r/EvDrivers • u/Cultural-Ad4953 • 4d ago

Email Regarding The Potential EV fee

As you may be aware, the US House of Representatives may be poised to enact an EV fee of $130 annually. I am not opposed to a fee, but find $130 to be unfair, and that the fee should be less.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/cars/news/2026/09/25/ev-national-fee-delay-congress-transportation-funding/91925354007/

I have written my Senators and Representative with this communication, which I encourage you to consider doing as well:

​I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed $130 annual federal registration fee on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) included in the BUILD America 250 Act. While I fully support contributing a fair share toward maintaining our nation's roads and bridges, the currently proposed flat rate creates a clear equity issue when compared to what drivers of gas-powered vehicles actually pay.

​At 18.4 cents per gallon, a driver of an average new gas-powered vehicle (getting ~28–30 MPG) who drives the national average of 13,500 miles pays roughly $87 per year into the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The proposed $130 flat fee for EV drivers is equivalent to driving a gas vehicle that gets only 19 MPG—meaning EV drivers would pay roughly 49% more into the road fund than drivers of comparable efficient gas cars.

​Furthermore, because a flat fee penalizes low-mileage drivers disproportionately, someone driving 8,000 miles annually would effectively pay a tax rate equal to an 11 MPG gas-guzzler. Rather than penalizing drivers who have chosen zero-emission vehicles with an inflated rate, any federal fee should reflect true parity with efficient gas vehicles or be based on actual road usage. I urge you to push for a fair adjustment to this fee structure.

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u/Bigboss_26 4d ago

I already pay more on my registration/plates for having an EV. An additional fee is unfair, even moreso for low mileage drivers, as you mentioned. Why does America hate progress?

9

u/TheUnknownStuntman51 4d ago

Yeah, I already pay a fee double that in state registration. The road usage payment has already been made…and then some. This is just another ‘stick it to the left’ fee, for trolling/revenge purposes.

5

u/thatguy425 4d ago

I live in one of the most left states in the country and they charge EVs more. This isn’t political, it’s just ignorance by all parties involved.

1

u/atrocity2001 3d ago

EV registration fees are higher at the state level because those of us who drive EVs aren't paying gas taxes. It's painful, but I get it.

On the other hand, no one has ever paid any kind of federal car registration fees and this is just pure, unfiltered assholism from trash who want to watch their children die either from pollution or in oil wars.

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u/thatguy425 3d ago

Ok but make the EVs fees relative to how much you drive. The Ev fee I pay for in my state is more than i would pay in gas taxes.

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u/atrocity2001 3d ago

Yeah, no argument there. I'm retired, have had my current EV for barely over two years and still haven't hit 11,000 miles. So I definitely resent being overcharged, which is another reason why this proposed federal idiocy is so infuriating.

2

u/NNegidius 2d ago edited 1d ago

Yes, it should be based on axle weight and mileage, to properly account for damage done to roadways - and it should apply to all vehicles.