IFTA Fuel Tax Return: How To Operate Safely In The Trucking Industry

The trucking business may sound simple to those who aren’t familiar with the trucking industry. Some believe trucking companies only load trucks and head off to their destination. However, the reality of the trucking business is a lot more complex than that. It requires planning, transporting, and safety measures. They also need to adhere to rules and regulations such as filing IFTA Fuel Tax Return.

The rules given by the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ensure safety, avoid crashes, injuries, and fatalities. These safety standards are guides in reducing trucking risks. Below, Global Multi Services take us through how to operate safely in the trucking industry.

REGULAR TRUCK MAINTENANCE

The safety of your drivers and freight starts with the truck. Trucks with no maintenance are more likely to break down on the road. So, trucking companies need to schedule regular inspections, repair, and maintenance of their fleets. These ensure the trucks are in good condition and can safely operate on public roads. 

Your mechanics can also create preventative maintenance schedules based on mileage, days, previous breakdown history, and many more. Through regular maintenance and repair services, you can ensure your trucks are in top shape so drivers can avoid breakdowns on their routes.

PRE-TRIP AND POST-TRIP INSPECTION

A pre-trip and post-trip inspection ensures the truck is safe before driving. They are also part of safety regulations required by the Department of Transportation regulations.  A thorough check of oil levels, horns, mirrors, engine health, brakes, and many more is vital to avoid breakdowns and accidents.

It always helps detect any unnoticed problem before hitting the road. Therefore, trucking companies must protect the safety of their drivers by ensuring all inspections are thoroughly done and accurately documented.

FILING IFTA FUEL TAX RETURN

Trucking companies traveling across multiple jurisdictions must obtain IFTA and file IFTA Fuel Tax Return in their base jurisdiction to operate without being penalized. IFTA is an international agreement signed between the Continental United States and the province of Canada to make fuel tax reporting easy for motor carriers participating in international and interstate commerce. Failure to file an IFTA Fuel Tax Return will result in the hefty penalty or suspension of their IFTA License.

HANDLE FREIGHT WITH UTMOST CARE

Freight can shift during transit if not loaded, secured, and balanced well. These can cause problems for the company and driver. According to reports, improperly balanced loads are one of the leading causes of death of truck drivers. Unsecured freight can push through the back door of a closed trailer, cause overturning, injury, accident, or death. So, it is crucial to ensure every single shipment is loaded carefully and well secured.

ADHERE TO HOS REGULATION

The trucking industry prioritizes safety, and it helps reduce the number of accidents that occur each year. Spending too much time on the road can be dangerous for both truck drivers and other road users. According to the Department of Transportation, truck drivers must not drive more than 11 hours per day. These help decrease driver fatigue and fewer fatigue-related accidents. 

What Is The Goal Of IFTA Fuel Tax Return?

Introduction: 

The IFTA is a Canadian arrangement with the U.S. states and provinces to allow data on interstate truck carriers working in two or more member states or provinces simpler on taxation on gasoline use.

IFTA's goal is to create and retain a single Fuel Tax License definition for all your registered truck vehicles, enable it to pass across all IFTA jurisdictions. Mandate that you record the fuel and mileage consumption for all IFTA member states and the provinces on a single fuel tax return per quarter.

You are entitled to an IFTA license when:

Your qualified truck vehicle is driven on California Highways and in other U.S. states or Canadian regions, which are participants of the Foreign Fuel Tax Arrangement, with a designated office in California with the California Truck vehicle Agency (DMV).

You operate from the existing business center (the post office box, e-mail address, or the officer's address box may not qualify) and retain your authorized truck vehicles in California operational controls and operating documents or you may make these documents accessible throughout the State.

California IFTA is subject to a $10.00 annual charge. All your qualified truck vehicles are subject to this authorization. Furthermore, there is a yearly IFTA decals fee of $2.00 per package. For each professional truck vehicle in IFTA jurisdictions, you would require one package.

