A trade-by-trade vehicle setup checklist

The shared spine every trade starts from

Five trades, one spine: form the $100 LLC, title each vehicle in its name on DMV-1-TR at $15 plus the 6 percent titling tax, plate it by weight class, insure it in the company's name, and sticker it within three days of an in-state acquisition.

Everything past that spine is where the trades separate. Weight classes, trailer classes, the 6,000-pound GVWR line in the tax code and the 10,001-pound federal line each catch a different trade at a different point.

Run the spine once, then jump to your trade below. Each section names its own forks and the pages that cover them.

$100 + $1 onlineWest Virginia charges a $100.00 filing fee for Articles of Organization for a domestic LLC, plus a $1.00 online processing fee when filed online. — West Virginia Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29

Electricians: the van, the rack and the bucket truck

A service van under 10,001 pounds is Class A at $51.50. The ladder rack changes nothing at the DMV, but the load changes the brakes and the inspection, so the loaded weight is the number to know.

The fork comes at the second vehicle. A bucket truck over 26,000 pounds moves registration to Class B rates, and a crew crossing state lines adds IRP apportionment and IFTA credentials. The bucket truck itself is also outside the passenger car depreciation limits on the federal side, treated among the work vehicles the IRS names directly, so its recovery period looks nothing like the van's.

A van-driven shop should also watch the trailer question: equipment trailers under 2,000 pounds behind the van stay Class T at $27.00. The commercial plates page and the depreciation page cover both forks.

bucket trucksUnder IRS Publication 946, bucket trucks (cherry pickers), dump trucks, flatbed trucks and refrigerated trucks are named among the qualified nonpersonal use vehicles. — IRS Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property, retrieved 2026-09-29

Landscapers: the truck, the trailer and the UTV

The landscaper runs the widest spread of vehicle classes in one fleet: a pickup in Class A, a dump truck past 10,001 pounds in Class B, an equipment trailer in Class T, and sometimes a UTV that needs its own paper.

West Virginia has titled all UTVs since December 28, 2010, and a Special Purpose Vehicle plate to run one on designated roads is a flat $16.00 a year, not prorated. That plate is how a mower hauler becomes a legal road vehicle between job sites.

The trailer class deserves a check at purchase. A trailer under 2,000 pounds behind the Class A pickup is Class T at $27.00, but the same weight behind a Class B dump truck follows the Class C permanent $51.00 fee. The trailer page covers the line between them.

$16.00 SPV plateAll UTVs have required a West Virginia title since December 28, 2010, and a Special Purpose Vehicle plate for designated roads costs a flat $16.00 per year, not pro-rated. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29

Food trucks: the vehicle is the easy half

The truck itself is straightforward: a Class A plate at $51.50 for a step van under 10,001 pounds, or Class B rates past that, plus the two-year inspection sticker and a policy in the LLC's name.

The forks are all around the truck, not in it. The generator and the kitchen equipment are business equipment with purchase receipts, not vehicles with titles, and their tax treatment runs through the equipment rules rather than the DMV. The truck's weight matters most at the pump scale: a fully stocked truck and griddle can press a light step van toward its gross weight rating.

A food truck's setup costs are dominated by the titling tax on the build price and the kitchen, not the plate. The equipment page covers where the titled vehicle ends and the expensed equipment begins.

6% on build priceWest Virginia charges the 6% titling sales tax on a vehicle's net purchase price over $500, with the title fee at $15.00, whatever body or equipment the vehicle carries. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29

House cleaners: the hatchback and the mileage log

A cleaner's setup is the spine at its lightest: one car, Class A, one title, one policy. No trailer, no Class B, no federal commercial motor vehicle line anywhere near it.

The fork is entirely on the tax side. The standard mileage rate pays 70 cents a mile for 2025 and 72.5 cents for the first half of 2026, and a cleaner's between-houses mileage is exactly the pattern it rewards, with no receipts to keep beyond the log.

The 50 percent business-use line is the one to watch when the same car runs school runs on weekends. The mileage page and the personal-use page cover the log that keeps the method safe.

70 to 76 centsThe IRS standard mileage rate for business use was 70 cents per mile in 2025 and 72.5 cents per mile for January through June 2026, rising to 76 cents for July through December 2026. — IRS, retrieved 2026-09-29

Movers: the box truck and the federal lines

A 26-foot box truck at 12,500 pounds GVWR pays Class B rates from $34.50 at the 10,001-pound band. The moment it crosses a state line for work it is also a commercial motor vehicle under the federal definition, with the legal name and USDOT number to mark on it.

Past 26,000 pounds, or with three or more axles on the power unit, the crossing fleet needs IRP apportionment and an IFTA fuel tax account, replacing the single-state plate with an apportioned plate and cab card.

The trade's biggest check is also its simplest: box trucks are bought with finance liens, and a $10 lien recording fee rides with each title, while the titling tax at 6 percent of a $60,000 truck is $3,600 before the first job. The commercial plates page runs the whole federal side.

26,000 lbs or 3 axlesIRP registration is required in West Virginia for vehicles over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles, that cross state lines. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, IRP and IFTA, retrieved 2026-09-29

The winter months, whichever trade you run

Every one of these trades has a parked season, and the plate does not know it. A West Virginia registration keeps its insurance obligation as long as it is valid, driven or not, and the plate is supposed to go back if the policy drops.

A landscaper in January and a food truck in February face the same three options: keep the liability on, return the plate for the off-season, or work the storage question with the agent. The verification system selects by active title and active plate, and it does not check the calendar.

Calendar the plate, the policy, the $25 annual report by June 30, and the two-year inspection together in January, and the rest of the year is driving. The insurance page covers the parked-vehicle rule, and the cost page puts all of it in one budget.

A West Virginia registration requires the mandated insurance as long as it is valid, driven or not, and the plate goes back if the policy drops. — West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions