IRS Form 720 Guide: Due Dates, PCORI Fee & Instructions (2026)

What Is IRS Form 720?

IRS Form 720, the Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, is the federal form businesses and certain individuals use to report excise tax liability by IRS number and pay the listed taxes. Form 720 covers taxes imposed on specific goods, services, and activities at the time of importation, manufacture, retail sale, or consumer use.

Not every federal excise tax belongs on Form 720. According to IRS Publication 510, taxes on alcohol, firearms, and tobacco are administered separately by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax for trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more is reported on Form 2290, and wagering taxes are reported on Form 730 and Form 11-C.

Form 720 has three main parts and three attached schedules. Which part your tax falls into determines whether you must make semimonthly deposits or can pay when you file.

• Part I covers environmental taxes, communications and air transportation taxes, fuel taxes, retail taxes on heavy trucks and trailers, ship passenger taxes, foreign insurance taxes, obligations not in registered form, the 1% remittance transfer tax, and manufacturers taxes (coal, taxable tires, gas guzzlers, and vaccines).
• Part II covers the annual Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) fee, sport fishing and archery equipment, indoor tanning services, inland waterways fuel use, biofuel recapture taxes, the ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs) floor stocks tax, corporate stock repurchase excise tax, and sales of designated drugs.
• Part III calculates your total tax, subtracts Schedule C fuel and excise credits, reconciles prior deposits and overpayments, and determines your balance due or refund.
• Schedule A (Excise Tax Liability) records your net tax liability for Part I taxes for each semimonthly period in the quarter.
• Schedule T (Two-Party Exchange Information Reporting) reports gallons of taxable fuel received or delivered in a two-party exchange within an approved terminal.
• Schedule C (Claims) lets filers who report a liability in Part I or Part II claim credits for nontaxable uses of fuel, exported taxable fuel, sales by registered ultimate vendors, and specific tire or chemical credits.

• IRS: Form 720
• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)

Who Needs to File Form 720?

You must file Form 720 for the current quarter if you are liable for or responsible for collecting any of the federal excise taxes listed in Part I or Part II during the current quarter, or if you were liable in a prior quarter and have not yet filed a final return.

Once you start filing Form 720 for a quarterly excise tax, the IRS expects a return every quarter until you check the Final return box above Part I. In a quarter with no taxable activity, file a zero return by entering 0 on the appropriate tax line in Part I or II, entering None on Part III, line 3, and signing and dating the form.

Three special filing categories override the every-quarter rule:

• Annual PCOR fee filers: Issuers of specified health insurance policies and plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans (including self-funded medical plans and certain health reimbursement arrangements) use Form 720 to report and pay the PCOR fee (IRS No. 133). If you file Form 720 only to report the PCOR fee, file once a year on the second-quarter return due July 31. Do not file for the first, third, or fourth quarters.
• One-time gas guzzler filers: If you import a gas guzzling automobile (IRS No. 40) outside the course of your trade or business and do not owe any other Form 720 tax, you can make a one-time filing for the quarter you incur the liability. Check the one-time filing box on line 40, attach Form 6197, and pay the full tax with the return without making deposits or filing in future quarters.
• Disregarded entities and QSubs: Qualified subchapter S subsidiaries (QSubs) and eligible single-owner disregarded entities must register, report, and pay excise taxes (other than IRS Nos. 31, 51, and 117) and claim refunds or credits under their own Employer Identification Number (EIN), never under the owner's Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee: Questions and answers

2026 Form 720 Rates: PCORI Fee, Remittance Tax, and Expired Taxes

The 2026 version of Form 720 reflects updates from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, 2026 inflation adjustments under Revenue Procedure 2025-32, and Notice 2025-61.

By our calculation from the IRS Instructions for Form 720 and the IRS PCORI Fee Q&A page, the PCOR fee increased by $0.37 per covered life (a 10.66% increase) from $3.47 to $3.84 for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2026. Since the fee began at $1.00 for plan years ending before October 1, 2013, the rate has increased by 284% by our calculation from the historical rate table on the IRS PCORI Q&A page.