Once your registration is completed, and your fees are charged, we will give you your IFTA certificates, including one (1) IFTA California license, for your business. You must copy the certificate such that each of the registered truck vehicles contains one (1) copy. For eligible truck vehicles in your fleet, you earn two (2) decals. On the outside portion of the cab passenger's side must be one (1) decal mounted. The second stop must be positioned on the driver's side in the same spot. When renewed for all eligible truck vehicles based in California, you can earn your decals annually.

For the calendar year, your certificates are correct. Per calendar year, you have to update your license and order new decals. You may not have to carry an IFTA or DI license while driving a qualified truck vehicle whose travel is confined to California only.

You may not apply for an IFTA if you are operating a registered diesel engine that travels on an inter-state-confined basis in Mexico and California. However, you'd be qualified for a gasoline tax license from the Interstate customer.

The Interstate Users Scheme shall pay a tax for any gallon of diesel fuel used by someone using diesel to drive a registered truck vehicle inside and beyond that State.

An Interstate Consumer Authorization is applicable if:

· You are operating at least one eligible diesel-powered engine,

· You fly to Mexico or California;

You are traveling through California and the company resides in a jurisdiction outside of California that is not listed in the IFTA. At present, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia are non-Member States, Nunavut, the Area of the Yukon, and North West Canada's Regions.

Conclusion: 

Above with Global Multi Services, you can see Fees for receiving Interstate consumer permission are not available. Once you have registered electronically, print out, and copy your license such that each qualified truck vehicle has one copy. You may not require an IFTA or an Interstate Consumer certificate if you are using a diesel-powered vehicle whose travel is just in California.

IFTA Permits, A Solution to Interstate Fuel Tax Filing

 

The concept of IFTA, also known as the International Fuel Tax Agreement, was put forward and established in 1983. It emerged as a solution to the hassle of filing fuel taxes in different states that the commercial vehicle owners used to drive through. After the introduction of the IFTA Program, which was signed between the 48 states of the US and all the 10 provinces of Canada, the commercial vehicle drivers or the truckers just have to file for taxes quarterly and that too not in every state that travels through but just in their base jurisdiction, I mean the state or province in which they have applied for the IFTA Permit. In this blog, I am going to talk about the topics of IFTA that people are usually skeptical of.

Whom Shall File for IFTA?

This is a topic that most people are seeking the answer for, that who must have to file for IFTA Permits? There is a wide misconception among the majority that only those truckers that travel within different states must file for the IFTA, this is not the case. All those vehicles that travel interstate and have commercial vehicles with three or more than three axles or have the gross vehicle or registered gross vehicles weight of more than 26000 lbs. i.e., 11793 kg, or the owner of those commercial vehicles that have two axles and gross vehicle weight of more than 26000 lbs. must file for the IFTA Permits or should get into the IFTA Program. And those that fulfill the above-mentioned requirements and have filed for the IFTA Permit are entitled to get a pair of IFTA Decal for their vehicle or each of their vehicle, in case they own more than one vehicle. And In case you have not registered in your state for an IFTA permit but traveling among different states for commercial purposes, you could also apply for a Temporary IFTA Permit in the state that you are traveling in. 

How the IFTA System Works?

You got all the rights to know and scrutinize the working of the IFTA system. But just to save your time, I have already done all the scrutiny for IFTA and will try to make you understand the same in the simplest terms. In the times before the establishment of the IFTA, every state had its own self-made Fuel Tax structures, and the truckers maneuvering through these states have had to apply for permits in each of the states that they travel through. Plus, the truckers traveling interstate used to get something called ‘bingo plates’ on which the state permits of each state were used to be fixed. All this was a nuisance for the truckers. Since the development of the IFTA system, the interstate commercial travelers that are eligible for the IFTA and even possess the IFTA permits, must pay the fuel taxes of the states that they travel through, and these fuel taxes are credited back to the travelers’ or IFTA licensee’s account. Then on a fiscal quarter basis, the IFTA permit holders have to give a record of their travel details, fuel consumption, and mileage given by their vehicle while traveling through other states, to their base state or the state in which they have registered for the IFTA. Then their base state, according to its fee structure for the IFTA taxes, assigns tax returns to states that the IFTA licensees of their state traveled through.