Congress eyes first-ever federal EV fee that could offset savings from high gas prices
Source: Scripps News
Posted 9:09 AM, May 20, 2026
and last updated 11:17 AM, May 20, 2026
Gas prices are soaring, and searches for electric vehicles surged 25% last month, according to Cars.com. But a new bipartisan proposal in Congress could cut into the savings that make EVs attractive in the first place.
The EV Savings Index estimates EV drivers are saving around 0.14 cents a mile right now about $1,395 a year. Congress may soon be reducing that. In the latest bipartisan multi-year transportation bill in the House of Representatives, lawmakers have proposed the first-ever national fee on EVs and plug-in hybrids. The proposal calls for a $130 annual fee for EV cars and a $35 fee for plug-in hybrids.
The measure currently has the support of both the leading Republican and leading Democrat on the House transportation committee. Early estimates say it could raise $30 billion over the next decade to pay for road repairs and offset the rise in EV drivers who don't pay gas taxes.
Ben Prochazka of the Electrification Coalition a group that lobbies for expanding the number of EVs in the U.S. said EV drivers know they aren't paying gas taxes despite driving on the same roads as everyone else, making a discussion of a new fee appropriate. But he believes the current proposal is too penalizing and that the fee should be under $100 a year.
Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/congress/congress-eyes-first-ever-federal-ev-fee-that-could-offset-savings-from-high-gas-prices
PatrickforB
(15,526 posts)orangecrush
(31,178 posts)calimary
(90,824 posts)Auggie
(33,316 posts)and I've never had any children (property taxes). And I pay the local utility to distribute the solar electricity I give them for free.
Yeah, there is a need for a nationwide billionaires' tax.
markie
(24,065 posts)pay extra fees in Vermont for my EV... guess I could pay a bit extra to the Federal Gov't
flashman13
(2,566 posts)but the right approach is to assess a fee based on miles driven. Essentially that is how gas taxes work. The more you drive, the more wear and tear you put on the roads. The more miles you drive, the more gas you buy, hence the more taxes you pay to maintain the roads.
Trueblue Texan
(4,613 posts)fuel transported on roads and highways? Why should they have to pay for more than they are using? Why arent companies like Exxon Mobile paying their fair share? This is all BS. The oil company whores have been given a free ride to damn long.
AZJonnie
(4,035 posts)But on another level, THE WORLD IS FUCKING FRYING, and the costs of the damage is going to be astronomical (already is and will only get worse). SO, at a minimum, I think anyone with a power source that is renewable, hydro, or nuclear, should be exempt entirely, and get BIG tax breaks in fact.
lostnfound
(17,632 posts)And my state already imposed an extra tax on my EV.
How about they take the $1 billion that trump paid to stop the wind farms and divert it into compensating for the absence of gas taxes on EVs?
OR how about we all stop giving a s*** about the right thing to do for society, because everywhere i turn i see people penalized for doing the right thing for society, and people being rewarded for being sycophantic fraudulent a*****?
not fooled
(6,763 posts)especially now that they are making record profits after bribing krasnov, who promised in return to "let them do whatever they want."
Polybius
(22,122 posts)At least in primaries.
modrepub
(4,195 posts)I think it was $250/yr. Federal fee should be waived if the state already collects one. And Ill add, if a federal EV fee is collected, it should support local roads and mass transit. Why am I paying taxes to support roads I dont use?
Miguelito Loveless
(5,926 posts)which is already about twice what a pickup truck pays.
Meanwhile federal gas taxes haven't been increased in over 30 years.
This is an anti-EV punitive tax.
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