HB0145 restructures how Wyoming taxes electricity used to propel motor vehicles by moving taxation onto electricity dispensed at DC fast charging stations and excluding that electricity from the state's general sales tax. The bill also establishes vehicle-class definitions, sets decal fees for electric vehicle classes, and creates a one‑time annual refund process for Wyoming‑registered EV owners to recover license taxes paid on charging.
For professionals: the bill replaces mixed taxation on EV charging with a targeted license tax collected at DC fast chargers, shifts monthly reporting responsibilities onto licensed suppliers and dealers, and creates new administrative work for state agencies to process refunds and issue rules. Charging station operators, fuel suppliers, and registration authorities will see the biggest operational changes; resident EV owners gain a capped annual rebate mechanism to offset taxes paid at public fast chargers.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill levies a license tax of three and one‑half cents ($0.035) per kilowatt‑hour on electricity sold or dispensed at DC fast charging stations and removes those sales from general sales tax. It requires meters and conspicuous per‑kWh pricing (including applicable taxes) at DC stations, mandates monthly reporting and remittance by suppliers and dealers, and authorizes annual refunds to Wyoming‑registered EV owners.
Who It Affects
Operators of DC fast charging stations and any Wyoming‑licensed suppliers or dealers who sell electricity for vehicle charging must meter, display, collect and report the tax; Wyoming residents who own registered plug‑in hybrids or all‑electric vehicles are eligible for capped refunds; the Department of Transportation and tax authority must adopt implementing rules and handle refund administration.
Why It Matters
This law standardizes EV taxation around usage at public fast chargers, reducing overlapping taxes and creating a visible per‑kWh tax signal. It reallocates compliance tasks from general retail sales frameworks to motor‑fuel‑style reporting, with implications for revenue forecasting, station design (metering/display), and customer billing.
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What This Bill Actually Does
HB0145 amends Wyoming's alternative fuel tax framework to treat electricity dispensed at DC fast charging stations as an alternative fuel subject to a license tax rather than general sales tax. The legislation adds three working definitions to the statute—"all‑electric vehicle," "charge," and "DC fast charging station"—to distinguish vehicle classes and to identify the point of taxation.
For enforcement and accounting, the bill specifies that DC fast charging stations are the taxable point and must be metered so operators can determine kilowatt‑hours sold.
Operationally, Wyoming‑licensed suppliers, distributors, importers and dealers face monthly reporting and remittance duties. The statute requires those parties to report kilowatt‑hours (using the bill's equivalency formulas) and remit collected license taxes on or before the last day of each month.
Dealers who sell electricity at DC fast charging stations incur direct collection liability and must display the price per kilowatt‑hour, including any taxes, so end users see the tax component at the point of sale.To limit the burden on resident EV drivers who pay license taxes at public chargers, HB0145 creates a one‑time annual refund for Wyoming‑registered plug‑in hybrid and all‑electric vehicle owners. Refund claims require submission of department‑approved forms and receipts showing kilowatt‑hours purchased and tax paid; the department may require proof of vehicle registration for the relevant year.
The bill caps refunds at $100 for plug‑in hybrids and $200 for all‑electric vehicles and sets a deadline for claims (submitted no later than December 31 following the year of purchase).The bill also adjusts vehicle registration decal fees by statute: it sets an annual decal amount for all‑electric vehicles and a reduced decal for plug‑in hybrids. Finally, it exempts sales of alternative fuels taxed under the alternative fuels article from the state sales tax and directs the Department of Transportation to adopt rules necessary to implement the act, creating a rulemaking and administrative pathway for operational details not spelled out in the text.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The statute sets the gasoline gallon equivalent for electricity at 33.56 kilowatt‑hours for equivalency and reporting purposes.
License tax rate is fixed at $0.035 per kilowatt‑hour and applies only to electricity sold or dispensed at DC fast charging stations.
Wyoming‑registered vehicle owners may submit one refund claim per calendar year with receipts; refund caps are $100 for plug‑in hybrids and $200 for all‑electric vehicles.
Dealers and DC fast charging stations must conspicuously display the price per kilowatt‑hour including all applicable taxes and must meter the electricity sold for charging.
Monthly reporting deadlines fall on the last day of each month; suppliers, distributors, importers and retail dealers must report kilowatt‑hours using the statute's equivalency formulas and remit taxes then.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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EV decal fees by vehicle class
The bill codifies annual decal fees in the miscellaneous fees statute: it sets an annual decal for all‑electric vehicles and creates a separate, lower decal for plug‑in hybrid electric vehicles. Practically, this creates a predictable registration fee differentiated by propulsion type; motor vehicle registration offices will need to update fee schedules and systems to apply the new plug‑in hybrid rate.
