IFTA frequently asked questions

About IFTA (8)

Those who operate in commercial commerce any vehicles meeting any of the following:

1) has two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,000 pounds (11,797 kilograms)

or

2) has three or more axles regardless of weight

or

3) is used in combination, when the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds (11,797 kilograms) gross vehicle or registered gross vehicle weight.

and

you operate in the 48 lower United States and/or the 10 Canadian provinces crossing border lines.

IF you DO NOT operate outside of your own registered state (called intrastate and not interstate) then IFTA does NOT apply to you.  However, your state probably HAS a fuel or mileage tax for you not connected to IFTA, so make sure to check with your state business tax office to be in compliance with their “inside state” rules and filing of such things!

If you do not actually need to register or pay IFTA for any of the above reasons, then this site does not apply to you.

International Fuel Tax Agreement

The most general definition is that IFTA is an agreement between the U.S. states and Canadian provinces to charge a tax on fuel based on the miles driven in their jurisdiction by commercial vehicles.  The fuel efficiency (“miles per gallon” or “kilometers per liter”) play a large part in the calculation of what you owe as well.  The better MPG that your truck gets – the less you pay in fuel tax.

You pay the IFTA bill to the state or province in which you have your company registered.  They, in turn, will pay the other states in which you drove for you (from your filed return and payment that you sent.)

Fuel that is NOT used to propel the vehicle (like reefer and APU fuel) does not apply to IFTA.  You should always fuel reefer tanks or APU’s separately so that you have a positive record of those gallons/liters NOT mixed in with those going into your propulsion tank.  Note that PTO usage or any other device attached the vehicle that does not have its own motor separate from the propulsion motor counts toward IFTA and cannot be refunded.

The Federal IRS code allows for you to claim fuel tax that is used in BUSINESS USE but not in the propulsion portion of the vehicle to be refunded back to you via Form 4136 at the end of the tax year when you file Income Taxes.  The full instruction containing this exemption can be found –> HERE

If you do NOT have a separate tank for your reefer, generator, or APU, then there is language in the government’s document (link in the previous paragraph here) which provides that you if can accurately separate the truck fuel usage from the auxiliary fuel usage via other means, then you can still apply for a refund via Form 4136 when you file your income taxes at the end of the year.  For example, if you know how many gallons per hour that your APU uses, you can do the math and apply for a refund for the fuel tax paid on fuel burned in your APU.

And don’t forget to check with your state filing jurisdiction tax authority also.  It is likely that your state has a tax refund for their fuel tax on non-propulsion fuel too!

However, for IFTA purposes you want to only enter “propulsion” fuel into your IFTA calculations.  Just make sure to keep your receipts and documentation straight in case of audit!

When adding fuel manually into a return here on the site you can add auxiliary fuel in the auxiliary fuel box.  This can be ACTUAL amounts that you put into a SEPARATE tank, or they can be ESTIMATED amounts that you figure you have used in an auxiliary device like an APU, reefer, generator, etc.

YOU CAN GET YOUR AUXILIARY FUEL REPORT from the “Report” tab in the Switchboard HERE.

NO.  New York, New Mexico, Kentucky, and Oregon all have a separate “per mile” or “heavy use tax” and that is NOT THE SAME AS IFTA.

Each of those aforementioned states have a different from that you must pay directly to them in ADDITION to IFTA.  Even though this site does not do any HUT or other special taxes yet, we can provide the following links for info on their HUT tax rules and filing:

NEW YORK
NEW MEXICO
KENTUCKY
OREGON

The tax periods are by calendar quarter as follows:

1st Quarter – Jan through end of March – DUE ON APRIL 30

2nd Quarter – April through end of June – DUE ON JULY 31

3rd Quarter – August through end of September – DUE ON OCTOBER 31

4th Quarter – October through end of December – DUE ON JANUARY 31

Note:  If you are paying late (i.e. after the Due Dates listed above) you must also include a late payment fee based on how many months you are overdue.  (see your state’s 101-MN IFTA form instruction sheet for your exact late penalty calculation.)

Note 2: OUR WEB SITE CALCULATES LATE PENALTIES AUTOMATICALLY FOR YOU FOR ALL MEMBER ACCOUNTS!  You can even run scenarios to see what the penalty would be based on when you think you may file.

