It’s not too late for your IFTA filing – yet.  A late IFTA filing would be after April 30th, so you’re safe for now.

But why wait?

It’s human nature to avoid pain.  We are programmed that way.  And let’s face it, filing IFTA is a pain.

Take a look at your reasons for putting off IFTA

  1. It costs money.
  2. It takes time away from other things – like family or earning money.

Sure, there are more reasons but aren’t those the major two?  So let’s talk about solving those two problems.

Money

How many truckers find themselves stretched for money when the tax bill comes due?  Cash flow is a challenge for businesses that have to manage constantly changing fuel costs.  A full tank of fuel costs less in one state, more in another.  You can predict costs for a trip, but an unexpected maintenance expense can drain a bank account.  Many of us have a personal issue with paying so much in tax anyway and why give it to them a minute before you have to?

Time

Handling IFTA with paper records took hours.  A long-distance trucker with a single truck could expect to spend up to 8 hours working on the filing and still not be confident that the numbers were right.  While IFTA replaced a worse system, it still took a lot of time away from family or from hauling a profitable load.  With the introduction of computerized IFTA programs, the time computing the taxes dropped, but then we had to make sure the numbers we put into the system were correct.

There’s got to be a better way.

Prepare for IFTA all year long.

You can’t predict what the tax rates are going to be, so save what you can guess based on your past experience.  For experienced owner-operators, looking back at past years’ records can give some guidelines.  For newer drivers who haven’t got a year behind them, using an IFTA preparation software on a regular basis will help you keep enough in savings every quarter.

But how do you compute miles?  Using a dispatching/routing software will give you miles and maybe miles per state if you’re using a program like PC*Miler.  Then you need to be confident that the current tax rates are up to date in the program.

Use an IFTA prep program that handles dispatch and routings.  It’s that simple.  If you’re using s spreadsheet system, everything has to be done manually.  By using a full trucking management software, the solutions you need are at your fingertips immediately – not when you have the time to update all the numbers.  Dispatch and routing go into the computer when you accept the load and you won’t have to enter them again for IFTA.

When you’ve got a program that manages dispatch and routings and IFTA, you’ve got a big part of what you need to run your trucking business.  You won’t have to wait to file IFTA.  No time off the road, no worries about overpaying your taxes.  You don’t have to worry about a late IFTA filing if you use the right software.

IFTA is due on April 30th.  You don’t have to wait if you use TruckingOffice.  Your data is already stored and ready to produce an IFTA report so you can file in a matter of minutes – even from your tablet in your cab if you want.  You don’t want to pay the penalties for late IFTA filing, so do it today.

 

 

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