Sales tax exemption for alternative fuels taxed under the article
HB0145 adds a carve‑out in the sales tax code: sales of alternative fuels that are subject to the alternative fuels article are exempt from the state excise sales tax. That shifts taxation of qualifying electricity away from general retail sales frameworks and into the specialized alternative fuels licensing regime, changing both how revenue is classified and how auditors will trace taxable transactions.
New vehicle and charging definitions; electricity equivalency
The bill inserts working definitions for 'all‑electric vehicle,' 'charge,' and 'DC fast charging station,' clarifies the 'plug‑in hybrid' and 'hybrid' distinctions, and specifies the electricity gasoline gallon equivalent as 33.56 kWh. These technical definitions determine which vehicles and charging points fall under the new tax rules and provide the conversion factor that reporting and tax calculations will use.
Point of taxation, collection and display obligations
The statute designates electricity sold or dispensed at DC fast charging stations as the taxable event and makes the dealer (the station operator) responsible for collecting the license tax and liable for remittance. It requires metering at each DC fast charging station and requires conspicuous posting of price per kWh inclusive of applicable taxes. For compliance officers this creates a fuel‑tax style obligation rather than a retail sales duty, altering audit focus to meter accuracy, tax collection controls and signage.
Monthly reporting and owner refunds
HB0145 imposes monthly reporting and remittance obligations on licensed suppliers, importers, distributors and retail dealers, using the statute's equivalency formulas to report kilowatt‑hours. On the taxpayer side, the bill authorizes an annual refund process for in‑state vehicle owners for license taxes paid at DC fast charging stations, caps refunds by vehicle class, requires submission of receipts and allows the department to demand proof of registration. The Department of Transportation is directed to promulgate rules to implement operational details, so agencies must scope systems and staffing ahead of enforcement.
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Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Wyoming‑registered all‑electric vehicle owners — they gain an annual capped refund (up to $200) for license taxes paid at DC fast chargers, which reduces net public charging costs for resident drivers.
- Plug‑in hybrid vehicle owners — they receive a lower annual decal fee and eligibility for a capped refund (up to $100), both of which reduce ongoing ownership costs compared with prior fee structures.
- Public charging network operators and large fuel suppliers — by moving electricity sales at DC fast chargers into the alternative fuels article and away from general sales tax, the bill creates a single, fuel‑tax style collection regime that can simplify tax treatment for large, repeat transactions once systems are in place.
Who Bears the Cost
- DC fast charging station operators and small retail dealers — they must install and maintain metering, update point‑of‑sale and signage to display per‑kWh pricing with taxes, and take on collection and remittance liability, which raises up‑front compliance costs.
- Wyoming licensed suppliers, importers and distributors — monthly reporting, new equivalency calculations and additional remittance pathways will increase accounting, recordkeeping and administrative workloads.
- State agencies (Department of Transportation and tax authority) — rulemaking, auditing, processing annual refund claims and verification of registration impose administrative and potentially unfunded operational costs on state government.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing equitable, usage‑based taxation of EV driving (so drivers pay for road usage) against administrative simplicity and fairness: a visible per‑kWh tax is fairer in principle but imposes metering, collection and refund burdens on station operators, suppliers and state agencies — especially in rural markets where installing compliant infrastructure may be costly and where resident drivers may still face uneven tax treatment depending on where and how they charge.
The bill aims to simplify and make visible EV taxation, but it creates frictions. Requiring metering and monthly remittance transfers collection risk and technical costs to sometimes small or rural DC station operators; many existing fast chargers — especially older or third‑party units — may need hardware upgrades and software changes to separate taxable energy flows and produce compliant receipts.
The refund mechanism shifts some burden back to residents: drivers must retain receipts, submit a department form once per year and potentially wait for reimbursement, which complicates the intended relief for low‑income or infrequent EV users.
Tax administration and cross‑border issues are unresolved in practice. The tax applies only at DC fast charging stations, so home charging and level‑2 public charging not meeting the DC standard escape the license tax, creating differential taxation by charging speed and technology rather than by vehicle miles traveled.
The reliance on a single electricity-to‑GGE conversion factor and on sales‑v‑use reporting for imported/exported electricity raises audit and compliance questions when energy is billed in bundles, time‑of‑use blocks, or when roaming and network billing obscure the point of sale. Finally, the caps on refunds limit fiscal exposure but may undercompensate high‑mileage residents who rely heavily on public fast charging.
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