Washington — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued guidance to help truck dealers determine when a truck body is subject to a federal excise tax. Section 4051 of the IRS code imposes a tax on the first sale of certain truck chassis and bodies. The excise tax does not apply to truck bodies and chassis suitable for use with vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight of 33,000 pounds or less, or truck trailer and semi-trailer bodies and chassis suitable for use with vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less.

However, retailers sometimes do not know the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle onto which the body will be placed, making it hard to find out whether the body meets the above standards. The IRS guidance creates four categories of truck body types that meet the “suitable for use” standard and are excluded from the excise tax. They are refuse packer truck bodies with load capacities of 20 cubic yards or less; dump truck bodies with load capacities of eight cubic yards or less; dry freight and refrigerated truck van bodies 24 feet or less in length; and platform truck bodies 21 feet or less in length.

The classifications are effective for sales on or after April 4.