that would disproportionately impact adopters of electric vehicles, with no meaningful impact on maintaining the HTF."— Chris Marquette (@ChrisMarquette_) May 18, 2026

There's an awful lot of complaining that some states already charge extra for owning an EV, but, hey! I hate to break it ot them. That's those residents' problem, just like their insanely high property taxes. I don't need to subsidize what your state does wrong. The rest of us are out here all paying the same 18 plus cents worth of gasoline highway taxes per gallon.

Really? New Jersey saw yet another opportunity to soak its residents, and me here in Florida is supposed to suck it up because of that?

...Many states already have EV-specific registration fees to raise road-repair funds at the state level. And many aren't cheap either. In Michigan, EV drivers need to fork over $267 in 2026, and plug-in hybrid owners must pay $113, increases from the previous year. In New Jersey, it's $270 to register an EV, and drivers also need to pay the first four years up front. 

I don't think so - the sympathy meter is pegged. Texas, even.

if congress wants an EV fee, states with existing EV fees should get a credit/offset. otherwise its double dipping and BS

i already pay $200/yr in TX and another $130 would put me at a gas equivalent of ~21,500 miles/year driven. in reality i drove ~8k miles last year

nah dawg— SilentByteSage (@SilentByteSage) May 18, 2026

I'll bet you a buck our tax dollars subsidized his purchase or helped manufacture his vehicle.

Learn to vote Republican, whiners.

Now, I can see arguments that, because most EVs aren't driven as far as the average mileage that real cars get, they are being penalized at a higher rate with this flat fee. 

"...the federal gas tax of 18.3 cents a gallon hasn't budged since 1993, despite regular inflation and efficiency improvements in cars [...]the average American pays between $70 and $90 annually in federal gas taxes, far less than the EV fee."

https://t.co/Ua0PRtfQeX— Andy Wasklewicz (@calisurf) May 18, 2026

That might very well be true and should be looked at.

Some folks are saying this $135 equates to about 21K miles a year, and they only drive 8K. So perhaps some adjustments are in order on the scale. I can be magnanimous to a point.

I pay $1,000 annually on EV registration in California, plus utility costs and taxes on energy use. How can you say even more taxes are "fair," especially in light of widespread fraud, waste, and abuse?— Morgan Ramsay (@MorganRamsay) May 18, 2026

But only so far.

And federal highways are not supported by any state taxes you pay. They're supported by FEDERAL GAS TAXES, which you DO NOT.

WAAH.— tree hugging sister 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) May 18, 2026

IF I DON'T LIKE IT, IT'S GOT TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Isn’t charging some owners per use fees while charging other owners a flat fee unconstitutional?— truth seeker 💼 🔥 (@NevrEnoughX) May 18, 2026

And I see the 'Well, what about truckers - shouldn't they pay more?' being raised in some circles.

They already do, Mr. EV owner.

...As Congress works toward creating the next highway bill, there will certainly be discussion of whether truckers pay their fair share into the federal Highway Trust Fund.

According to data from the OOIDA Foundation, truck drivers pay nearly 20 times more per mile than the average car owner.

It appears our members are easily covering any kind of damage and more in what they are contributing to highway maintenance,” Charles Sperry, research analyst for the OOIDA Foundation, told Land Line Now.

...Using figures from members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, truckers pay an annual average of $11,651 in federal fuel taxes, $27,560 for federal excise taxes on the tires, trailer and truck and $2,921 for the heavy vehicle use tax, registration and other fees.

In all, the average OOIDA member contributes $42,132 per year into the Highway Trust Fund, while the average passenger vehicle driver contributes anywhere from $137 to $296 per year. Considering that OOIDA members average a little more than 109,000 miles per year, they contribute 38.6 cents per mile.

It’s also worth mentioning that these figures don’t include the state fuel taxes that truckers pay, as many of those funds are used for state projects not related to transportation.

“It’s a significantly higher rate, obviously,” Sperry said. “You might even say that there’s a good case to be made that in some ways, truckers are subsidizing the use of passenger vehicles on the road.”

Yeah, I think this is an excellent proposal and, even if they shift it downward a smidge, an equitable one.

https://t.co/fj2ABUFyo1 pic.twitter.com/oEdQbOk5cb— tree hugging sister 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) May 18, 2026

I have to admit a guilty snicker reading the meltdowns.

I probably won't even feel bad about it later.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ev; fee; highway; tax

[Freedom4US]

“Fee” is a weird way to spell “Tax”

[SeekAndFind]

Well, the Obamacare “Penalty” ( that Obama himself said was not a tax ) was Declared to be a Tax by none other than SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts.

[DownThe405]

The same nimrods here in Commiefornia who gladly vote in favor of every single gas tax that comes on the ballot will surely whine and cry about this.

[Candor7]

Why, sho’ nuff, we need more tax revenue to pay for the grift and fraud blue states perpetrate on federal programs.

“Get dat tax !”

[GenXPolymath]

The fleet average light duty mpg is...

The real-world fleet average for new light-duty vehicles is a record-high 27.2 mpg, according to the Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report | US EPA from the Environmental Protection Agency. This takes into account all gas-powered cars, SUVs, pickups, and electrified vehicles.

Take out the EVs and it’s 25 mpg.

State excise taxes and fees on gasoline range from a low of 9.0 cents per gallon in Alaska to a high of 70.9 cents per gallon in California. These state-specific rates are in addition to the flat 18.4 cents per gallon federal gasoline tax.

Motorists in the United States travel an average of about 13,500 miles (or roughly 37 miles daily) each year. On a national scale, drivers collectively log more than 3.2 trillion total miles annually across all vehicles.

Individual mileage varies based on several factors, including:Age: Drivers between 30 and 49 years old log the most mileage (approx. 13,140 miles) compared to teens and seniors.

Location: Rural motorists average more miles annually (approx. 12,264 miles) than city dwellers (approx. 9,709 miles).

Average Miles Driven: Americans drive an average of \(12,000) to (13,500) miles per year.Average Fuel Efficiency: Assuming an average of about (23.6) to (25) miles per gallon, a driver will use roughly (500) gallons of gas a year.Estimated Annual Taxes: Multiplied by the typical national combined state and federal tax rates, the average American pays between $250 and $300 total per year in gasoline taxes.

Texas already charges EV drivers $200 per year for road taxes and it’s $400 the first year you register it.

So a $130 fed tax plus $200 state tax is $300

Texas is 38.4 cents per gal in state and fed gas tax.

At a fuel efficiency of 25 MPG and driving 13,500 miles per year, you would pay a total of $207.36 annually in combined state and federal gasoline taxes.

So in Texas EV owners already pay what a 25 mpg ICE driver would pay driving the average distance.

A driver of a 2026 Camry hybrid getting 50mpg is paying half as much in fuel taxes.

It’s math it has no feelings.

[LegendHasIt]

A BUNCH of people predicted this here at FR years ago; that as soon as the leftists in power realized that they were losing out on the (exorbitant) tax money they collected on gasoline and diesel sales, that they would start charging EV drivers extra to make up for it.

[clintonh8r]

mark

[GenXPolymath]

Average Miles Driven: Americans drive an average of \(12,000) to (13,500) miles per year.Average Fuel Efficiency: Assuming an average of about (23.6) to (25) miles per gallon, a driver will use roughly (500) gallons of gas a year.Estimated Annual Taxes: Multiplied by the typical national combined state and federal tax rates, the average American pays between $250 and $300 total per year in gasoline taxes.

If you think $300 pays for even a single foot of road construction you are smoking something. That amount doesn’t even cover a single linear foot of asphalt replacement let some new ROW.

A single lane of highway is 6-10 million per mile that is $1136 per foot.

[GenXPolymath]

“(exorbitant) tax money “

Lol for 13,500 miles per year the American average at 25 mpg again fleet average it’s 200-300 bucks on the 500 gallons used.

Exuberant get real.

I own two EVs Texas already charges us more per year than the 25 mpg ICE would pay in our state at 34.8 cents per gal tax rates. It’s twice as much year one. And a hybrid driver is paying half as much at 50mpg

[Candor7]

That’s enough to make a person buy a horse.

[roving]

Illinois is talking about an almost $500 yearly tax on EV’s.

[roving]

Electric cars aren’t worth crap once they leave the lot.

[cquiggy]

Car owners that use Gas or Deisel are paying tax by the mile depending on how many miles they drive and how much Fuel that takes. Why should EV Drivers be able to drive thousands of miles for just $135. The extremely heavy EV’s cause much more road wear. Mileage based is the only way to be fair.

[EVO X]

Illinois is talking about an almost $500 yearly tax on EV’s.

The proposal would be the yearly $150 registration fee that all vehicles pay and a max limit of $320 for additional EV road taxes. The proposal would allow paying $.015 per mile. If you drive 12K a year that would be $180 in state road takes. My current ice car averages about 30 miles combined that is about $200 a year for just Illinois state taxes.

[microgood]

Not sure how the Feds would collect such a fee. I guess they would have to bribe the states to collect it.

[Robert357]

“...the federal gas tax of 18.3 cents a gallon hasn’t budged since 1993....”

My state (Washington) has one of the highest total gasoline tax and fees in the country, mostly due to our clean air carbon program fees. I wish I only paid 18.3 cents a gallon.

If the new federal EV fee passes, it will just make “virtue signaling” a little more expensive for the liberals. Of course Musk heading DOGE really humiliated all those Tesla liberals for quite a while.

[AZJeep]

EV’s carry a lot of dead weight of all the batteries.
So they are on average a lot of heavier than the gas vehicles, and they damage the roads a lot more than the equivalent gasoline vehicles.
Yet, they pay no highway gasoline taxes.
There must be a way to force them to pay their fair share!
This tax seems to be the way!

[Antihero101607]

Maybe I’m just to cynical these days, but it’s just more money, stolen from people, that’s going to be wasted by government.

[ByteMercenary]

“First they came for the dissidents and I said nothing ...”

If you think the tax will not eventually be expanded to all vehicles, you are either naive or very young.