26 U.S.C. § 9503 : US Code - Section 9503: Highway Trust Fund

Search 26 U.S.C. § 9503 : US Code - Section 9503: Highway Trust Fund

(a) Creation of Trust Fund
There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust
fund to be known as the "Highway Trust Fund", consisting of such
amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Highway Trust
Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).
(b) Transfer to Highway Trust Fund of amounts equivalent to certain
taxes and penalties
(1) Certain taxes
There are hereby appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund amounts
equivalent to the taxes received in the Treasury before October
1, 2011, under the following provisions -
(A) section 4041 (relating to taxes on diesel fuels and
special motor fuels),
(B) section 4051 (relating to retail tax on heavy trucks and
trailers),
(C) section 4071 (relating to tax on tires),
(D) section 4081 (relating to tax on gasoline, diesel fuel,
and kerosene), and
(E) section 4481 (relating to tax on use of certain
vehicles).
For purposes of this paragraph, taxes received under sections
4041 and 4081 shall be determined without reduction for credits
under section 6426.
(2) Liabilities incurred before October 1, 2011
There are hereby appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund amounts
equivalent to the taxes which are received in the Treasury after
September 30, 2011, and before July 1, 2012, and which are
attributable to liability for tax incurred before October 1,
2011, under the provisions described in paragraph (1).
[(3) Repealed. Pub. L. 109-59, title XI, Sec. 11161(c)(2)(C),
Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1972]
(4) Certain taxes not transferred to Highway Trust Fund
For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), there shall not be
taken into account the taxes imposed by -
(A) section 4041(d),
(B) section 4081 to the extent attributable to the rate
specified in section 4081(a)(2)(B),
(C) section 4041 or 4081 to the extent attributable to fuel
used in a train, or
(D) in the case of gasoline and special motor fuels used as
described in paragraph (4)(D) or (5)(B) of subsection (c),
section 4041 or 4081 with respect to so much of the rate of tax
as exceeds -
(i) 11.5 cents per gallon with respect to taxes imposed
before October 1, 2001,
(ii) 13 cents per gallon with respect to taxes imposed
after September 30, 2001, and before October 1, 2003, and
(iii) 13.5 cents per gallon with respect to taxes imposed
after September 30, 2003, and before October 1, 2005.
(5) Certain penalties
There are hereby appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund amounts
equivalent to the penalties paid under sections 6715, 6715A,
6717, 6718, 6719, 6720A, 6725, 7232, and 7272 (but only with
regard to penalties under such section related to failure to
register under section 4101).
(6) Limitation on transfers to Highway Trust Fund
(A) In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no amount may be
appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund on and after the date of
any expenditure from the Highway Trust Fund which is not
permitted by this section. The determination of whether an
expenditure is so permitted shall be made without regard to -
(i) any provision of law which is not contained or
referenced in this title or in a revenue Act, and
(ii) whether such provision of law is a subsequently
enacted provision or directly or indirectly seeks to waive
the application of this paragraph.
(B) Exception for prior obligations
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any expenditure to
liquidate any contract entered into (or for any amount
otherwise obligated) before September 30, 2009 (October 1,
2009, in the case of expenditures for administrative expenses),
in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) Expenditures from Highway Trust Fund
(1) Federal-aid highway program
Except as provided in subsection (e), amounts in the Highway
Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by appropriation Acts,
for making expenditures before September 30, 2009 (October 1,
2009, in the case of expenditures for administrative expenses),
to meet those obligations of the United States heretofore or
hereafter incurred which are authorized to be paid out of the
Highway Trust Fund under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or any
other provision of law which was referred to in this paragraph
before the date of the enactment of such Act (as such Act and
provisions of law are in effect on the date of the enactment of
such Act).
(2) Transfers from Highway Trust Fund for certain repayments and
credits
(A) In general
The Secretary shall pay from time to time from the Highway
Trust Fund into the general fund of the Treasury amounts
equivalent to -
(i) the amounts paid before July 1, 2012, under -
(I) section 6420 (relating to amounts paid in respect of
gasoline used on farms),
(II) section 6421 (relating to amounts paid in respect of
gasoline used for certain nonhighway purposes or by local
transit systems), and
(III) section 6427 (relating to fuels not used for
taxable purposes),
on the basis of claims filed for periods ending before
October 1, 2011, and
(ii) the credits allowed under section 34 (relating to
credit for certain uses of fuel) with respect to fuel used
before October 1, 2011.
The amounts payable from the Highway Trust Fund under this
subparagraph or paragraph (3) shall be determined by taking
into account only the portion of the taxes which are deposited
into the Highway Trust Fund. Clauses (i)(III) and (ii) shall
not apply to claims under section 6427(e).
(B) Transfers based on estimates
Transfers under subparagraph (A) shall be made on the basis
of estimates by the Secretary, and proper adjustments shall be
made in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior
estimates were in excess or less than the amounts required to
be transferred.
(C) Exception for use in aircraft and motorboats
This paragraph shall not apply to amounts estimated by the
Secretary as attributable to use of gasoline and special fuels
in motorboats or in aircraft.
