Congress Considers New $130 Annual Fee for Electric Vehicles

Friday, November 13, 2026

EV owners could soon pay a $130 annual federal fee to help fund roads, since electric vehicle drivers don't pay federal gasoline taxes.

Posted by LampLighter at 07:33 PM | 7 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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"Why are Britain's streets still so polluted? Because the car industry dinosaurs do what they like, and politicians let them. The transition to electric vehicles should be moving apace, but it is not. And why? Incompetence, expedience and cowardice." Via @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

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-- Brent Toderian (@brenttoderian.bsky.social) 2:45 AM Â· Nov 11, 2026

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More from the article ...

... Owning an electric vehicle may soon cost more.

A transportation bill making its way through Congress would require EV owners to pay a new annual federal fee starting at $130. The fee could eventually rise to $150, while plug-in hybrid owners would pay $35.

Supporters say the fee would help fund road projects because EV drivers don't pay federal gasoline taxes.

The fees could take effect as soon as December if approved by Congress.

It is part of a broad BUILD America 250 Act, which funds roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.

Based on current gas prices, it would take less than six years of driving 12,000 miles annually for an EV to cost less than its gas-powered equivalent -- though other expenses could affect that calculation. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-11-13 01:59 PM | Reply

Tire tax makes more sense to me. Everyone buys tires. The more you drive, the more you need tires, the more you pay. EVs are heavier so they'd pay a bit more.

With something like 75% of ocean microplastics being tires, I think a hefty tire tax is long overdue.

#2 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-11-13 02:46 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Would a tax on tires help tire manufacturers to move towards tires that do not pollute our environment as much?

I'm of two differing opinions on this one.

Might tire manufacturers essentially buy politicians, as Big Oil seems to have done, in order to try to preserve their current ~world order?~

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-11-13 10:35 PM | Reply

You can buy less polluting tires now. You don't because the ride quality and performance is noticeably worse. Low rolling resistance, relatively bad wet weather performance, traded for a modest efficiency gain.

#4 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-11-14 09:26 AM | Reply

Snoofy's idea isn't unreasonable. Biggest impact is on heavier vehicles. Biggest blowback will be from long haul trucking.

#5 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-11-14 09:28 AM | Reply

#4 and they don't last as long as the tread depth tends to be shallower.

So Snoofy's tax would incentivize people to buy less efficient tires.

#6 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-11-14 09:42 AM | Reply

Would a tax on tires help tire manufacturers to move towards tires that do not pollute our environment as much?

The tax won't impact pollution, they are made of the same materials. The structure is different. So going "more efficient" means you use MORE tires, and not use less tires. Thus possibly polluting more.

And now you perhaps can understand why governments shouldn't be involved. The best thing to do is tax the material itself. So the tax is effectively hidden by the time it gets to the consumer.

#7 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-11-14 09:45 AM | Reply