EV drivers will pay $130 a year under Congress’ 2026 transportation bill

Other countries have already begun investing in clean car registrations to reduce gas tax receipts. And at some point, when the majority of the country’s vehicles are EVs or PHEVs, another way to get money from the road that does not depend on the gas tax will be appropriate.

But EV adoption in the US has happened hit hard since the election of President Trump and the repeal of federal clean-vehicle incentives. Currently, EVs make up about 3 percent of all vehicles. Meanwhile, the federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993; If it were adjusted for inflation, it would add 42.34c to the gallon instead of the miserable 18.4 cents it currently is.

“Gas-powered vehicle drivers pay $73 to $89 in federal gas taxes each year. The proposed tax would impose an unfair cost on EV drivers at a time when all Americans are looking for ways to make ends meet,” said Albert Gore, director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association. This is particularly concerning because EV prices will rise to $150 by 2035—nearly double what gas car drivers pay in a year. These fees are on top of the road taxes that many EV drivers already pay to the state.”

“In addition to the new EV fee, the bill creates a significant shift in federal funding to provide dedicated EV funding. The lack of dedicated EV funding would particularly affect EV drivers who live in rural and remote areas of the United States, where federal funding is critical to help fill gaps in existing charging systems,” Gore said.

“As Americans demand more affordable transportation as gas rises to $4.50 a gallon, this bill will impose new fees on electric vehicles and hybrids while reducing the cost of new EV chargers,” said Shruti Vaidyanathan, director of federal and state transportation advocacy at the National Resources Defense Council. “Congress needs to strengthen infrastructure spending that lowers costs, reduces emissions, creates jobs, and builds transportation for all Americans.

We should be happy that the final version will hurt less drivers than Rep Graves’. final thoughtwhich started at $250/year for EVs and $100/year for hybrids.