IFTA Reporting Basics for New Owner-Operators

 

Don’t forget to file your Ifta report because October is coming fast.

There is a very common question in the trucking industry “What is IFTA & How to file it ?”. In this article, we will learn about the IFTA basics and How to file your IFTA Report.

Paying fuel taxes was very time-consuming in the past that requires the truckers to stop at a port of entry to buy a permit. So few states hammered out an agreement in the early 80s to create a permit that would be honored in all of them. And that permit is known as IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement).

IFTA is an Agreement between lower 48 united states and 10 Canadian provinces to simplify fuel tax collection and reporting for interstate commercial carriers.

How Does the Agreement Work?

Truck Drivers are required to track How much fuel they have used and the miles they have travelled in each jurisdiction. Based on the calculation of the report, you can find that you either owe money into your IFTA account or a refund is owed to your account. After that, your base jurisdiction takes care of dividing the fuel taxes to every jurisdiction based on mileage.

That’s the good news for member jurisdictions because it ensures that they can maintain roads that are used by heavy commercial vehicles.

What are the IFTA Reporting Periods?

You must have to file an IFTA tax report every quarter, even if you don’t buy fuel or haul load in any IFTA jurisdiction that quarter. If your report finds that any taxes are owed, you need to pay that amount to your base jurisdiction at the time the report is filed. Then your base jurisdiction redistributes that tax money.

IFTA Quarters And Due Dates are:

• Q1 (January-March): April 30
• Q2 (April-June): July 31
• Q3 (July-September): October 31
• Q4 (October-December): January 31

Records that you should keep to file IFTA Fuel Taxes

FMCSA requires the following records for at least 6 months:

Mileage Records: You’ll need to track the mileage travelled in each jurisdiction each quarter, specifying total mileage, total mileage for each trip, and the total mileage travelled in each jurisdiction.

Receipts of Fuel Purchased: Keep receipts of the fuel that purchased and which state or province you purchased it in. Make sure it shows the purchase date, fuel type, purchase location, the price per gallon, Truck vehicle registration number, the total purchase amount, and the number of gallons purchased.

Trip Reports: Be sure to include all the relevant trip information, such as starting and ending trip dates, trip origin and destination, and routes that you took for travel.