how does the gas guzzler tax work 
in order to escape the gas guzzler tax a car must get at least 22 5 miles per gallon mpg in combined city and highway driving 4the amount of the tax due is based on just how much gas the car guzzles that is the worse the fuel economy the higher the tax cars that fall just below 22 5 mpg are taxed 1 000 while cars that get less than 12 5 mpg are taxed at 7 000 the top of the range the tax is reported on internal revenue service irs form 6197 it is reported after the end of the production year when the total number of vehicles produced is known 5shoppers for a new car will see the amount of the tax posted on the window sticker of the car if it is subject to the gas guzzler tax 2the epa published a list of new car models that were subject to the gas guzzler tax up until 2016 it has not published one since but the 2016 list of gas guzzlers gives a sense of the kind of cars that are subject to the tax 6the majority are high end luxury and sports cars including models from aston martin bmw ferrari and rolls royce a few american muscle cars were on the list too including the chevrolet corvette and one iteration of the ford mustang 6anyone interested in the fuel economy of any vehicle sold in the u s can check the fuel economy guide that has been published by the u s government for every model year since 1984 manufacturers are required to use the same test as the epa when they measure vehicle fuel economy for the gas guzzler tax and new car fuel economy labels however the calculation procedures are different according to the epa an adjustment factor is applied to the fuel economy test results for the purposes of the label but not for the tax 7the adjustment is meant to reflect the differences between real world driving and laboratory testing conditions this difference is referred to as in use shortfall to calculate the shortfall mpg values listed in the fuel economy guide and shown on fuel economy labels are based on three tests in addition to the standard fuel economy test 8the combined city and highway fuel economy that is used to determine tax liability is not adjusted to account for in use shortfall so it is higher than the mpg values provided in the fuel economy guide and posted on the window stickers of new vehicles 8problems with the gas guzzler tax