International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Quarterly Filing Checklist

Walk the yard and confirm two current-year decals are affixed to each side of the cab on every qualified motor vehicle (≥26,001 lb GVW or 3+ axles). Decals expire December 31; the two-month grace period (Jan 1 – Feb 28) only applies if the renewal is already in process.

Original license stays at the base jurisdiction office; a legible photocopy must be carried in every qualified vehicle. Roadside inspectors will cite the driver if the copy is missing or illegible.

File the renewal application with the base jurisdiction by the state's posted deadline (typically late November or December). All quarterly returns must be current — outstanding tax or late returns will block decal issuance.

Export the IFTA mileage report from Motive, Samsara, Geotab, Omnitracs, or your TMS for the quarter. The report must break miles down by jurisdiction and by vehicle unit number. Confirm the date range covers the full quarter (e.g., Q1 = Jan 1 through Mar 31).

Compare the quarter's beginning and ending odometer readings against the ELD total miles per unit. Variances over 1% suggest GPS dropouts, unassigned-driving time, or yard moves miscoded as on-duty driving — investigate before filing.

Assign any unassigned driving segments to the correct driver, annotate ELD edits, and reconstruct missing jurisdiction miles from trip sheets, fuel receipts, and toll records. Document the source for any manually-adjusted miles in case of audit.

Identify miles eligible for exemption — turnpike miles in IN/MA/NY, off-road miles, fuel-trip permits — by jurisdiction. Exempt mile rules vary; check each jurisdiction's current list, since exemptions change.

Pull the IFTA-formatted transaction report from Comdata, EFS, WEX, FleetCor, or T-Chek. Each record needs date, unit number, jurisdiction, gallons, fuel type, and retail price. Bulk fuel from yard tanks must be tracked separately with withdrawal logs.

Any fuel bought outside the card program — driver advance, comdata check, cash at a small station — needs a retail receipt with date, location, gallons, price, and unit number. Reimbursement-only receipts without unit identification are commonly disallowed in audit.

Tie the fuel-card report gallons and dollars to the carrier's bank or credit card statement. Discrepancies usually mean a missed transaction batch, a disputed charge, or a card not enrolled in the IFTA feed.

Only fuel where state tax was paid at the pump counts as tax-paid gallons. Indian-reservation purchases, certain bulk deliveries, and ex-tax fuel do not. Flag these so they are not credited on the return.

Divide total fleet miles by total tax-paid gallons to derive average MPG. A fleet MPG below 5.0 or above 8.0 for diesel tractors is a common audit flag — recheck before filing. Round per the base jurisdiction's instructions (typically two decimals).

For each jurisdiction: taxable gallons = miles in jurisdiction ÷ fleet MPG; tax due = (taxable gallons − tax-paid gallons) × jurisdiction rate. Use the current quarter's rate table from IFTA, Inc. — rates change quarterly, especially surcharge jurisdictions (IN, KY, VA).

File through the base state portal or your TMS e-file integration. Quarterly due dates: Q1 Apr 30, Q2 Jul 31, Q3 Oct 31, Q4 Jan 31. A zero return is still required if no qualifying travel occurred. Late filing penalty is $50 or 10% of net tax, whichever is greater, plus 1%/month interest per jurisdiction.

Submit ACH debit, ACH credit, or check per the base jurisdiction's accepted methods. Payment must post by the due date; postmark generally does not count. Save the payment confirmation alongside the filed return.

IFTA requires four years from the return due date or filing date, whichever is later. Store individual vehicle mileage records (IVMRs), fuel receipts, bulk fuel logs, ELD exports, and filed returns in a folder structure indexed by year, quarter, and unit.

Telematics vendors typically retain ELD records for 6–12 months in their portal; the carrier is responsible for the full four-year retention. Export and store to the carrier's own cloud or shop drive — losing source records during an audit shifts the burden of proof to the carrier.

Pick three random units and walk the quarter end-to-end: ELD trip detail → IVMR → fuel receipts → return totals. This mirrors how a state auditor samples and surfaces systemic issues (driver coding habits, missing receipts) before the auditor does.

If the spot-check turns up material errors — wrong jurisdiction allocation, missing tax-paid gallons, MPG calculation error — file an amended return through the base jurisdiction portal and remit any additional tax. Self-correction before audit typically waives or reduces penalties.

Most audit findings trace back to drivers — unassigned segments, missing receipts, fuel pumped into the wrong unit. Run a short safety-meeting refresher covering ELD login discipline, receipt retention, and how to handle bulk-fuel withdrawals.