Texas Apportioned Plates

Texas is home to the most truck drivers in the entire US. Almost 200,000 truckers live in the Lone Star State! Of course, most of those truckers don’t haul in Texas alone. Trucking is one of those industries that takes people all over the country, but in order to do that, they need to purchase the right licenses. One of those licenses that truckers based in Texas need is the IRP Texas.

What Is IRP?

IRP stands for the International Registration Plan. This plan is a reciprocity agreement between its member jurisdictions to spread the government revenue gained from truck registrations proportionately. The member jurisdictions of IRP are the Lower 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the 10 Canadian provinces. Under this plan, the jurisdictions each charge a given trucker a percentage of their registration fees based on how many miles they travel within each jurisdiction. This way, IRP ensures that jurisdictions with lots of registered trucks, like Texas, don’t take up all of the registration fees that states can use for road maintenance. It keeps the roads and highways maintained for everyone!

Do I Need IRP?

While IRP works for all of its member jurisdictions, not every trucker in Texas needs to purchase IRP apportionment. You only need IRP if you intend to leave the state of Texas on a transport run and if your truck meets one or more of the following parameters:

• It has a GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of 26,000 pounds or more
• It has three or more axels
• You use it in combination, and the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds

How Do I Get IRP?

Getting IRP is easy with IRPRegistrationServices.com! All we need is your USDOT number, some company information, a way to contact you, and your truck’s specifications. We have an easy online form that you can fill out that will get the process done quickly!

Once you make your purchase, the next step is to get your apportioned tags. They are your apportioned license plate and your cab card. You have to keep the cab card in your truck at all times, as it effectively replaces your registration paperwork. These things prove that you have purchased IRP registration, allowing you to operate legally in every member jurisdiction!

Do I Need Anything Else?

You will almost certainly need to buy IFTA apportionment as well. IFTA, or the International Fuel Tax Agreement, does the same thing IRP does but for taxes on fuel purchases. Any vehicle that needs to purchase IRP apportionment also needs IFTA.

If you only intend to leave Texas once or twice throughout the year, it may be more cost effective for you to purchase trip and fuel tax permits than to purchase full IRP and IFTA apportionment. Trip and fuel tax permits function as temporary IRP/IFTA apportionments. They last for a few days and are cheaper than full apportionment. For more information, visit our sister site, TripsandFuel.com.

Finally, vehicles that are extremely heavy need to file the HVUT (Heavy Vehicle Use Tax) via IRS Form 2290. This tax only applies to vehicles that weigh more than 55,000 pounds. Its cost increases based on how much more than 55,000 pounds the vehicle weighs.