How To Avoid IFTA Penalties

IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement between the 48 contiguous States and 10 Canadian Provinces, where the member jurisdictions act cooperatively to administer and collect motor fuel use taxes.

Under IFTA, you are required to file Quarterly Fuel Tax Returns, if you hold an IFTA license, regardless if you operated or not.  If you did not operate and no fuel was used, you would submit a “zero” report. IFTA Returns are due on the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter. 1st Quarter IFTA Returns are due April 30, 2014.

What can you do to avoid penalty for late filing?

1. Prepare Now - Don’t wait until the last minute to try to get your records together for the entire quarter.  Keep track of your miles and fuel as you go.  This saves you a lot of time (and stress) in the end.
2. Know the rules - By holding a valid IFTA license, it is your responsibility to be aware of the rules and to abide by them. If you do not know, find out what they are.
3. Keep proper records - this will help you should you ever have to go through an IFTA audit.
4. File on time - tax reports must be postmarked no later than midnight on the date indicated. If the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day will be considered as filed timely.

At Truck Services of North America, we make it even simpler by preparing and filing your quarterly returns for you.