(3) Floor stocks refunds
The Secretary shall pay from time to time from the Highway
Trust Fund into the general fund of the Treasury amounts
equivalent to the floor stocks refunds made before July 1, 2012,
under section 6412(a).
(4) Transfers from the Trust Fund for motorboat fuel taxes
(A) Transfer to Land and Water Conservation Fund
(i) In general
The Secretary shall pay from time to time from the Highway
Trust Fund into the land and water conservation fund provided
for in title I of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of
1965 amounts (as determined by the Secretary) equivalent to
the motorboat fuel taxes received on or after October 1,
2005, and before October 1, 2011.
(ii) Limitation
The aggregate amount transferred under this subparagraph
during any fiscal year shall not exceed $1,000,000.
(B) Excess funds transferred to Sport Fish Restoration and
Boating Trust Fund
Any amounts in the Highway Trust Fund -
(i) which are attributable to motorboat fuel taxes, and
(ii) which are not transferred from the Highway Trust Fund
under subparagraph (A),
shall be transferred by the Secretary from the Highway Trust
Fund into the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund.
(C) Motorboat fuel taxes
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "motorboat fuel
taxes" means the taxes under section 4041(a)(2) with respect to
special motor fuels used as fuel in motorboats and under
section 4081 with respect to gasoline used as fuel in
motorboats, but only to the extent such taxes are deposited
into the Highway Trust Fund.
(D) Determination
The amount of payments made under this paragraph after
October 1, 1986 shall be determined by the Secretary in
accordance with the methodology described in the Treasury
Department's Report to Congress of June 1986 entitled "Gasoline
Excise Tax Revenues Attributable to Fuel Used in Recreational
Motorboats."
(5) Transfers from the Trust Fund for small-engine fuel taxes
(A) In general
The Secretary shall pay from time to time from the Highway
Trust Fund into the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust
Fund amounts (as determined by him) equivalent to the small-
engine fuel taxes received on or after December 1, 1990, and
before October 1, 2011.
(B) Small-engine fuel taxes
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "small-engine fuel
taxes" means the taxes under section 4081 with respect to
gasoline used as a fuel in the nonbusiness use of small-engine
outdoor power equipment, but only to the extent such taxes are
deposited into the Highway Trust Fund.
[(6) Repealed. Pub. L. 105-178, title IX, Sec. 9011(b)(1), June
9, 1998, 112 Stat. 508]
(7) Transfers from the Trust Fund for certain aviation fuel taxes
The Secretary shall pay at least monthly from the Highway Trust
Fund into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund amounts (as
determined by the Secretary) equivalent to the taxes received on
or after October 1, 2005, and before October 1, 2011, under
section 4081 with respect to so much of the rate of tax as does
not exceed -
(A) 4.3 cents per gallon of kerosene with respect to which a
payment has been made by the Secretary under section
6427(l)(4), and
(B) 21.8 cents per gallon of kerosene with respect to which a
payment has been made by the Secretary under section
6427(l)(5).
Transfers under the preceding sentence shall be made on the basis
of estimates by the Secretary, and proper adjustments shall be
made in the amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior
estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts required to
be transferred. Any amount allowed as a credit under section 34
by reason of paragraph (4) or (5) of section 6427(l) shall be
treated for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B) as a payment
made by the Secretary under such paragraph.
(d) Adjustments of apportionments
(1) Estimates of unfunded highway authorizations and net highway
receipts
The Secretary of the Treasury, not less frequently than once in
each calendar quarter, after consultation with the Secretary of
Transportation, shall estimate -
(A) the amount which would (but for this subsection) be the
unfunded highway authorizations at the close of the next fiscal
year, and
(B) the net highway receipts for the 48-month period
beginning at the close of such fiscal year.
(2) Procedure where there is excess unfunded highway
authorizations
If the Secretary of the Treasury determines for any fiscal year
that the amount described in paragraph (1)(A) exceeds the amount
described in paragraph (1)(B) -
(A) he shall so advise the Secretary of Transportation, and
(B) he shall further advise the Secretary of Transportation
as to the amount of such excess.
(3) Adjustment of apportionments where unfunded authorizations
exceed 4 years' receipts
(A) Determination of percentage
If, before any apportionment to the States is made, in the
most recent estimate made by the Secretary of the Treasury
there is an excess referred to in paragraph (2)(B), the
Secretary of Transportation shall determine the percentage
which -
(i) the excess referred to in paragraph (2)(B), is of
(ii) the amount authorized to be appropriated from the
Trust Fund for the fiscal year for apportionment to the
States.
If, but for this sentence, the most recent estimate would be
one which was made on a date which will be more than 3 months
before the date of the apportionment, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall make a new estimate under paragraph (1) for the
appropriate fiscal year.
(B) Adjustment of apportionments
If the Secretary of Transportation determines a percentage
under subparagraph (A) for purposes of any apportionment,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of
Transportation shall apportion to the States (in lieu of the
amount which, but for the provisions of this subsection, would
be so apportioned) the amount obtained by reducing the amount
authorized to be so apportioned by such percentage.