• PCOR fee increase: The fee is $3.47 per covered life for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2024, and before October 1, 2025, and $3.84 per covered life for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2026 (including calendar-year 2025 plans).
• New 1% excise tax on remittance transfers (IRS No. 155): Effective after December 31, 2025, section 4475 imposes a 1% tax on certain remittance transfers when the sender pays with cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a similar physical instrument. Providers must collect the tax, make semimonthly deposits, and report it in Part I.
• Expired oil spill liability taxes (IRS Nos. 18 and 21): The section 4611 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate on domestic crude oil and imported petroleum products expired after December 31, 2025. Do not enter tax on lines 18 and 21 unless Congress extends it. The Hazardous Substance Superfund tax (IRS Nos. 53 and 16) remains active and increased to $0.18 per barrel for 2026.
• 2026 inflation adjustments: The domestic air transportation segment tax (IRS No. 26) increased to $5.30 per segment (plus the 7.5% percentage tax). The international air travel facilities tax (IRS No. 27) increased to $23.40 per person ($11.70 for domestic segments beginning or ending in Alaska or Hawaii, applicable to departures only). The arrow shafts tax (IRS No. 106) increased to $0.65 per shaft.
• Expired fuel credits: The section 6426(k) credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mixtures terminated after September 30, 2025, and credits for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and alternative fuel mixtures expired after December 31, 2024. Only the small agri-biodiesel producer credit was extended through December 31, 2026.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Publication 510 (12/2025), Excise Taxes

Form 720 Due Dates and the $2,500 Semimonthly Deposit Rule

Form 720 is due on the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file on the next business day. For corporate stock repurchase excise tax (IRS No. 150), attach Form 7208 to the Form 720 due for the first full calendar quarter after the close of your tax year.

You must make semimonthly electronic deposits of Part I excise taxes for the 1st through 15th and the 16th through month-end unless you meet one of four exceptions. No deposit is required if your net liability for all Part I taxes does not exceed $2,500 for the quarter, if you are making a one-time gas guzzler filing, or if you are paying the annual PCOR fee on a Q2 return. You are also exempt if your liability is only for Part II taxes, except the ODC floor stocks tax, which requires a single deposit by June 30.

When net Part I tax exceeds $2,500 for the quarter, deposit via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time at least 1 day before the due date, or use a same-day wire through the Federal Tax Collection Service (FTCS). Each deposit must equal at least 95% of your net liability for that period, or at least 1/6 (16.67%) of your lookback quarter's net liability (the second preceding calendar quarter) under the safe harbor rule if you pay any underpayment by the return due date and check the box on Part III, line 5.

• Regular deposit method (all Part I taxes except communications and air transport billed under the alternative method): Deposits are due by the 14th day after the semimonthly period ends (the 29th of the same month for the 1st through 15th, and the 14th of the next month for the 16th through month-end). If the 14th or 29th falls on a weekend or District of Columbia legal holiday, deposit on the immediately preceding business day.
• Alternative deposit method (optional for IRS Nos. 22, 26, 27, and 28 based on amounts billed or tickets sold): Tax billed during a semimonthly period is considered collected during the first 7 days of the second following semimonthly period, and the deposit is due by the third business day after that 7th day.
• Special rule for September 2026 deposits: Under the regular method, taxes for September 16 through 26 are due September 29, and taxes for September 27 through 30 are due Friday, October 9 (since October 11 is a Saturday). Under the alternative method, taxes billed September 1 through 11 are due September 29.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Publication 510 (12/2025), Excise Taxes

Worked Example: Calculating the PCOR Fee and Testing the $2,500 Threshold

Consider this worked example written by our team. The company and figures are invented to show how Part I and Part II rules interact on a Q2 2026 Form 720 due July 31, 2026.

Scenario: Apex Manufacturing Corp. sponsors a calendar-year self-insured health plan that ended December 31, 2025, with an average of 150 covered lives calculated under the snapshot method (one of three IRS-approved methods for self-insured plans alongside the actual count and Form 5500 methods). In Q2 2026, Apex also paid $50,000 in foreign casualty insurance premiums (IRS No. 30).

Step 1 (Part II PCOR Fee on Line 133): Because the plan year ended between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, the rate on line 133(d) is $3.84 per covered life. Multiplying 150 lives by $3.84 equals $576.00. No semimonthly deposits apply to Part II.

Step 2 (Part I Foreign Insurance Tax on Line 30): Foreign casualty insurance premiums are taxed at $.04 per dollar (4%). Multiplying $50,000 by $.04 equals $2,000.00 in Part I tax.

Step 3 ($2,500 Threshold and Schedule A): Apex's net Part I liability is $2,000.00. Because it does not exceed $2,500 for the quarter, no semimonthly EFTPS deposits are required. However, Apex must still complete Schedule A (boxes A through F) to record which semimonthly period the $2,000.00 Part I liability occurred in, then pay the combined $2,576.00 total tax on Part III, line 3 with its return by July 31, 2026.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee: Questions and answers

How to File and Pay Form 720

You can e-file Form 720 through any Electronic Return Originator (ERO), transmitter, or Intermediate Service Provider (ISP) participating in the IRS e-file program for excise taxes. If filing on paper via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), mail your signed return to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201-0009. Private Delivery Services (PDS) cannot deliver to P.O. boxes, so check IRS.gov/PDSStreetAddresses when using a PDS carrier.

