Lawmakers called it a “toe in the water,” “first step,” and “baby step,” but whatever you call it the state is preparing to begin collecting tax generated from electric vehicle charging power stations.

Electric Vehicle Power Dealers, those who own and operate so-called EV charging stations, will soon be required to register via an online portal with the Department of Revenue (DOR).

Representatives of the agency testified before the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation on Wednesday, telling lawmakers that in mid-December the DOR’s portal will electronically “go live.”

The Department of Revenue anticipates an e-filing system for EV power excise tax returns will be operational by February 1, 2024. There will be two sections for those returns, which will be filed and paid monthly. Those returns will include a section for a summary of kilowatt hours the charging station owners will pay tax on, and section 2 identifies the hours per charging station and delineates between stations on private and state-owned property.

Governmental agencies, including cities, who operate charging stations will be required to report and pay the tax per kilowatt hour. There are currently no exemptions – charging stations on state property pay an additional three cents per kilowatt hour surtax. Charging stations installed prior to July 1, 2022, are not subject to the excise tax – if they are free of charge.

All public charging stations will be taxed, however, residential and businesses that use their own charging stations for fleets and do not open them to the public will not incur the tax or reporting requirements.

The tax was created in 2022 via House Bill 8, and it goes into effect at the beginning of 2024.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do on this,” said Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon. “We got out ahead of this on purpose.”

“I’m sure you’ll see every year for the next several years … some changes to implement,” Higdon, the Co-Chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation said. “We’ll get it right. We had to have a starting place and we have it.”

Testimony on the issue begins at the 49-minute mark in this video.