(4) Apportionment of amounts previously withheld from
apportionment
If, after funds have been withheld from apportionment under
paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary of the Treasury determines that
the amount described in paragraph (1)(A) does not exceed the
amount described in paragraph (1)(B) or that the excess described
in paragraph (1)(B) is less than the amount previously
determined, he shall so advise the Secretary of Transportation.
The Secretary of Transportation shall apportion to the States
such portion of the funds so withheld from apportionment as the
Secretary of the Treasury has advised him may be so apportioned
without causing the amount described in paragraph (1)(A) to
exceed the amount described in paragraph (1)(B). Any funds
apportioned pursuant to the preceding sentence shall remain
available for the period for which they would be available if
such apportionment took effect with the fiscal year in which they
are apportioned pursuant to the preceding sentence.
(5) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection -
(A) Unfunded highway authorizations
The term "unfunded highway authorizations" means, at any
time, the excess (if any) of -
(i) the total potential unpaid commitments at such time as
a result of the apportionment to the States of the amounts
authorized to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund,
over
(ii) the amount available in the Highway Trust Fund at such
time to defray such commitments (after all other unpaid
commitments at such time which are payable from the Highway
Trust Fund have been defrayed).
(B) Net highway receipts
The term "net highway receipts" means, with respect to any
period, the excess of -
(i) the receipts (including interest) of the Highway Trust
Fund during such period, over
(ii) the amounts to be transferred during such period from
such Fund under subsection (c) (other than paragraph (1)
thereof).
(6) Measurement of net highway receipts
For purposes of making any estimate under paragraph (1) of net
highway receipts for periods ending after the date specified in
subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall treat -
(A) each expiring provision of subsection (b) which is
related to appropriations or transfers to the Highway Trust
Fund to have been extended through the end of the 48-month
period referred to in paragraph (1)(B), and
(B) with respect to each tax imposed under the sections
referred to in subsection (b)(1), the rate of such tax during
the 48-month period referred to in paragraph (1)(B) to be the
same as the rate of such tax as in effect on the date of such
estimate.
(7) Reports
Any estimate under paragraph (1) and any determination under
paragraph (2) shall be reported by the Secretary of the Treasury
to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, the
Committees on the Budget of both Houses, the Committee on Public
Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
(e) Establishment of Mass Transit Account
(1) Creation of account
There is established in the Highway Trust Fund a separate
account to be known as the "Mass Transit Account" consisting of
such amounts as may be transferred or credited to the Mass
Transit Account as provided in this subsection or section
9602(b).
(2) Transfers to Mass Transit Account
The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Mass
Transit Account the mass transit portion of the amounts
appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund under subsection (b) which
are attributable to taxes under sections 4041 and 4081 imposed
after March 31, 1983. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the
term "mass transit portion" means, for any fuel with respect to
which tax was imposed under section 4041 or 4081 and otherwise
deposited into the Highway Trust Fund, the amount determined at
the rate of -
(A) except as otherwise provided in this sentence, 2.86 cents
per gallon,
(B) 1.43 cents per gallon in the case of any partially exempt
methanol or ethanol fuel (as defined in section 4041(m)) none
of the alcohol in which consists of ethanol,
(C) 1.86 cents per gallon in the case of liquefied natural
gas,
(D) 2.13 cents per gallon in the case of liquefied petroleum
gas, and
(E) 9.71 cents per MCF (determined at standard temperature
and pressure) in the case of compressed natural gas.
(3) Expenditures from Account
Amounts in the Mass Transit Account shall be available, as
provided by appropriation Acts, for making capital or capital
related expenditures (including capital expenditures for new
projects) before October 1, 2009, in accordance with the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users or any other provision of law which was referred
to in this paragraph before the date of the enactment of such Act
(as such Act and provisions of law are in effect on the date of
the enactment of such Act).
(4) Limitation
Rules similar to the rules of subsection (d) shall apply to the
Mass Transit Account.
(5) Portion of certain transfers to be made from account
(A) In general
Transfers under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection
(c) shall be borne by the Highway Account and the Mass Transit
Account in proportion to the respective revenues transferred
under this section to the Highway Account (after the
application of paragraph (2)) and the Mass Transit Account.
(B) Highway Account
For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term "Highway Account"
means the portion of the Highway Trust Fund which is not the
Mass Transit Account.
(f) Determination of Trust Fund balances after September 30, 1998
For purposes of determining the balances of the Highway Trust
Fund and the Mass Transit Account after September 30, 1998 -
(1) the opening balance of the Highway Trust Fund (other than
the Mass Transit Account) on October 1, 1998, shall be
$8,000,000,000, and
(2) notwithstanding section 9602(b), obligations held by such
Fund after September 30, 1998, shall be obligations of the United
States which are not interest-bearing.
The Secretary shall cancel obligations held by the Highway Trust
Fund to reflect the reduction in the balance under this subsection.