Pay any balance due on Part III, line 10 (no payment is due if line 10 is under $1.00) electronically via IRS Direct Pay, Electronic Funds Withdrawal, EFTPS, same-day wire, or debit/credit card. Only attach Form 720-V, Payment Voucher, if you are mailing a paper check or money order payable to United States Treasury, and do not staple it to your return.

• Step-by-step filing checklist written by our team:
• 1. Verify your EIN: Use the separate EIN of any QSub or disregarded entity rather than the owner's TIN (or use your SSN/ITIN for a one-time individual gas guzzler filing).
• 2. Confirm 2026 rates: Use the current revision of Form 720 for the $3.84 PCOR rate and the 1% remittance transfer tax (line 155).
• 3. Complete Part I and Schedule A: Attach Form 6627 (environmental taxes) or Form 6197 (gas guzzler tax) if applicable, and complete Schedule A for any Part I liability even if your quarterly Part I total is $2,500 or less.
• 4. Complete Part II: Enter your PCOR fee on line 133 (Q2 only) or other Part II taxes, attaching Form 6627 for ODC floor stocks tax (line 20) or Form 7208 for corporate stock repurchases (line 150).
• 5. Prepare Schedules C and T: On Schedule C, enter your two-digit income tax year-end month (MM), claim period (MM/DD/YYYY-MM/DD/YYYY), Form 637 registration number (lines 7-11 and 14d-14e), and Credit Reference Numbers (CRNs).
• 6. Reconcile Part III and sign: Combine Parts I and II on line 3, subtract Schedule C claims (line 4), deposits (line 5), and prior overpayments (line 6), enter direct deposit routing details on lines 11c-11e for any refund, and sign.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee: Questions and answers

What Records Are Required for Form 720?

You must keep copies of your tax return, records, and accounts of all transactions to show that the correct tax has been paid. Keep records to support all claims and all exemptions for at least 4 years from the latest of the date the tax became due, the date you paid the tax, or the date you filed a claim.

Taxpayers making a claim for exported taxable fuel on Schedule C must include proof of exportation with their records. Acceptable proof of exportation includes:

• A copy of the export bill of lading issued by the delivering carrier.
• A certificate by the agent or representative of the export carrier showing actual exportation of the fuel.
• A certificate of lading signed by a customs officer of the foreign country to which the fuel is exported.
• A statement of the foreign consignee showing receipt of the fuel.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)

Common Form 720 Errors and Penalties to Avoid

For communications, air transportation, and indoor tanning taxes (IRS Nos. 22, 26, 27, 28, and 140), failing to collect or remit the tax can trigger the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty. The IRS can assess the full amount of the unpaid tax personally against any responsible officer, partner, employee, accountant, or check-signer who acted willfully.

Avoid these seven filing errors highlighted in the IRS instructions. While Form 720 handles quarterly excise taxes, keeping your regular business income taxes and books clean is simple. Aldro is the cheapest way to get your business taxes done: $399 flat, with bookkeeping at $20 a month.

• 1. Filing a duplicate paper return: The IRS Excise Tax page warns that paper Forms 720, 2290, and 8849 take longer to process and instructs filers not to mail a second return, which can cause duplicate assessments.
• 2. Putting prior-quarter adjustments or PCOR overpayments on Form 720: Never adjust prior quarters or reduce your July 31 PCOR fee by a prior-year overpayment on Form 720. File Form 720-X (Amended Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return) instead.
• 3. Confusing Schedule A, Schedule T, and Form 6627: Form 6627 is for environmental taxes, Schedule T is for terminal fuel two-party exchanges, and Schedule A is required for all Part I taxes to show semimonthly liabilities even when under $2,500.
• 4. Filing Schedule C without a Part I or II liability (or under the minimum claim amounts): You can only use Schedule C if you report a Part I or II tax that quarter, and nontaxable fuel use claims (lines 1-6 and 14b-14d) must total at least $750. Registered ultimate vendor claims require at least $200 for line 7 (combining lines 7, 8, and 9) or lines 10 and 11 (combining lines 10 and 11), and at least $100 for lines 8 and 9 (combining lines 8 and 9). Otherwise, claim refunds on Form 8849 or Form 4136.
• 5. Attaching a reasonable-cause letter to your return: Do not include a penalty explanation when filing Form 720. Wait for an IRS penalty notice and reply to the notice.
• 6. Mailing deposits or missing the 8:00 p.m. EFTPS cutoff: All required deposits must be made electronically by 8:00 p.m. Eastern time at least 1 day before the due date.
• 7. Reporting expired oil spill taxes: Do not enter amounts on lines 18 or 21 for 2026.

• IRS: Instructions for Form 720 (06/2026)
• IRS: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee: Questions and answers