Understanding IFTA

The way IFTA works, you'll pay the same in tax regardless of how you buy fuel, since you're paying each state their tax on the gallons you burned in their state (as accurately as reasonably expected). The difference is if you're paying at the pump or with your quarterly filing.

I use Fuelbook, though it's not the most reliable, and sort "less IFTA" for the cheapest fuel along my route, and then subtract my fuel card's discount from that to determine my true fuel costs. From that, I pick the cheapest actual fuel along route. The fact that I stay in the same areas and know other fuel stops that Fuelbook doesn't always show (my one big gripe with it) helps too, since I can look them up independently.

 

Your doing it the right way by buying at the cheapest price for the fuel minus the taxes. My IFTA is sometimes 600 a quarter, I run from IL to MN a lot and my best price is up in WI so not fueling in IL I get hit on the IFTA hard but I'm still better off in the long run.

 

You are basically paying the taxes for the fuel you burn, in each state you travel. If you are having to pay a bunch to IFTA, you are buying fuel in low tax states, and then doing a lot of traveling in higher tax states. If you do just the opposite, you'll actually get a refund.

We buy almost all our fuel in our home state of TN, but travel quite a bit in AL. Since TN taxes are higher than AL, we almost always get a refund.

Are you sure you are reporting your mileage and gallons right?

 

Paying the least in ifta quarterly, doesn't mean your getting the best priced fuel.

I always compare my fuel price "less the ifta tax". That is the true fuel price.

Don't worry about how much you're getting or paying quarterly.

 

This is one reason you need to be tracking your MPG.
If you use a lower number, like 6 MPG, when you really get 7.25, your over paying your IFTA. Tracking MPG is not hard. Free apps will do it for you.

 

He didn't say he was paying the least for fuel without taxes, rather he is buying where he gets the biggest discount.

I did that today. My price in Racine, WI was $2.471, and Russell, IL was $2.549. Because of cash flow reasons, I wanted to pay the least out of pocket NOW, but the cost of diesel would be nearly $0.30 less in illinois than Wisconsin.

 

America moves by truck website has an state by state breakdown of fuel/ifta cost. Use that with fuelbooks and you'll always be able to pay the lowest actual cost for your fuel.

What you pay on ifta is based on state/miles driven and is fixed so all you need to do is search the actual cost of your fuel and buy the cheapest, what you under or overpaid to your ifta account is irrelevant, you'll know your real cost of fuel is as low as it could be on the routes you drove.

 

IFTA Matrix

If you buy fuel where it's cheapest, you'll save money up front, but if you drive in states with higher IFTA prices without buying fuel in that state, then you will end up owing money at the end of the quarter. If you do the reverse, then it will offset the money you owe and you could even end up getting a refund.

The easiest way to keep IFTA down is to just buy fuel in every state you run at the cheapest price you can in that state. The most efficient way to save on IFTA is to calculate the price of fuel minus the IFTA tax, with that number being the true cost of fuel. If you run the same lane a lot, you'll have a better understanding of which places to purchase fuel along your route to save the most.

 

Don’t worry about the amount of IFTA you owe at the end of the quarter. It does not mean you are losing money at all. It means that you paid less fuel taxes at the pump. People who pay a lot of fuel taxes at the pump will get a reimbursement at the end of the quarter—but that too doesn’t mean he’s saving money.

Here is how you save money. When you are shopping for fuel, always take off the IFTA tax. Some fuel apps will display two different prices: one with the IFTA tax and another without it (or sometimes called pre-IFTA). This is how you want to compare fuel prices across the country.