NO.  Every state and province has it’s own rate.  They publish these rates shortly before the current quarter ends.  They provide those rates online prior to the month that you have to file in.  You pay one check to YOUR filing state.  They will distribute to the other states or provinces in which you drove.

These rates can change from quarter to quarter.  For list of current and past rates, you can click here.

In ADDITION, if you drove in a “highway use tax” state, you may have to pay a separate tax to those states if your vehicle qualifies with the following:
Oregon:  if you are over 26,000 pounds, you pay a “weight-mile” tax to them and your actual IFTA is zero.
New York:  If you are over 18,000 pounds
New Mexico:  if you are over 26,000 pounds
Kentucky:  and, if you are over 60,000 pounds you must also have their Kentucky Highway Use licence (KYU) or the equivalent KYU trip permit for those without the KYU license

YES.  If you fail to file online (if your state has this ability) or postmark your return by the posted filing date, there is both a penalty and interest that need to be included when you DO file.

PENALTY:  this is $50 or 10% of the final amount that you owed for that quarter originally (whichever is the GREATER NUMBER.)  Your base jurisdiction keeps this penalty money.

INTEREST:  In addition, you must add .4167% per month that you are late to the amount owed to each jurisdiction that you owed.  (this number is based on the current annual percentage rate of 5% set by the government divided by 12 months.)  Prior to July 1, 2013, the annual percentage rate was 12% annually (or 1% per month.)  Your base jurisdiction has to pay out this interest to the others.

If you were getting a refund from a particular jurisdiction, or did not owe anything to a particular jurisdiction, then you do NOT owe that jurisdiction INTEREST, but you still have the PENALTY portion to pay on the return as a whole.

Note: OUR WEB SITE CALCULATES THIS AUTOMATICALLY FOR YOU FOR ALL MEMBER ACCOUNTS!  You can even run scenarios to see what the penalty would be based on when you think you may file.

YES.  There is a long list of rather complicated exemptions whereby you don’t have to pay IFTA fuel tax in certain cases.

Examples:

CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS:  Alaska, Hawaii, District of Columbia, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory, Nunavut, and all of Mexico are “Non-IFTA” jurisdictions.  You report all miles driven in these places as ‘Non-IFTA miles” on your IFTA form.

PERMITS:  usually a temporary trip permit includes the fuel tax in it.  Check your permit or contact the state that issued it if you are unsure.

TYPES OF FUEL:  some states allow exceptions for specific types of fuel.

WHERE YOU DROVE OR BOUGHT FUEL:  some states allow exemption for driving (and sometimes purchasing) in certain areas, like Indian reservations, certain toll roads, private roads and land, etc.  The Mass Turnpike is exempt from IFTA and you can get an additional refund back from them when you file the correct form.  For example, if you drove on the Mass Turnpike (here is a map link to it) in an IFTA-required commercial vehicle, you can enter those miles as “non-IFTA” miles here on this web site or your own IFTA form.  That will result in zero IFTA for those miles but you MUST also file a form ST-10 with them annually and keep all toll receipts.  (see Massachusetts IFTA guide on page 9 here.)

TYPE OF VEHICLE:  some states allow exemptions for government, schools, off-road, farm, or other specific vehicle types.

These are most often referred to as “NON-IFTA” miles or kilometers.  You still have to report these exempt miles/kilometers as miles driven because they affect your truck’s total MPG efficiency calculation, but you report them in the box called “Non-Ifta Miles.”  You do not have to pay any tax on those miles if they fit the defined criteria for that quarter in that jurisdiction.

For the current official exceptions table explaining for cases other than the Non-Ifta jurisdictions listed above, click HERE.

Mileage by State or Province (2)

Remember that the IFTA authority requires that you report all IFTA and Non-IFTA miles that an eligible commercial truck drives in every jurisdiction (states and provinces.) This includes out-of-route miles and bob-tail miles as well as personal miles.  For example, when the IFTA return is completed, the amount of total miles for a truck should match the truck odometer miles driven in that period.

With that said, there are basically 4 ways to do this.

