What happens if you don’t file the IFTA?
You’re off the road. It’s that simple.
There are those people who think they can beat the system. Avoiding government scrutiny becomes a game for them.
The IFTA is not a game you want to play. The consequences to not filing start at mildly annoying and move up to painful and expensive.
The citation is only the first step. Tickets costs vary from state to state, but the fines will hit you in the wallet. The State Highway Patrols have lists of fees and penalties when they find a trucker who hasn’t paid up. They might also impound the load. You probably won’t haul for that shipper again – even if you manage not to get sued.
According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, failure to file your IFTA means your IFTA fuel tax license is revoked – you’re off the road until it’s reinstated. They did say if you mailed it with overnight delivery, they would try to expedite the reinstatement – it should be only a few days until you get one mailed back to you. Got another load lined up? Sorry, you’ll have to wait for that new sticker to arrive.
For more information about IFTA fuel tax filing check out our article about IFTA Basics for New Owner-Operators.
Also, you can read more about IFTA Fuel Tax Report Requirements to make sure that you stay compliant with all of the IFTA fuel tax regulations.
Is It Worth It to Skip the IFTA Filing?
Sure… if you want to lose a lot of money.
We know it’s a real time-suck to have to figure out three months of driving. The odometer numbers start to get a little crazy, the mileage starts to get confused… and maybe those fuel receipts have gotten lost in the seats back in the truck. The IFTA puts a lot of pressure on owner-operators to track every single mile and account for it – and if they don’t like your accounting, you could get audited.
There’s a simple solution. TruckingOffice trucking management software.
I can hear you say it. “If the IFTA is a time suck, how long is it going to take for me to learn a software program?”
Not as long as you think. After you enter some preliminary data, you can enter your loads in our One Minute Per Load entry screen. Enter last week’s data and you’ll see that you had nothing to worry about – you’ll be done in next to no time. Add last month’s data and with the necessary billing addresses, you’ll also be able to invoice your customers with the press of a button. You don’t need a separate accounting program like Quickbooks or an Excel spreadsheet or even access to PC*Miler – we have it all incorporated into our TruckingOffice software. Add your maintenance records and you’ll be DOT compliant.
Ok, so we offer
- One Minute Per Load dispatch entry form
- Easy invoicing and accounting management
- IFTA reports in less than a minute
- PC*Miler to make sure your routes and miles are accurate
- Maintenance records and scheduling that even a DOT agent will love.
Let us prove it to you.
You don’t to worry about missing the deadlines for the IFTA. If you’ve got your records from the last quarter, you can use our free trial to enter all the data and see how fast that IFTA report will be prepared.
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