Every carrier holding an IFTA license owes one fuel-tax return per quarter — not one per state. The return goes to your base jurisdiction (the state that issued your IFTA license and decals), reports every mile and every gallon for the whole fleet, and settles up with all 58 member jurisdictions in a single payment or refund. The mechanics are simple once the records are in order; the deadlines are unforgiving. This guide walks through the 2026 due dates, the records you need before you log in, the filing steps, and the lines that trip up first-time filers. For what IFTA is and who must enroll, start with the fuel permits explained guide.
IFTA Due Dates for 2026
IFTA returns are due on the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter. When that date lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day — which matters twice in 2026.
| Reporting Quarter | Period Covered | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | October–December 2025 | February 2, 2026 (Jan 31 falls on a Saturday) |
| Q1 2026 | January–March 2026 | April 30, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 | April–June 2026 | July 31, 2026 |
| Q3 2026 | July–September 2026 | November 2, 2026 (Oct 31 falls on a Saturday) |
| Q4 2026 | October–December 2026 | February 1, 2027 (Jan 31 falls on a Sunday) |
These dates are published by each base jurisdiction — see, for example, the Texas Comptroller’s due-date calendar — and the postmark or electronic submission timestamp is what counts. Filing on the morning the deadline passes is a late filing.
What You Need Before You File
The return is built from two data sets, per vehicle, for the quarter: distance and fuel. Distance records must show total miles and the per-jurisdiction split — ELD output, GPS mileage reports, or manual trip sheets all work, as long as they reconcile. Fuel records must show every gallon purchased with a receipt that identifies the seller, date, fuel type, and gallons. If you fuel from your own bulk tank, you also need withdrawal logs and proof that tax was paid on the bulk purchase. Jurisdictions require carriers to keep these supporting records for at least four years and to produce them on audit — an IFTA audit is a records audit, and estimated miles without backup are disallowed.
Filing Step by Step
- Compile miles by jurisdiction.Total the quarter’s miles for the whole fleet, then break them out by member jurisdiction. Include every mile — loaded, empty, deadhead, and personal conveyance all count as distance traveled.
- Compile fuel by jurisdiction. Total gallons purchased per jurisdiction from receipts and bulk-withdrawal logs. Diesel exhaust fluid and reefer gallons stay out of the totals.
- Log in to your base jurisdiction’s portal.Every base state files IFTA online — the same account you used for your license and decals. The form prefills your fleet’s fuel types.
- Enter miles and gallons per jurisdiction.The portal computes your fleet’s average miles per gallon, applies each jurisdiction’s current rate from the IFTA tax rate matrix, credits tax you already paid at the pump, and nets everything to a single figure.
- Pay the net tax or bank the refund. One payment to the base jurisdiction settles every member state. Overpayments come back as a refund or credit.
- Save the confirmation.Keep the filed return and payment confirmation with the quarter’s distance and fuel records for the four-year retention window.
Late Filing: $50 or 10%, Plus Interest
The IFTA late penalty is $50 or 10% of the net tax due with the return, whichever is greater — so a late zero-tax return still costs $50. Interest runs separately at a monthly rate and, unlike the penalty, is computed on the tax owed to each member jurisdiction rather than the net total, so a return that nets to zero can still accrue interest in the states where you owed. Repeated non-filing escalates to license revocation, which every member jurisdiction is notified of — the rules are spelled out in base-state guidance such as the California CDTFA IFTA guide.
The Lines That Trip Up First-Time Filers
No-operations quarters still require a return. If the fleet never left the yard, you file a zero return. Skipping it is a non-filing with the $50 minimum penalty attached.
Surcharge jurisdictions.Kentucky, Virginia, and Indiana impose a fuel surcharge reported on its own line. The surcharge is never collected at the pump, so there are no tax-paid gallons to offset it — any taxable miles in those three states always produce an amount due, even when the rest of the return nets to a refund.
Oregon’s zero rate.Oregon is an IFTA member with a zero fuel-tax rate — you still report Oregon miles and gallons, but the state collects through its separate Weight-Mile Tax instead of at the pump.
Exempt miles are jurisdiction-specific.Some jurisdictions exempt certain miles (fuel-trip-permit miles, specific off-highway use). Exempt miles still count in total miles but come out of taxable miles — and each jurisdiction defines its own list, so verify before claiming.
Renewals, Decals, and the Grace Period
IFTA licenses run on the calendar year. Renewal opens December 1, and most base jurisdictions require all returns filed and balances paid before they will renew. Each qualified vehicle needs one set of two decals, one on each side of the cab. A grace period lets prior-year decals ride through the last day of February while new credentials arrive — provided the renewal application went in on time and the account is in good standing.
IFTA Is Not the Whole Fuel-and-Mileage Picture
A clean IFTA filing record does not satisfy the five state weight-distance programs — New York HUT, Kentucky KYU, New Mexico WDT, Oregon Weight-Mile, and Connecticut HUF each require their own account and their own returns on top of IFTA. The state trucking permits overview maps which states stack which obligations, and IRP apportioned plates cover the registration side of the same base-jurisdiction model. If you only cross into an IFTA state occasionally with a non-IFTA vehicle, a trip fuel permit is the lighter-weight alternative.