INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Indiana drivers, farmers and timber harvesters will keep a month of fuel-tax relief after Governor Mike Braun signed executive orders on Wednesday, November 4, extending the state's energy emergency and its fuel tax suspensions through December 4. The orders suspend Indiana's gasoline excise tax and gasoline usage tax — worth a combined 64 cents per gallon in November — in all 92 counties, and they continue the suspension of restrictions on red-dyed diesel for qualifying agricultural and timber-harvesting vehicles, Hoosier Ag Today and the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. The extension begins November 5 and is expected to be the final one under the current emergency declaration.
Source: Hoosier Ag Today
The two orders Braun signed on November 4
Executive Order 26-35 extends the statewide energy emergency first declared on August 7 for another 30 days, beginning November 5 and continuing through December 4, according to the governor's office. The order suspends collection of Indiana's Gasoline Excise Tax and Gasoline Usage Tax in all 92 counties for the duration of the emergency. Braun first paused the fuel taxes in April and has issued monthly extensions ever since, WDRB reported, with the ongoing pause saving drivers roughly 60 cents per gallon at the pump.
Source: Office of Governor Mike Braun / WDRB
In a second executive order, Braun continued the suspension of special fuel restrictions for Indiana farmers and timber harvesters, allowing them to use dyed diesel fuel in qualifying highway vehicles engaged in agricultural and timber harvesting operations to help reduce transportation costs, the governor's office said. Braun declared that separate energy emergency in late September, lifting restrictions on untaxed diesel fuel that is typically reserved for off-road vehicles such as combines, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.
Source: Office of Governor Mike Braun / Indiana Capital Chronicle
“Affordability is my top priority, and I'm using every tool available to help Hoosier families and farmers save money at the pump,” Braun said. “We're keeping these savings for Hoosier families and farmers in place for another month while protecting funding for our roads and infrastructure.” Braun said the state will use existing reserves to protect local government funding and allow Indiana Department of Transportation projects and maintenance to continue without interruption, Hoosier Ag Today reported.
Source: Governor Mike Braun, via Hoosier Ag Today
What dyed diesel is — and what the relief actually does
Red-dyed diesel is normally reserved for off-road equipment, including tractors, combines and other machinery used in farming. Because it is intended for exempt uses, the fuel generally is not subject to the same taxes as clear diesel purchased for highway transportation, and using dyed diesel in a vehicle travelling on public roads ordinarily triggers restrictions, tax obligations and potential penalties. Indiana's emergency order temporarily eases those restrictions for eligible agricultural and timber operations, helping producers reduce transportation expenses during harvest, Hoosier Ag Today reported. The timing matters: Indiana producers are still moving corn and soybeans from fields to grain elevators, storage facilities and processing destinations, one of the most fuel-intensive periods of the year.
Source: Hoosier Ag Today
The distinction is important for anyone who drives for a living. The gasoline suspension lowers the tax built into every gallon of gasoline sold in Indiana. The diesel part of the package does not cut the tax on ordinary highway diesel at all — it only lets qualifying farm and timber vehicles lawfully run the cheaper, untaxed dyed fuel they already keep for off-road work on public roads, for qualifying agricultural and timber trips.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle / Hoosier Ag Today
Awaaz Punjab reported the federal dyed-diesel waiver in October, when President Trump's October 5 executive order and IRS penalty relief opened the door for states to let qualifying farm vehicles use dyed diesel on highways, and state after state — Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky and others — aligned its own rules. Indiana's November 4 orders are the state's latest monthly extension of that relief, with a hard stop now set for December 4. Read the national waiver report
Why December 4 is expected to be the end
The latest extension is expected to be Indiana's final fuel tax suspension under the current emergency declaration, both Hoosier Ag Today and the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. Continuing the relief beyond December 4 would require Braun to declare another emergency, something he has previously indicated may be unlikely ahead of the next legislative session, which is to begin in early January. Braun told reporters in September that the fiscal impact of the off-road diesel order alone would range from $1 million to $3 million per month.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle
The federal backdrop: Trump's diesel order and the IRS
Indiana's action follows President Trump's October 5 executive order, titled Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel, which temporarily expands federal relief for dyed diesel used on highways. The order directs federal agencies to defer certain diesel fuel excise tax obligations and provide penalty relief for qualifying highway use of dyed diesel through the end of 2026. The Internal Revenue Service subsequently announced it would not impose penalties when dyed diesel is sold for highway use or used in highway vehicles nationwide during the relief period; the federal penalty relief is retroactive to October 1 and runs through December 31, 2026, and the IRS also suspended ordinary collection and enforcement procedures, including inspections of on-road dyed-diesel usage. But penalty relief and tax deferral do not necessarily mean the underlying tax has been permanently forgiven, and the federal order does not automatically override state fuel restrictions — which is why governors have had to act state by state, Hoosier Ag Today reported.
Source: Hoosier Ag Today
Neighbouring states have made the same move — with different rules
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on October 12 temporarily allowing eligible farmers and loggers to use dyed diesel in highway-licensed vehicles through December 31; the order waives Michigan's 52-cent-per-gallon state diesel tax without interest or penalties for qualifying agricultural and logging vehicles, but the relief does not extend to commercial-use, for-hire plated vehicles, and Michigan Farm Bureau President Ben LaCross welcomed it, saying that with diesel prices remaining high, every bit of savings helps farmers and loggers get the harvest in. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2026-05D on October 21, aligning Ohio's enforcement with the federal relief through December 31. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on October 7 allowing farmers and truckers to use dyed diesel on public roadways beginning October 8. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2026-08 on October 6, directing the Illinois Department of Revenue and Illinois State Police not to impose penalties for qualifying agricultural highway use of dyed diesel through December 31, with guidance requiring agricultural users to keep documentation showing their eligibility, Hoosier Ag Today reported.
Source: Hoosier Ag Today
Read the fine print before you fuel. Indiana's gasoline suspension helps anyone buying gasoline in the state, but the dyed-diesel relief is for qualifying agricultural and timber-harvesting vehicles hauling farm and timber work — not for ordinary for-hire trucking, and Michigan's version explicitly excludes for-hire plated vehicles. A Punjabi owner-operator running I-65, I-70 or the Indiana Toll Road on a commercial load does not gain the right to run red diesel from these orders, and fuel rules and record-keeping differ across state lines. Farm operators hauling their own grain, livestock or timber are the ones this relief is written for.
The White House has estimated the federal initiative could deliver approximately $640 million in combined federal and state savings across roughly 224.6 million harvested acres, Hoosier Ag Today reported, citing the American Farm Bureau Federation's point that even modest per-gallon savings add up quickly for operations running multiple trucks or hauling products over long distances. The actual savings for an individual farmer depend on fuel consumption, qualifying vehicle use, state rules and whether the producer can access existing dyed-diesel supplies.
Source: Hoosier Ag Today
What happens next
Indiana's relief now runs through December 4 — and then, on current indications, it stops. Drivers will see the gasoline excise and usage taxes return unless Braun declares a fresh emergency, which he has signalled is unlikely so close to the January legislative session; any longer-term change to fuel taxes would be a decision for the Indiana General Assembly. The federal dyed-diesel penalty relief runs longer, through December 31, so qualifying farm operations in states whose orders run to year-end — Michigan, Ohio and Illinois among them — keep that cover after Indiana's state order lapses. For now, Hoosier families and farmers have another month of savings at the pump, in a harvest season when diesel prices remain the pressure point the whole Midwest relief effort was built to answer.