What Is the Connecticut Highway Use Fee?
If you run a heavy truck through Connecticut, the state charges a tax on every mile you drive there. It is called the Connecticut Highway Use Fee. A lot of carriers find out about it only when they’re stopped roadside in CT with a trooper going over their papers. This guide covers what the fee is, who needs to pay it, what it costs, and how to stay compliant.
Quick Summary: The Connecticut Highway Use Fee is a per-mile tax on heavy trucks that use Connecticut roads. It applies to any vehicle with a gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more. You register with the state, get one permit for your company, and file a return every quarter. Rates run from 2.5 cents to 17.5 cents per mile based on the truck's weight.
What the Connecticut Highway Use Fee Is
The Connecticut Highway Use Fee is a mileage-based tax on heavy commercial trucks. It started on January 1, 2023, and is run by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. The state charges it for the privilege of running certain large trucks on its public roads. The idea behind it is simple: heavier trucks cause more wear on the roads, so the state asks those trucks to pay more toward upkeep.
You may also see it called the CT HUF, the Connecticut mileage tax, or the Connecticut weight distance tax. They all mean the same thing. It works much like the weight distance taxes in other states, such as the New York HUT, the Kentucky KYU, the Oregon Weight-Mile Tax, and the New Mexico Weight Distance tax.
One thing to be clear about: this fee is separate from IFTA and your apportioned IRP plates. You can owe IFTA fuel tax and the Highway Use Fee on the very same trip through Connecticut. The Highway Use Fee is its own registration, its own return, and its own payment.
Who Needs a Connecticut Highway Use Fee Permit?
You need a permit if you run an eligible motor vehicle on any public road in Connecticut. Under the state's rules, a vehicle is eligible when it meets both of these tests
It has a gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more.
It carries a classification between Class 8 and Class 13 under the Federal Highway Administration vehicle classification system.
In plain terms, that means the larger tractor-trailers and other multi-unit trucks at or above 26,001 pounds. Class 8 through Class 13 covers single-trailer and multi-trailer combinations with a tractor or straight-truck power unit. Lighter single-unit trucks below those classes are not covered.
This applies to out-of-state carriers too. It does not matter where your truck is plated. If you drive an eligible truck through Connecticut, even just passing through on the interstate, you need a permit and you owe the fee on those miles. Connecticut does not sell a temporary or single-trip version of this permit, so you have to register before you operate.
One exemption to know
There is a narrow exemption for vehicles hauling milk or a dairy product to or from a dairy farm that holds a license to ship milk. If that does not describe your operation, plan on needing a permit.
How Much Is the Connecticut Highway Use Fee?
The fee is charged per mile you drive in Connecticut, and the rate climbs as the truck gets heavier. It starts at 2.5 cents per mile for the lightest covered trucks and tops out at 17.5 cents per mile for the heaviest.
Here is how the rate scales with weight:
26,001 to 28,000 lbs: 2.5 cents per mile
40,001 to 42,000 lbs: about 4.5 cents per mile
60,001 to 62,000 lbs: about 7.4 cents per mile
78,001 to 80,000 lbs: 10 cents per mile
80,001 lbs and over: 17.5 cents per mile
The full schedule moves up in 2,000-pound steps between those points. To put it in real numbers, a truck over 80,000 pounds that runs 500 Connecticut miles in a quarter would owe about $87.50 for that quarter. A truck in the 26,000 to 28,000 pound range running the same 500 miles would owe about $12.50.
You report your Connecticut miles and the weight of the trucks that drove them, and the rate is applied from there.
How to Register for the CT Highway Use Fee
You register through myconneCT, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) online portal. You complete and submit the application there.
After the state accepts your application, it issues one permit to your company. The permit is not tied to a specific truck or VIN. It carries your company name and covers your operation for the year. Connecticut mails the permit, and you can also view and print it from your account. There are no decals or stickers to display.
Once you have the permit, you keep a copy in each eligible vehicle you run in Connecticut. If a state officer asks for it, the driver needs to be able to show it. If you already have a DRS account for IFTA or Motor Carrier Road Tax, you can add a Highway Use Fee account to your existing login rather than starting from scratch.
