WheelsAndAxle Blog
Practical tips, IFTA deadlines, and guides for independent truckers.
1–10 of 21 posts
Why Your Taxable Gallons Don't Match What You Bought
You bought 310 gallons in Texas and the worksheet says 184. Nothing is broken — here is how fleet MPG turns miles into taxable gallons, and what to check when the number looks wrong.
WheelsAndAxle TeamOctober 11, 20264 min readSurcharge States: Why Kentucky, Virginia and Indiana Bill You Twice
You fuelled up there and still owe money. Three jurisdictions charge a surcharge that cannot be pre-paid at the pump — and Indiana's applies to propane only.
WheelsAndAxle TeamOctober 11, 20264 min readWhich Miles Count for IFTA: Deadhead, Personal and Off-Highway
Empty miles count. So do personal miles and shop runs. Leaving them out does not lower your bill — it distorts your MPG and usually raises it.
WheelsAndAxle TeamOctober 11, 20265 min readIFTA Records: What to Keep, and for How Long
Four years, as a working minimum. What a distance record and a fuel receipt actually have to show, and why a card statement is not a fuel receipt.
WheelsAndAxle TeamOctober 11, 20265 min readIRP vs IFTA: Two Licences, Two Completely Different Jobs
One is about your plate. The other is about your fuel. Plenty of owner-operators run a year before anyone explains the difference — and it costs money both ways.
WheelsAndAxle TeamOctober 11, 20265 min readIFTA Quarter-End Checklist: What to Check Before the Report Is Due
A plain IFTA quarter-end checklist: the four standing due dates, what trip and fuel records hold, MPG to two decimals, taxable gallons, rates, credits and how long records are kept.
WheelsAndAxle TeamSeptember 16, 20268 min readDo I Need an IFTA Licence for One Trip? How IFTA Trip Permits Work
Under IFTA's rules, a trip permit lets a carrier pay fuel use tax trip by trip instead of holding an IFTA licence, and some states limit who may use theirs. What the IFTA rules say, and what Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, North Dakota and Alabama say about their permits.
WheelsAndAxle TeamAugust 12, 20268 min readNon-IFTA Miles: Alaska, Hawaii, DC, Mexico and the Territories on an IFTA Report
IFTA's members are the 48 contiguous US states and the 10 Canadian provinces. Here is how miles and fuel from Alaska, Hawaii, DC, Mexico and Canada's territories show up on a base state's quarterly form, and what this post leaves to those governments.
WheelsAndAxle TeamJuly 15, 20268 min readIFTA for Propane, CNG, LNG, Gasoline and Electric Trucks: What Gets Reported
IFTA covers more than diesel. Which fuels the IFTA rules count, how CNG, LNG, propane and electricity are measured, and where states add rules of their own.
WheelsAndAxle TeamJune 10, 20267 min readIFTA for Leased Owner-Operators: Who Reports the Fuel Tax, You or the Carrier?
Under the IFTA Articles, when a carrier that does not haul household goods uses an owner-operator on a trip lease of 29 days or less, the owner-operator reports the fuel tax. With such a carrier, on a lease of 30 days or more the lease decides, and the carrier is responsible when there is no written lease or it is silent.
WheelsAndAxle TeamMay 13, 20268 min read