IFTA was created to help truckers file their fuel taxes faster.
IFTA the Old Fashioned Way
It used to be that if a trucker drove through a state, the trucker needed a license on the vehicle and paid local fuel taxes to each state individually. For long-distance truckers, that was an accounting nightmare. When IFTA was enacted, the fuel tax payments were streamlined – but without computers, it remained a major headache every quarter. Truckers would spend hours figuring out their mileage per state and tracking their fuel tax receipts. Now, with IFTA, it is simpler, yes. Faster, yes. Simple? Not yet.
IFTA Faster
With IFTA, all jurisdictions take care of properly paying out all the fuel taxes instead of the trucker having to make individual payments. That’s huge by itself. But with computerization, filing your IFTA is done in a matter of minutes.
-
Tracking Miles Per State
Using a software routing program like PC*Miler, your mileage records are created for you. Using PC*Miler – which is recognized by DOT and IFTA for routing – you don’t have to track your miles per state on a separate spreadsheet or ledger. Ideally, PC*Miler will integrate with your IFTA program so that your miles per state will be automatically computed. With an automated system, the chance of numbers being inaccurately transferred from one program to the other disappears.
-
Tracking Fuel Purchases
Plenty of truckers are using credit cards or fuel cards to track their fuel purchases. But those records have to be entered into your expense reports and your IFTA software. That takes time to transfer the data and increases the risks of inaccurate numbers which can take hours to find 3 months later when the filing is due. It would be much easier to have a program that tracked expenses including fuel purchases and can extract the necessary numbers from a single data entry.
-
Using a Comprehensive Trucking Management Solution
Your routing isn’t just for miles per state reports. Your fuel purchases aren’t just part of your IFTA – it’s important data for making sure you’re billing properly and making money from the load. Both numbers – routing and purchases – are critical to your business. So why would you use two separate programs to manage your business and the IFTA filing? It doubles the work to use different programs. When you have a single program that does both, you finish your IFTA faster and more accurately. You don’t have to worry about overpays or underpays. You’ll be able to take this formerly huge task and finish it – even in your cab!
IFTA Faster with TruckingOffice
Every time you create a new invoice for a load, you start your IFTA records. Add your fuel purchases – more records. Route your trip with PC*Miler or with your own records – and you will be ready at any minute to finish your IFTA filing. You can even track it at any time during the year – not just during those quarterly filing months. Knowing what you may owe can help you prepare so you can save up for your payments.
You need a good trucking management software. You need an IFTA program that’s kept up to date with the latest tax rates in every jurisdiction.
Why not get them both together?
Why not get them for free this month?
We’re offering the entire TruckingOffice trucking management software for a free 30-day trial right now. Just sign up – no money needed, no credit or debit card number – and try it out for free. Enter this past quarter’s data and discover what you want for a trucking management program is already available to you right now!
What are you waiting for? Go get your free 30-day trial now!
Looking for more information about IFTA? Check out our IFTA Resource Center!
Recent Comments