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Quarterly return, due the last day of the month following each calendar quarter. Annual license/decal renewal by Dec 31. Administered by Base jurisdiction (state). Here is who it applies to, when it falls, and what a late filing actually costs.
Carriers operating qualified motor vehicles (>26,000 lbs or 3+ axles) across two or more IFTA jurisdictions.
Four returns a year, one per calendar quarter:
If the due date is a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Late penalty of $50 or 10% of net tax due (whichever is greater) plus interest per jurisdiction; license suspension for repeated non-filing.
The term does the work here, and it is defined precisely. A qualified motor vehicle is one used for transporting persons or property that has two axles and a gross or registered gross weight over 26,000 lbs; or three or more axles, whatever it weighs; or is used in combination when the combination exceeds 26,000 lbs. The three-axle clause is the one that surprises people — weight is not the only trigger.
IFTA, Inc. does not issue credentials and cannot answer for your account. Your base jurisdiction — where your vehicles are registered, where you have travel, and where your operational records live — issues the license (copy it into every qualified vehicle) and two decals per vehicle. It sends you the return and the tax rates each quarter, processes the return, and audits your records on behalf of all member jurisdictions. The membership is the 48 contiguous states and 10 Canadian provinces.
A licence is not the only legal way to cross a line. If you normally run in one jurisdiction and only occasionally travel outside it, you may elect to buy trip permits for those trips instead of holding an IFTA licence — permitting services can usually be reached from any major truck stop. Above a few trips a year the maths flips, but “one run a quarter” rarely justifies four returns a year.
We are a reminder tool, not the agency. The rule itself is published by the Base jurisdiction (state), and that page is the one that wins if anything here ever falls out of date:
Enter your USDOT number once and see your next MCS-150 deadline free — then keep the rest of the calendar in one place.
Check my date →DOTDeadline is an independent reminder tool. It is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the FMCSA, the U.S. DOT, the IRS, or any government agency. General information only — not legal, tax, or compliance advice. Always confirm with the official agency.