An eligible 80,000-pound truck pays 10 cents for each mile subject to Connecticut’s Highway Use Fee. At that rate, 20,000 taxable miles cost $2,000 per truck per year. For a fleet of five trucks with the same mileage and rate, the total reaches $10,000.
The 10-cent rate applies to vehicles with a gross weight of 78,001 to 80,000 pounds. At 78,000 pounds and below, rates step down by weight bracket. For example, the rate is 9.42 cents per mile at 76,000 pounds and 7.12 cents at 60,000 pounds. Connecticut’s official Highway Use Fee rate table
What it means for owner-operators and small fleets
The fee adds to the cost of fuel, insurance, and maintenance. It also takes time to track mileage and prepare returns. When freight rates are already locked in, a carrier may have to absorb the fee until there’s room to renegotiate. On a route with a thin margin, that extra cost can change how much the carrier earns on each run.
Why Connecticut charges by the mile
A per-mile fee ties what carriers pay to how much they use Connecticut’s roads. The weight brackets set higher per-mile rates for heavier vehicles. Revenue goes into Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund, which supports transportation and infrastructure spending. Carriers also rely on well-maintained roads and bridges to make deliveries safely and on time. Connecticut Highway Use Tax statute · Special Transportation Fund
Two figures help put the fee in context: how much it adds to the cost of running a truck and how much it contributes to the transportation system those trucks rely on. Both matter when weighing the fee’s effect on small fleets.