EV owners charged a fee to make up for gas tax revenue in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

With no need to go to the pump, owners and leasees of electric vehicles avoid having to pay a gas tax.

But some state governments are finding a way to make up for the lost cash.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey currently charge EV fees to recoup lost gas tax revenue.

When you fill up your gas-powered vehicle, you currently pay 44 cents a gallon in road tax in New Jersey and 57 cents in Pennsylvania.

The money is used to maintain roads and bridges.

Repairing potholes can be costly to repair on state roads, and it's why states charge road taxes at the pump.

Earlier this month, Pennsylvania began charging EV owners a $200 "Road User Charge" or RUC, which will increase to $250 in 2026.

Plug-in hybrid owners will pay $50 in 2025 and $63 in 2026.

PennDOT began sending out forms to those impacted with payment details.

"It's going to bring in about $30 million into the state," said Pennsylvania State Senator Dave Argall.

Argall is among those who voted for the new charge. He called the funding stream critical money to maintain the Keystone State's roads and bridges, as more people make the move to electric vehicles.

"Everybody should pay their fair share," said Argall. "Electric vehicles, hybrids, they're using the roads, they're crossing the bridges."

New Jersey also began charging just EV owners a $250 road tax last summer. Plug-in hybrid owners in the Garden State are not charged.

The tax will go up $10 a year. But buyers and leasees of new electric vehicles, beware: you will be required to shell out four years of the road tax up front, amounting to $1,060.

Dealerships are required to collect at the time of registration.

Eve Gabel-Frank, who advocates for trade organizations in the electric vehicle space, called the upfront costs in New Jersey prohibitive considering state tax rebates can be upwards of $2,000.

"They immediately have to take that money and go give it to the DMV. So I think there's kind of some issues with policies not lining up with each other, kind of making one irrelevant," said Gabel-Frank. "And we were really excited about that EV rebate."

Gabel-Frank also pointed out owners of efficient gas-powered Toyota Prius pay on average about $100 a year in gas taxes in New Jersey so she sees the $250 dollars for an efficient EV a bit much.

For more information about the fee in New Jersey, visit this page at NJ.gov.

For more information about the fee in Pennsylvania, visit this page at PA.gov.