IFTA Audit Ny

Mr. Jackson, I don't feel that I am getting my hat handed to me nor I don't care how you beat your audit. My point is that your situation was not what I was writing about. I gave some very real information, which I stand by, but if a driver or company doesn't want to take it, doesn't cost me a dime or an hour of time to deal with it. There are a lot of people out there with a lot of government issues. That is nothing new. I've heard all about government and people's opinions of it. (Think about it, I dealt inside government for 2 decades. I have my own.) I've dealt with the good and bad in the trucking industry for a long time. I've dealt with a LOT of the great people. I truly believe that MOST of the people I have dealt with were doing the best they could with what they knew, not committing fraud. Indiana is a wonderful state of kind, caring people. I've also dealt with a lot of bullies and idiots. Ultimately, people will do what they want. I can't help those who don't want help or already know it all. Apparently, at least a few people here fall into that category. That is fine. I thought that I could help someone understand the audit side with give a detailed explanation of why DOT records could be a big problem. They don't want to see that side, already know it all, or want to fight it out afterwards, okay.

I think that some of the comments reflect on the poster's extreme views and have absurd statements, such as an auditor staying sick for a year to avoid a protest. It seems to be the opinion that the auditor is out to get the taxpayer. For the most part (we did have a couple I wouldn't say that about), the people that I worked with were out to do job which we took seriously. We are given guidelines which we are required to follow based on the IFTA and IRP regulations and how our jurisdiction interpreted them. We did not get a percentage of the assessment. We did not get promoted or pay raises based on dollars generated. We did not select the audits. Our evaluations were based on getting the audits done within the parameters set and time frame given. We worked hard. Quite frankly, I wanted to see good complete records. All carriers have the same requirements. I don't see why some thought that I should look the other way or fake information putting my job in jeopardy because the regs didn't apply to them.

As to a few of the comments:
DOT logs do not generally provided all the information required by IFTA and IRP. DOT logs do not usually provide routes of travel and/or odometer readings along with miles by jurisdiction as required by both IFTA and IRP. The information is usually incomplete. PC Miler is not original documentation and rarely shows actual routes and true miles. Whether your jurisdiction finds it adequate, I don't know. Some might. IFTA doesn't have much teeth if the information can be determined in some manner. IRP has more of a bite. I didn't write the regulations nor determine how each jurisdiction will use those regulations. I stated how they could be and how I had seen the regs used. I gave a warning with explanation as to what could and does happen.

One of the biggest problems with DOT logs is most companies (obviously not Mr. Jackson) do not maintain their DOT logs for the 3+ and 4+ current year requirement. During audits, I was told time and again DOT logs are only required to be maintained for 6 months so they were disposed of even though the DOT logs were the basis of the reporting IFTA and IRP. The taxpayer then had NO documentation. In a case with no documentation a statutory 4.0 can be used.

As to the PC Miler being a recognized program used by most states, it is. It was the program my state used for the last 2 decades. BUT...it is used to check if the reported mileage is the very minimum that a vehicle could have traveled. The requirements for IFTA and IRP are actual miles. Routing using PC Miler is not actual miles, it is the minimum. The minimum is not what is required by regulations. Typically when companies use it, miles are not included and routes do not follow the actual route driven. Most times the following miles are typically not included: out-of-route; deadhead; stop to see my girlfriend, wife or mother (or all 3); had to go 15 miles out of my route to get my rewards points, approved fuel stop or clean showers; detours; avoiding the scale, toll or checkpoints everyone is warning about; the address on the paperwork was the office not the warehouse across town; or the drop was 10 miles each way out of town. It was amazing the number of times the fuel stop was in a state that wasn't even on the PC Miler route. Many companies use it as the basis of reporting. I agree with you, yes they do. Just because they do doesn't mean that it is in compliance with the regulations. Does that mean it will cost them big? Not necessarily but IT COULD. I just read about a company in IL that got a $9100 bill for using computer generated routing.

It comes down to this. I gave some advice with 20+ years of audit experience from one of the jurisdictions that others look to for guideness, take it or don't. If the taxpayer wants the audit to go smooth with little problems, there are things will make the process smoother. If a company would rather not do those things, that is their choice. The company can make the situation better or worse.