Taxes, driving empty/deadhead

Buying fuel in states with a higher IFTA tax will mean you’ll receive a reimbursement after filing your IFTA quarter—but it does not mean you saved money. In fact, it likely means you lost money because you aren’t buying fuel where it is cheapest (without the IFTA tax). If you want to save money, then buy fuel wherever it is the cheapest (without the IFTA tax). Sure, you may owe some money at the end of the IFTA quarter, but again, it does not mean you lost money. It only means the IFTA taxes you owe were paid at different times.

 

I hope this isn’t true... moving your rig through a state while not working costs money. Wow.

 

If the wheels are rolling you are paying tax no matter what you are doing you have to either buy fuel or buy enough fuel in a higher tax state to cover where ever you are

pump price - tax = whatever is cheapest I go with, sometimes PA works out with the high tax, sometimes I get it at home in MA.

 

Keep in mind that if you drive a truck that can go high speed and isn't governed, your MPG goes way down and the trip will cost you a lot more. I'm usually just on the west coast every week, but this week I took a load to Idaho going 75-80 a lot of the way through NV and ID. My MPG loaded dropped to 6.5 compared to the usual 8 MPG I get on the I-5 going around 60 MPH while loaded. All of a sudden those mileage taxes and IFTA doesn't look so bad out here.

 

Ok, I understand via fuel tax. Doesn’t that apply to everyone or when trucks fuel up, their tax is higher.

 

You get taxed based on the number of miles you drive in each state. For instance in California where I live, if you drive 500 miles, you'll need to buy the amount of fuel that your truck would need to travel that 500 miles based on your miles per gallon. If you don't. you have to pay .70 cents additional at the end of the reporting quarter for every gallon of fuel you should have purchased but didn't. If you purchased more fuel than you needed for the miles driven, you get money back.

 

Oh my goodness, I had no idea. That is all tracked in a log book? Must you file the exact route you take on each trip? Who is calculating the amount you drive in each state?

 

You keep track of your miles, or some ELD's do it for you. The route you take doesn't matter, just the number of miles you travel within each state. You don't write it in your log book, you keep a separate spreadsheet for mileage. You write down the odometer mileage when you enter a state, and write down the mileage when you leave a state.

 

The best place to save money dead heading is Oregon.

$21.5 cents per mile for every mile you go through there.