Five days to find the authority

On the record since then

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1. 2026-10-21 Note The checkpoint moves to Dec 31, the last day of the period the order covers. Read on Oct 21: the Treasury's newest press release is of Oct 19 and the IRS's newest is IR-2026-124 of Oct 16, and neither concerns diesel. The guidance in the third promise still has no date. If it comes, it has to say when the deferred tax falls due. Source
2. 2026-10-21 Filing Later the same day the IRS went further. IR-2026-125 says it "will not challenge" failures to file, report or keep records for the tax on dyed diesel used on the road from Oct 1 to Dec 31, will not assert penalties for them, and "will not require subsequent filing, reporting, or reconstruction of records" after the year ends. In practice that leaves nothing to report and nothing to fine for those three months, which is close to what he called "TAX FREE". On paper the release still speaks of "liability under section 4041(a)", so the tax has not been cancelled, and it is not the section 7508A determination the order asked for. The IRS says it is weighing a grace period for red dye left in tanks after Dec 31. Found on Oct 27; the note below was written before this release was posted. Source
3. 2026-10-20 Verdict The first promise is marked broken. The order gave the Treasury five days, to Oct 10, to decide whether section 7508A lets it put off the federal tax on diesel. By Oct 20, fifteen days after the order, no determination had been published: nothing in the Treasury's press releases, the IRS news releases or the Federal Register. The Treasury may have reached a view it has not published, and the IRS says it "anticipates" further guidance on the postponement, so if a determination appears it goes on this log the day it does. The IRS announcement on dyed diesel stays marked kept. The third promise, the guidance itself, has no date in the order and stays open. Source
4. 2026-10-19 Statement On the night of his Kansas visit he posted that the order lets "Farmers, Truckers, and anyone else to fill up with Diesel totally TAX FREE". The order's word is "defer", and its section 4, headed "Tax Forgiveness", asks the Treasury to "explore avenues, including legislation" to cancel the deferred amounts. At the pump he is close to right: dyed diesel is sold without the federal tax and the IRS has said it will not fine road use until Dec 31. On paper the tax is still owed, and the finding the deferral depends on has not been published. Posted at 01:17 UTC on Oct 20, which was still Oct 19 in Washington. Checked at source. Source
5. 2026-10-15 Filing The IRS acted, on Oct 14, nine days after the order. IR-2026-122 says it "will not impose a penalty when dyed diesel fuel is sold for use or used on highways nationwide", from Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2026. That starts four days earlier than the order's own Oct 5. Its fuel compliance officers are reassigned and "no federal inspections of on-road dyed fuel usage will occur". The order gave the Treasury five days to direct the IRS to make this announcement. The direction itself was not published, so we cannot say when it was given. The announcement came after the five days. On the tax itself the IRS says it "anticipates that it will issue further guidance" on the postponement under section 7508A and will "explore avenues to eliminate the obligation to pay any amounts deferred". The Treasury has still not published the determination the order asked for, which is the finding that the disaster law applies. Source
6. 2026-10-13 Data Eight days after the order and three past the end of its five days. The Treasury published three releases on Tuesday, on a bank penalty, a cartel and a call with South Korea. None concerns diesel. The newest from the IRS is still IR-2026-120 of Oct 7. Read on Tuesday evening in Washington. Source
7. 2026-10-13 Note The five days have passed and nothing has been published. The three promises stay open for one more week, to Oct 20, before they are called either way. The Treasury can still act, and a late finding would still be a finding. Source
8. 2026-10-12 Data A week after the order. The five days it gave the Treasury and the IRS ended on Saturday, Oct 10. The Treasury's newest press release is of Oct 9 and announces an appointment. The newest from the IRS is still IR-2026-120 of Oct 7. Neither page mentions diesel or dyed fuel, and the Federal Register for Oct 13 carries nothing from either on the order. Monday was a federal holiday. Read on Monday evening in Washington. Source
9. 2026-10-08 Data Three days after the order. The Treasury's newest press release is dated Oct 7 and announces an enforcement penalty. The newest from the IRS is IR-2026-120 of Oct 7, on a whistleblower programme. Neither page mentions diesel, dyed fuel or section 7508A, and the Federal Register has printed nothing from either on the order. Read at nine in the morning in Washington. Source
10. 2026-10-07 Data Two days after the order. The Treasury's newest press release is dated Oct 6 and is about fraud and improper payments. The newest from the IRS is IR-2026-119 of Oct 2, on online security. Neither page mentions diesel, dyed fuel or section 7508A, and the Federal Register has printed nothing from either on the order. Read at nine in the morning in Washington. Source
11. 2026-10-07 Statement A proclamation for National Energy Dominance Month says America had "record domestic oil and gas production" in 2025 and that 2026 "is on pace to shatter those records once again". The order of Oct 5 begins by saying "restricted global diesel supply has led to rising prices". One sentence is about how much is produced and the other about what a refined fuel costs, so both can stand. Source
12. 2026-10-06 Data Read the four laws the order cites. 26 U.S.C. 7508A lets the Secretary postpone tax deadlines for people affected by "a federally declared disaster", "a significant fire, or a terroristic or military action". Section 4041 is the tax on diesel sold for use in a highway vehicle, section 4081 sets it at 24.3 cents a gallon, and section 6715 is the penalty for using dyed fuel where tax was due. Source
13. 2026-10-06 Note Watch opened. Nothing from the Treasury or the IRS yet. The order was signed in the evening and the five days run to Saturday Oct 10.
14. 2026-10-06 Statement A second White House release says the order "immediately cuts diesel costs by authorizing highway use of tax-free dyed diesel and deferring the federal diesel excise tax through the end of the year". It quotes Trump announcing it on Monday: "I am going to sign a historic Executive Order to officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red dye diesel for any reason." The saving is now "as much as $100 per fill". Monday's fact sheet said "over $100 per refill". The order's own text waives nothing by itself. It tells the Treasury to decide within five days whether it may defer the tax, and tells the IRS to announce within five days that it will not fine dyed diesel on the road. Neither had been published by the end of Oct 6. The release also quotes the governors of Tennessee and Iowa, who have suspended their own states' penalties. Source
15. 2026-10-05 Statement Earlier the same day, on Truth Social: "What's driving up Gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz", but refineries, Russia's being hit by Ukraine and American ones closing in states run by Democrats. Checked at source. Source
16. 2026-10-05 Filing The order is posted. Its first section says "restricted global diesel supply has led to rising prices" and that farmers and truckers "have been particularly hard hit". The relief it directs covers fuel bought from Oct 5 to Dec 31, 2026. Source
17. 2026-10-05 Statement The fact sheet published with the order describes it as allowing dyed diesel on the road and deferring the federal tax for the rest of the year, "for example saving truckers over $100 per refill". It also says the administration and state governors "can exercise their enforcement discretion to halt inspections and waive the tax liability". Source