How to File and Pay the Highway Use Fee
You file the Highway Use Fee return every quarter. It used to be a monthly filing when the program first started, but Connecticut moved it to quarterly filing in late 2023.
The return and the payment are due on the last day of the month after the quarter ends. So the quarter covering January through March is due April 30, the April through June quarter is due July 31, and so on. You file and pay electronically through myconneCT.
Once you are registered, you have to file a return for every quarter, even if you did not drive a single mile in Connecticut that quarter. A quarter with no Connecticut miles is still a return you owe. You report your mileage on a schedule (Schedule 1), broken out by vehicle and weight, and you can import that data from a spreadsheet if you have a lot of trucks.
You also need to keep records that back up what you report. The state can ask you to support the miles and weights on your returns, so hold on to your mileage and trip records.
What Happens If You Do Not File or Pay
Missing the fee is not a quiet problem. First, you cannot legally run an eligible truck in Connecticut without a Highway Use Fee permit. Operating without one puts you at risk at a weigh station or roadside stop.
On the money side, Connecticut charges interest of 1% per month, or part of a month, on any tax you do not pay by the due date. The penalty for a late or incomplete return is 10% of the tax due, or $50, whichever is greater. Those add up fast across multiple missed quarters, and the "file even with zero miles" rule means a carrier can rack up penalties for quarters they did not even run in the state.
The good news is that this is a routine filing once it is set up. The trick is not forgetting it, because it sits outside the IFTA and IRP deadlines most carriers already track.
How TIPS Handles the CT Highway Use Fee for You
If you would rather not deal with another state portal and another quarterly deadline, this is something we handle for you. We register your company for the Connecticut Highway Use Fee, get your permit set up, and file your quarterly returns so the deadline does not slip past you.
When you bring us on for it, we contact you to confirm the company details you entered in the cart form, set up or add the Highway Use Fee account in myconneCT, and get your permit issued. From there we can handle the quarterly returns, including the empty quarters when you had no Connecticut miles, so you stay registered and in good standing.
Connecticut is one of several states with a weight distance tax, and they all have their own portals, deadlines, and rules. We track those for carriers across all of them. If you run in more than one of these states, we can keep the whole set on schedule for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to pay the Connecticut Highway Use Fee?
Any carrier that runs an eligible motor vehicle on a Connecticut public road owes the fee. An eligible vehicle has a gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more and falls into Class 8 through Class 13 under the Federal Highway Administration system. This includes out-of-state carriers that only pass through Connecticut.
How much is the Connecticut Highway Use Fee?
The fee is charged per mile driven in Connecticut, and the rate goes up with the truck's weight. It starts at 2.5 cents per mile for vehicles weighing 26,001 to 28,000 pounds and rises to 17.5 cents per mile for vehicles over 80,000 pounds.
Is the Connecticut Highway Use Fee the same as IFTA?
No. The Highway Use Fee is separate from IFTA and from your IRP plates. It is a Connecticut mileage tax that you register, file, and pay through the state's myconneCT portal. You can owe both IFTA and the Highway Use Fee for the same trip.
How do I register for the CT Highway Use Fee?
You can let TIPS handle it for you, or register through myconneCT, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services online portal. After you register, the state issues one permit to your company. You keep a copy of that permit in every eligible vehicle you run in Connecticut.
How often do I file the Connecticut Highway Use Fee return?
You file every quarter. The return and payment are due on the last day of the month after the quarter ends. You have to file for every quarter once you are registered, even if you drove zero miles in Connecticut that quarter.
What happens if I do not file or pay?
Connecticut charges interest of 1% per month on unpaid tax. The penalty for a late or incomplete return is 10% of the tax due or $50, whichever is greater. You also cannot legally run an eligible truck in Connecticut without a Highway Use Fee permit.
Does the Connecticut Highway Use Fee apply to out-of-state trucks?
Yes. The fee applies to any eligible vehicle on a Connecticut public road, no matter what state it is registered in. If your truck is 26,000 pounds or more and runs through Connecticut, you need a permit and you owe the fee on those miles.
Connecticut's Highway Use Fee is one more state deadline that sits outside your usual IFTA and IRP filings, and it is easy to miss until a penalty shows up. We can register your company, get your permit, and file every quarter so you do not have to think about it. See our state permit services or contact us or call (208) 278-6722.