How to File IFTA Quarterly: Step by Step, With Due Dates

How to file an IFTA quarterly return

You file one return per quarter with your base jurisdiction, covering every member state and province you drove in. The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) has 58 member jurisdictions on its Q3 2026 rate matrix: the 48 contiguous US states and 10 Canadian provinces. It lets a carrier report fuel tax for all of them through one home state, called the base jurisdiction.

Here is the whole process in six steps:

1. Pull your records for the quarter. Miles by jurisdiction and fuel receipts by jurisdiction, for every qualified truck.
2. Add up total miles and total gallons. Count every mile, including miles in states with no fuel tax on your return.
3. Work out fleet MPG. Total miles ÷ total gallons, to two decimals.
4. Work out each jurisdiction's line. Miles there ÷ MPG = taxable gallons. Subtract the tax-paid gallons you bought there. Multiply by that quarter's rate.
5. Add the lines. A positive total is what you pay. A negative total is a credit.
6. File and pay your base jurisdiction by the due date, usually through its online portal.

The IFTA calculator does steps 3 through 5 with the current quarter's rates. For the math in more depth, including the Kentucky and Virginia surcharges, see how to calculate IFTA.

Who has to file IFTA

You need an IFTA license if you run a qualified motor vehicle in more than one member jurisdiction. IFTA Articles of Agreement R245 defines a qualified motor vehicle as one used for transporting persons or property that:

• has two axles and a gross or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, or
• has three or more axles, regardless of weight, or
• is used in a combination that weighs over 26,000 pounds.

Recreational vehicles are excluded. A typical owner-operator tractor has three axles, so it qualifies on axle count alone.

Your base jurisdiction is where the truck is registered, where your operational records are kept or can be made available, and where the fleet runs some miles (R212).

What records you need before you file

You need two sets of numbers for each truck: distance by jurisdiction and fuel bought by jurisdiction. The IFTA Procedures Manual (P510) says to keep these records for four years from the date the return was due or filed, whichever is later.

• Miles by state or province. From your ELD, GPS, or trip sheets. Include loaded, empty, and bobtail miles.
• Fuel receipts. Each one supports a tax-paid credit. No receipt, no credit.
• Total gallons used. Normally all the fuel you bought for the truck, plus any bulk fuel.
• That quarter's tax rates. IFTA, Inc. publishes a new rate matrix every quarter. See IFTA rates by state.

If your mileage logs are thin, fix that before quarter's end. Our guide to trip sheets for IFTA lists every field the manual requires, and the trip sheet generator builds the log for you.

What goes on the IFTA quarterly report

The IFTA quarterly report carries the same core fields in every base jurisdiction. IFTA Procedures Manual P720 lists them:

The return also shows your IFTA license number, the quarter, the fuel type, and who signed it.

Worked example: a Q3 2026 IFTA return

Say you're based in Georgia and ran one diesel tractor from July through September 2026. You drove 10,800 miles and bought 1,700 gallons. Rates are the Special Diesel rates from the IFTA, Inc. matrix for the 3rd quarter of 2026.

Fleet MPG = 10,800 ÷ 1,700 = 6.35.

Take Alabama. You drove 1,400 miles there: 1,400 ÷ 6.35 = 220 gallons burned. You bought no fuel there, so you owe Alabama 220 × $0.31 = $68.20.

Tennessee goes the other way. You burned 173 gallons there but bought 700. You already paid Tennessee tax on 527 gallons you burned elsewhere, so it owes you 527 × $0.27 = $142.29.

Add the lines and you owe $30.98 with the return. You send it all to Georgia, your base jurisdiction. Georgia passes each state's share along.

How does IFTA tax work

IFTA tax works by charging fuel tax where you burn the fuel, not where you buy it. Your fleet MPG spreads your fuel evenly over every mile. Each jurisdiction gets its rate on the gallons you burned on its roads, minus the tax you already paid at its pumps.

So IFTA mostly moves tax between states. You only pay extra on the return when you burn more fuel in a state than you buy there, or when you buy in low-tax states and drive in high-tax ones.

IFTA quarterly filing dates

The IFTA quarterly return and full payment are due the last day of the month after the quarter closes. That's IFTA Articles of Agreement R960.100. If the day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next business day is the due date.

Holidays differ by jurisdiction, so confirm the date on your base jurisdiction's notice. A mailed return counts as filed on the postmark date if it's properly addressed with enough postage (R960.200). An electronic return counts as filed on the date your base jurisdiction's laws set (R960.300).

IFTA forms: where to get them and how to submit

Your base jurisdiction supplies the IFTA quarterly form, free, at least 30 days before the due date (R940.100). Each base jurisdiction uses its own form number and layout, but all of them carry the P720 fields in the table above.

Your base jurisdiction may also let you file electronically or on a computer-generated return, as long as it has all the required information (R940.200 and R940.300). Not getting a form in the mail does not excuse a late return.

No-operation returns

You must file every quarter you hold an IFTA license, even with zero miles. R930.100 says returns are required "even if no operations were conducted or no taxable fuel was used." A zero return is quick. Skipping it counts as a failure to file.

Late filing penalty and interest

A return or payment not made by the due date is late, and the tax is delinquent (R970). Here is what the IFTA agreement allows:

• Penalty (R1220): your base jurisdiction may assess $50 or 10% of the delinquent tax, whichever is greater. It can also add other penalties its own laws provide.
• Interest (R1230): for a US-based fleet, the annual rate is 2 percentage points above the IRS underpayment rate under Internal Revenue Code Section 6621(a)(2), reset each January 1. It accrues monthly at 1/12 of that rate, separately for each jurisdiction. Any part of a month counts as a full month.
• Waiver (R1260): your base jurisdiction may waive penalties for reasonable cause.
• Revocation (R1210 and R1270): if you don't file and pay, your base jurisdiction can estimate what you owe and suspend or revoke your license.

In the example above, 10% of $30.98 is $3.10. So a late Q3 return could draw the $50 minimum, plus interest.

How much does IFTA cost

The tax on the return is the fuel tax you'd owe anyway. IFTA just collects it in one place. The license and decal fees are separate, and IFTA doesn't set them:

• R355 lets your base jurisdiction charge its "statutorily authorized fees" for the license and decals.
• P320.300 lets it charge a decal fee "to recover reasonable administrative costs."
• R650 lets it charge an administrative fee for a 30-day temporary decal permit.

The agreement publishes no fee amounts, so check your base jurisdiction's fee schedule. Each qualified truck gets two decals, one for each side of the cab (R605, R625). The license runs for the calendar year ending December 31 (R610), and a copy rides in every truck (R620). You can't renew until every return is filed and every tax, penalty, and interest charge is paid (R345.100).

What to do next

Before the due date, enter your quarter's miles and gallons in the IFTA calculator to see each state's line and your total. Then log in to your base jurisdiction's IFTA portal and file the return. Keep your trip sheets and receipts for four years.