Heating oil vs diesel
Chemically the same distillate. The price gap is road tax. EIA
Same fuel, different colour and tax
Both are #2 distillate ULSD (15 ppm sulfur post-2014). Heating oil is dyed red with Solvent Red 26 to mark it off-road. Clear diesel pays federal excise ($0.244/gal) plus state diesel tax (varies, $0.20 to $0.70/gal). Heating oil pays neither. IRS
The legal divider: IRC §6715
Using dyed (heating oil) fuel in an on-road diesel vehicle is a federal violation. Penalty: greater of $1,000 or $10/gal per dyed gallon used. State penalties stack. The IRS dyes fuel-tank samples at random truck-stop inspections. IRS. See off-road vs on-road arbitrage.
Can you run heating oil in a diesel truck?
Mechanically yes (modern ULSD heating oil is identical to ULSD road diesel). Legally no. The arbitrage rarely pencils once you weight the penalty risk.
Cross-references
EIA SHOPP last reading: 2026-03-30NYMEX HO settled: 2026-07-13EIA next release: 2026-10-05