How to Handle Reefer Fuel on the Quarterly IFTA Tax
IFTA reporting can be awfully complicated (you’ll know this if you have ever tried to manually calculate payments due).
Just trying to work out taxable vs. nontaxable miles and exemptions is enough to make any head spin.
But let’s take a moment to consider another potential pitfall in IFTA requirements. Have you ever wondered if you are supposed to report reefer fuel on IFTA?
Reefer fuel and IFTA reporting
Since reefer fuel does not power your vehicle, it should not be considered as a part of your IFTA reporting. In fact, you really ought to pump your reefer fuel separately from your truck fuel, so there is no confusion about which fuel went where. This is important for several reasons.
Why you should accurately report reefer fuel
If your reefer and truck fuel purchases are not on separate receipts at the end of the quarter, it can be hard to remember what fuel went where. If you end up accidentally adding reefer fuel into your IFTA calculations, your final MPG number will be lower and you will end up spending paying more in taxes.
Further, if the authorities notice that you have been combining reefer and truck fuel in your calculations, you can be penalized and incur interest during IFTA audits.
But perhaps the most compelling incentive is the tax refund at the end of the year. That’s right. If you report the total amount of reefer fuel you purchased during the tax year, the IRS will refund you the amount of tax paid on that fuel.
You can even claim a back credit for the last 3 years (if you have accurate records of your reefer fuel purchases anyway). You should contact your base IFTA reporting jurisdiction for more information.
Quarterly IFTA Deadline
The quarterly IFTA reporting deadline for July-September 2020 is coming up on November 2, 2020.
Let us do the hard work of figuring out IFTA requirements for you! When you e-file with Express IFTA, we will do all the complicated calculations for you. Just enter mileage and fuel consumption and we do the rest.
Give Express IFTA a try today!
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