How to do fuel taxes?

Its fairly easy, in california you can do it online and just need to enter the information and send in a check. DO NOT pay anyone to do it for you it is a ripoff. If CA the board of equalization handles it and they send you all of the worksheets with instructions, its basically an IFTA guide for dummies.
You will need the total miles run in each state and total gallons of fuel purchased in each state to complete the form and that is it (your state state will provide you with the fuel tax for each state).

Call your local state office that handles IFTA taxes and ask them to send you the information necceassry to fill it out. You may even be able to print them out online from the state website.

Good luck!

 

if you're a new carrier and you register for IFTA, and get decals, they they charge you right then, or do you have to wait until the end of the quarter to report mileage and fuel usage before you actually have to pay anything?

 

Yes, you have 1 month after the quarter ends to file and pay if you owe anything. After you learn the best states to buy fuel in on your route, you can keep the payment to a minimum. Basicaly you want to buy fuel where the states charge the higher tax rates, but you also want to avoid buying more fuel than you will use in the ones which have a very high rate (mostly the states in th northeast).

 

alrighty, i'm doing a business plan and have it divided by the things i'm gonna pay for (tarps, straps, ect) and the stuff i'ma use the loan for.. and i figured the 2290, the authority, the irp, the insurance, UCR and what ever it's gonna cost to register the DBA, but for the life of me i couldn't find anything about the IFTA, i downloaded the manual and read through it and i understood how to file, just didn't know if i paid after i ran the miles (at the end of the quater) or if i had to pay something before i actually got to drive through another state... thanks.. this helped alot..

 

In addition to IRP which registers you to run in each state you are also charged by each state based on the amount of fuel you burn in their state. You'll be charged by almost every state you burn fuel in. If you buy your fuel in a state which already includes the tax in the fuel purchase, they don't charge you based on the miles you run in their state.

Here's an easy way to understand how some states tax your burned fuel: If you buy just the right amount of fuel for just the right amount of miles you ran in every state you won't owe anything, but you still have to report it, besides, that probably won't happen for any one driver in a lifetime, and they know it. Let's say you buy a 100 gallons in XYZ state that charges fuel tax; and your mpg is 6mpg if you run exactly 600 mile in XYZ state you don't owe but let's say you ran 700 miles in XYZ state you owe tax for 100 miles let's pretent the tax for XYZ state is .35, Calculate .35 X 100 = 35 bucks you owe that state. instead of having like 40 some odd checks to write and send, IFTA is your loyal friend that will send the money for all the states you owe. If you only run 500 miles in XYZ state now they owe you 35 bucks, which will be used to pay other states you owe or held as a credit for next month.

International Fuel Tax Association "IFTA": every state has one; they collect from you based on your fuel receipts and the miles you submit for all states.

They then send just the right amount you owe to each state based on the miles you ran in that state and the fuel you bought or didn't buy there. You have to renew the IFTA sticker every year and put it on the side of your truck. It and the application is 10 bucks, don't get canceled for a non payment it'll be 100 bucks to redo another application in some states. You submit an IFTA report and pay every quarter, if the paper work is a little bit more than your busy schedule can handle you'll need to get a service to help you.

 

Sorry for the poor typing, my brain moves faster than my typing sometimes, it should have read "in california (CA) the board of equalization..."

My motor carrier atlas list the IFTA phone number for Indiana as 317-615-7345. Give them a call they can help you out