IFTA do i have to keep track of local miles

My answer is yes and no. By the letter of the law, all miles have to be documented. However, I have been told by the TN IFTA office that I need not detail document in-state miles, since I run mostly inside the state. I still must report the in-state miles and fuel on my return and document total in-state miles but don't have to keep a detailed report of in-state miles. I also passed a IFTA audit to prove the above. Your mileage may vary.

I made a form called "out of state mileage log". It has places for state, route, mileage, and fuel purchases that my drivers fill out when they cross TN (home state) line. In-state driving they don't fill one out, they only fill out a fuel form that list mileage and gallons. This satisfied the TN audit.

From what I took out of the TN IFTA audit was, as long as you can prove you are trying to do right and your record keeping has supporting documents, they don't hold you to the letter of the recordkeeping law. It could have just been a lenient auditor. I did have a couple of errors but you could tell it was just a honest mistake and not a attempt to defraud the government. After all was said and done, they owed me $3 and change, I told them to keep it.

 

Like M16ty said, as long as your record keeping system provides you with enough information to fill out the IFTA report accurately, you should be good.

The beauty of the system (did I actually equate a government program with beauty) is that there really is no financial motive to cheat the system. One pays the state fuel tax at the pump. If a person is a sharp operator then they will subtract the individual state tax from the total price per gallon to identify what is actually being paid for the fuel, as the in-balance of taxes will be adjusted through IFTA.

Example:
Idaho adds $.32 per gallon state fuel tax. Wyoming adds $.24 per gallon.
If I can buy fuel in Idaho @ $2.50 per gallon, and $2.45 per gallon in Wyoming, which should I buy? The Idaho fuel in this scenario is less expensive because Idaho charges $.08 more per gallon than Wyoming; the net that I am paying for fuel in Idaho is $2.50 less $.32, or $2.18 per gallon. The net that I would be paying in Wyoming under this scenario it $2.45 less $.24, or $2.21 per gallon. So paying 5 cents more per gallon at the pump is actually saving 3 cents per gallon, as I will get a credit back for the excess tax paid in any state, after the shortages are paid to other states.

I know that most of you are aware of this and that I am preaching to the choir, but just in case someone hasn't made the connection I thought it might be useful to share.

Back to the OP's question, I have no experience with GPS tracking of mileage as we don't use GPS in the truck, but aren't there some GPS units that will do the mileage tracking for you?

 

Yes; that is what we did. The service we used supplied the tracking unit and charged $25/month/truck. We just sent them a copy of our fuel purchase statement and they did everything else. As a bonus it also included a roadside assistance plan for fuel, batteries, towing, etc.; not major mechanical.

 

Unfortunately there are too many who don't know nor do they get this. I run in the Chicago area. I told the driver "fuel in Illinois if you can. it's cheaper." Other o/OS told him fuel in Indiana state cheaper, so he started fueling there instead.

Illinois is among the bottom 3 as far as the rack price of diesel. Indiana, although it may be cheaper at the pump, doesn't collect the surcharge, etc. It winds up costing a lot by not fueling in illinois, but you couldn't convince those o/os of that!

 

And this is an advantage to doing your own IFTA reports; you get to see how things really work.

 

Yes you are correct. I purchased the Garmin Dezl770 back in September, 4th quarter was my first full month using it, and I love it! I enter gallons and price and the Garmin picks up where I am so all I have to do is choose the station from a list and thats it! I downloaded the forth quarter and it list the miles from every state I ran, and gallons of fuel I purchased and the state I purchased it in. I recommend for any OO. Taxes were filed and payed in 15 min!

 

I agree and I learned the hard way from not fueling in PA... I hit that button to calculate my taxes and owed $305! All because I thought it was cheap fuel in VA! VA tax is .19 I think. PA .65... PA pump price, at the time, was $2.65, VA $2.32. Like I said, I learned that lesson.