When Would I Need to File a Form 8849?

Form 8849

Form 8849 is the IRS Form that taxpayers can use to refund the excise taxes and to claim certain refunds. If the taxpayers sell the vehicle after filing Form 2290, they should file Form 8849, Schedule 6 to claim their credit. Taxpayers can use this Form when their truck is sold, stolen, or destroyed. They can also claim the tax credit if they have used it for 5,000 miles or less on public highways, during the tax period. Taxpayers cannot claim the refund until the tax period ends for the tax year. Truck owners should make claims within three years of the HVUT filing. The company that makes the tax payment should file the claim.

Who should file Form 8849:

Anyone who needs to claim a credit or refund for stolen, sold, and destroyed vehicles can file Form 8849. 

  • If the taxpayers have overpaid on Form 2290, they can file this tax Form. 
  • Owners of vehicles, that have run 5000 miles or less on public highways. 
  • Owners of agricultural vehicles, if their truck has traveled 7500 miles or less for agricultural purposes, during the tax period. 

We cannot use Form 8849 to adjust the liability reported on Form 720. Instead, taxpayers should use Form 720X to amend the quarterly federal excise tax return. Do not use Form 8849 to claim credit for Schedule C for Forms 720, 730, Form 2290, or Form 4136. 

When should we file Form 8849:

For taxpayers who have filed Form 2290 and if their vehicle was stolen, destroyed, or sold, they can e-file Form 8849 at any time. If you are filing to claim overpayment of tax, the IRS has a time in which the person can claim the refund. The person should file the claim within three years from the period of filing the original tax return. If they do not claim within three years of the date, they might incur penalties.

Information required to File Form 8849:

The information that the taxpayers require to file Form 8849 is as follows,

  • Name and address of the taxpayer. Ensure the information is accurate, to what the IRS has on file.
  • Employer Identification Number or the Social Security Number.
  • Date the vehicle has been stolen, sold, or destroyed. 
  • The taxable gross weight category of the truck.
  • Computation of the refund amount.

Taxpayers can use Form 8849 to claim a refund on excise taxes. They can attach schedules 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 to claim refunds relevant to nontaxable uses.

Bottom Line:

It is possible to electronically file Form 8849, through any electronic return origination transmitter. We can also e-file through any intermediate service provider like Tax2efile, which is a part of the e-file program for excise taxes. Tax 2efile allows taxpayers to e-file more than one vehicle claim. You will get refunds after schedule 6 gets processed within 45 business days, after getting accepted by the IRS. Taxpayers will get the refunds as paper checks after the IRS manually processes them.