Tracking Taxes
34 Overdrive NOVEMBER 2009 To dd D ill s M any owner-operators would probably file their Interna-tional Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) tax reporting process under the necessary evil heading. It's tedious, and penalties apply for not filing. Fortunately, says Tennessee-based independent Michael Goodman, doing your IFTA isn't all that complicated, but it is time-consuming, especially if you wait until the end of the quarter to do anything. IFTA is all about record-keeping tracking your truck's average mpg and making correct notes of the number of gallons of fuel you buy, where you buy it and how many miles you run in any given state. You report all of this to the IFTA office in the state where you're registered, and IFTA calculates the tax you owe to each state. It also redistrib-utes the tax you've already paid at the pump to more closely reflect the miles you drove in a state. Before IFTA was fully entrenched in the mid-90s, says 40-year industry vet-eran and owner-operator Gil Johnson, you had to report to each individual state and send in what you owed or re-quest your refund if you overpaid like-wise to each state you ran in but didn't buy fuel in. It consumed a lot of stamps and time. Particularly head-aching was the wait on states to refund you. While a single reporting state simpli-fied the process, it didn't make for a foolproof system. Because tax owed is based on average fuel mileage, there is still an element of error in your real mileage, says Goodman. To get started, an independent, non-leased owner-operator sets up an IFTA account with his base state by filling out a form and sending it in. Some states have online applications and even online-reporting options. Johnson, for instance, lauds the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle's online filing program, which does the calculations for you after you input your numbers. (Visit DMVnow. com, click Motor Carrier Services. ) Idaho independent Randy Cox, whose base state doesn't have an online reporting option, built his own spread-sheet for calculating his IFTA miles, as has Goodman. Both have embedded the calculations spelled out on the IFTA Form 150 into the spreadsheet cells to allow for easy computing. Keeping up with fuel purchases can help you avoid last-minute IFTA hassles and save money. By TOdd diLLS Tracking taxes How is your IFTA fuel tax reported? I calculate and report it myself 43% Other 1% I use a third-party service 11% I'm leased, carrier assumes all responsibility 16% I'm leased, carrier charges/ refunds me 29% eTr uck er .com poll, 186 r esponses