Highway Trust Fund

Overview of Highway Trust Fund

Each year, highway users pay billions of dollars in federal transportation excise taxes which end up in the federal Highway Trust Fund. These include gas and diesel taxes, taxes on truck tires, sales of trucks and trailers and heavy vehicle use. Receipts from the federal gasoline tax (18.4 cents per gallon) constitute the single largest source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund.

Division of Federal Gas Tax

Motorists pay 18.4 cents federal gas tax on each gallon of gas purchased. The money collected goes into the Highway Trust Fund. Another 24.4 cents per gallon is collected from users of diesel fuel.

Most of the federal gas tax (15.44 cents per gallon) is allocated to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund. About 2.86 cents per gallon (15%) of the federal gas tax is allocated to the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund for public transportation investments. The remainder, about one tenth of one cent (0.1 cents per gallon) is dedicated to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.