  1. The driver logs his or her odometers.  This requires that the driver keep either a clipboard, or a voice recorder handy and writes (or speaks) the odometer reading of the truck as a border is crossed.  Another way the driver can do it is to document the route that he took so that it can be recreated using a mapping program later.
    ADVANTAGE:  it’s free
    DISADVANTAGE:  getting the drivers to do it consistently
  2. Using a trucker’s GPS (like a Rand McNally TND730) to record the miles.
    ADVANTAGE:  the driver doesn’t have to write them down
    DISADVANTAGE:  they aren’t free
    DISADVANTAGE:  you or the driver has to plug it into a computer to extract the mileage file from it.
    DISADVANTAGE:  it only records while powered on.  So if it breaks or is not turned on, then it isn’t recording those miles.
  3. An on-board GPS truck tracking unit.
    ADVANTAGE:  on all the time (no driver interaction needed.)  This is by far the most convenient and easy way.
    ADVANTAGE:  you can see where the truck is, how fast it’s going, when it arrived and departed locations using your computer or cell phone
    ADVANTAGE:  you can pull a state mileage report from your computer without having the truck or device near you
    ADVANTAGE:  tracks all miles or kilometers
    DISADVANTAGE:  they aren’t free.
  4. A mapping program that calculates the state mileage on truck routes.
    ADVANTAGE:  you can recreate the state mileage on your computer
    DISADVANTAGE:  not free.
    DISADVANTAGE:  technically, you still need to know the out of route miles that the driver may have taken.

No.  Not at this time.  We have a downloadable program at —>  THIS LINK which will do that.  Or we have GPS live tracking units at —>  THIS LINK that will report the miles.  But this web site does not currently contain an online state miles calculator.

Using the calculators here (3)

A “split” is when a particular jurisdiction changes their rate part way through the same quarter.  For example:

  • Washington State changed their rate for the 4th Quarter of 2015 such that you need to pay one rate for miles driven in July of 2015, and a different rate for miles driven in August and September of that same quarter.
  • Iowa did a similar split in the 1st quarter of 2015.
  • Newfoundland did a split rate in the 2nd quarter of 2016.
  • New Jersey did a split rate in the 4th quarter of 2016.
  • Please ensure that you choose the correct jurisdiction when using this site in these cases.  You choose the jurisdiction based upon WHEN the truck drove those miles that you are entering at that time.
For example, if you are entering miles driving in New Jersey for the month of October, 2016, then enter them in the “New Jersey” jurisdiction.  BUT if you drove miles in New Jersey in November of 2016, then choose the “New Jersey Split” as the jurisdiction for those miles.

NO, not at this time.  This site is a calculator for one or more trucks that can be used to enter your miles and gallons all quarter long without having to figure it out all at once at the end of the quarter.  Using the general “Final Report” printout or email will save tons of time and avoid any calculation errors.  And it produces individual truck reports if you have more than one truck.

You need to transfer the final correct numbers from our form to whatever state form that yous state uses.  They will either mail you your state form or they will provide it on their web site.

Yes  –  If you have any level of premium member account, you can do returns back to Jan 1, 2014 (so, Q1 of 2014 and newer)

Note: OUR WEB SITE CALCULATES LATE PENALTIES AUTOMATICALLY FOR YOU FOR ALL MEMBER ACCOUNTS!  You can even run scenarios to see what the penalty would be based on when you think you may file.

General billing and site questions (3)

No.  You will receive email notifications before your membership expires.

Don’t worry – your data does not get deleted immediately upon membership expiration.

HOWEVER!  Your login and your data will be deleted automatically if you do not renew some form of membership level as follows:
AFTER 30 DAYS for the “3-Day Pass” accounts.  OR, AFTER 6 MONTHS for all other levels.

Your membership login access and your data is kept on our secure server for as long as you have an active membership – one that is not expired.

HOWEVER, if your membership level is expired, your login account name and all past data will be automatically deleted as follows!

–  AFTER 30 DAYS FOR THE “5-DAY PASS” ACCOUNTS,  or
–  AFTER 6 MONTHS FOR ALL OTHER MEMBERSHIP LEVELS.

It’s very easy. Log in, click “My Account Profile” on the right. Then click “Cancel Account” at the bottom of your profile page.  BEWARE that once you cancel the account you cannot log back in to retrieve your past returns.   So please email or print them before cancelling the account.  If you have questions or are having some issue that you’s like to discuss with us beforehand, please contact us using the “CONTACT AND SUPPORT” link at the top of this page.  We are here to help!

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