5 Things You Need to Know About 3rd Quarter IFTA

5 Things You Need to Know About 3rd Quarter IFTA

As we reach the 3rd IFTA Quarter deadline, you need to have a game plan by now. If you don’t have one, we still have a few weeks to correct course!

So unless you’re a trucker who works in Alaska or Hawaii, you’re gonna have to pay for IFTA. No matter where you are, you need to file.

1. IFTA Filing Requirements

Of course, to file your IFTA report you will need to have plenty of documents on hand. Your required information includes:

• Base Jurisdiction: You need to be registered in your base jurisdiction, which is your home state your vehicle is registered in. 
• Qualified Motor Vehicles: These are designed and used to transport people or property, and also has two axles with a gross/registered weight exceeding 26,000 pounds. Qualified vehicles can also have three or more axles, or have a combination weight exceeding 26,000 pounds. 
• Fuel Records: You need to have complete fuel records of all motor fuel purchased and used to conduct business, with separate totals compiled for each fuel type. Your receipts should include the date of purchase, name and address of seller, number of gallons or liters received, fuel type, and the vehicle into which the fuel was placed.
• Mileage Records: The total miles, taxable and nontaxable, traveled by the IFTA licensee’s qualified motor vehicle(s) in all jurisdictions/states, regardless if they participate in IFTA, which includes all trip permit miles;
• Tax Information: The current tax rates for each member jurisdiction.

2. IFTA Due Date

The 3rd IFTA Quarter runs from July through September, which means the deadline falls on October 31.

Here are the IFTA due dates:

* If the due date falls on a weekend or a state holiday, the due date is extended to the following business day.

3. IFTA Penalties

You will be charged $50 or 10% of the amount of taxes owed, whichever is greater, as well as revocation of your IFTA license eventually. However, in Nevada you will have to pay a $50 flat fee PLUS 10% of the taxes due.

Starting the month after you receive your original penalty for late filing, you will be charged .4167% of the tax due on a monthly basis until the tax amount is paid.

4. Old School Filing

There are two typical ways drivers may approach their IFTA filing. The first one is to start by heading to www.iftach.org and manually calculating and filing your IFTA report. This is time consuming, and can even be confusing to some (if you’re not versed in tax jargon).

There are CPA’s and service providers who will file your IFTA return for you, but if you’re an owner operator trying to keep things affordable, you might want to focus on that.

5. IFTA Filing Software

For simple fuel tax filing, try using IFTA filing software – like ExpressIFTA! As a long time provider of IFTA taxes online, ExpressIFTA can track your mileage, fuel purchases and more, all conveniently in a cloud based system!

For a more in-depth IFTA filing system, TruckLogics is your answer. With ProMiles integration, when you’re recording your trip logs, select ProMiles and your precise trip mileage is automatically recorded. TruckLogics also has billing and invoicing tools, load tracking and check call, and even QuickBooks® integration!

With the IFTA deadline right around the corner, don’t waste your time on some fly-by-night IFTA reporting service. Go with the proven professionals here at ExpressIFTA, or sign up for a free 15-day trial over at TruckLogics.