IFTA Q1 2008 Help

Rand McNally has a very inexpensive program called trip maker, I think it's around $30.00

Yes that is a good program Strets and Trips is what it is. I use it every day. Also I used weekly trip sheets that I had designed to suit my needs then I can take the weekly trip sheet take the totals and put it into a spreadsheet program. I have two master spreadsheetsthat I have setup. One for ea quarter mileage, I set the calculations for the totals for ea. state then I also set up another spreadsheet that "copies" the layout of the ifta form. Then for ea quarter I pull up the master for the mileage enter the data from my trip sheets save the copy, then I pull up the second spreedsheet with the ifta info recheck any changes in tax rates transferr all the data fom the current mileage sheet and with my preset calculations the report is done. I save ea spreadsheet as the current qt. and print copies of both sheets then transfer the info to my ifta form. I copy the ifta form and it is done. I have been audited as well and never had any problems.

 

Thats pretty good advice flat topp I work in sc too. I've been told to buy fuel in every state I travel in and that will help from oweing money how do you feel about this. By the way do you haul contains out of the ports I'm not sure where lyman is.

 

I was going to have someone else do my IFTA filings for me, but decided I would try it myself the first quarter. It was so confusing to me, and I even posted asking for advise because I was away from home and couldn't call the FL office. But I finally got in touch with someone who walked me through it and I completed the forms. It was all new to me, so I was quite stressed by the time I was done.

I don't remember things like this easily, so instead of doing it by hand each quarter or buying a program, I put a spreadsheet together of my own that would calculate everything for me. At the end of each week I input the driver's numbers, which are then automatically calculated with totals. And those totals are also calculated in the end-of-quarter sheet. In a duplicate (dummy) file I can also input fictitious numbers just to see what kind of totals we'd end up with.

I made up the spreadsheet to take care of an entire year, week by week, with separate end-of-quarter totals. I set it up to pretty much mimic the paper form so I could then quickly transfer all the numbers directly onto the paper form I got in the mail and be done with it.

With this method we can see at a glance how we're doing. If the totals show that we are going to owe, then we try to offset that by getting more fuel in another state before the end of the quarter.

This quarter I had 6 states to work with, including one that has a surcharge. Interestingly, we ended up owing 20 cents! And because we had a 20 cent credit from the previous quarter, we zeroed out on this quarter's total.

I'd be happy to share it with anyone interested if they think it would help them.

 

Google search "IFTA fuel tax reporting software"

I think if I get my own truck and lease onto a carrier, I'll ask to be taken off the network and just use a product.

 

You can't have your cake, and eat it too.. If you do, lease a truck, make sure it's not from the employer you're working for, as you could be making all of their payments, and getting down to the end of their payments, you're only actually making them money, if that were the case and they tell you, you can be the owner of the vehicle in the end?

The loads start to disappear... Always remember that they'll have you in their back-pocket.

 

i am looking at going owner operator my sefl, gonna by my own truck. figured out the IFTA deal actually fairly quickly. even designed my own mileage sheet to keep track of all miles. i just wish IFTA would use one rate for all states, even Oregon. luckily i will only be traveling the 7 western states, but mainly the west coast and Nevada.having to go online and down load the state by state tax in one sheet makes it a little simpler.
also one more thing, anyone had any experience with the surcharge in the states that use it? how much is it?

 

I also created my own forms and am doing ok with them. I created some mileages sheets for the drivers which look very similar to my spreadsheet so it would be easy to transfer when they were done.

I filed for 6 different states if I remember correctly. I had forgotten one of the states had a surcharge, so the paperwork was sent back and I had to redo it before the deadline or get fined for being late or incorrect.

Not that many states have surcharges. Here's what the 3rd quarter chart says for the following states:

Indiana's: .11
Kentucky: .0840
Minnesota: 2250
Virginia: 0350

The 4th quarter chart is there, but it says won't be final until Dec 4th.
But once you are signed up with IFTA, they send you a quarterly return form along with a new rate sheet a month before they are due, which is 30 days after that quarter ends.

I use the previous quarter's rates in my spreadsheet until the new rates come out. Once they come out, I just put those in place and the spreadsheet reconfigures the numbers for me.

Hope that helps.

 

yeah i got good mileage sheets but havnt done a good spread sheet, still looking for a good template to use or modify for my use. i do have a good tax book for all my tax receipts, both receivable and payable.

 

I can't PM anyone yet, so if you'd like to see what I have done and can't PM me yet, either, go to www.scenicphotos4u.com (I think this will work now) and send me a message from there and I'll send you my template for the states that I use. You can make any changes you want from there.

 

IFTA is not that hard, the IRP on the other hand has me confused as all get up, gonna have to call the state tomorrow to figure out what i have to pay when i register for IFTA and IRP