Do you have nay owner-operator questions about IFTA? Like, when is IFTA due?
Plenty of people have questions about IFTA – not just when is it due. What is it? Why do truckers have to pay it? How do I pay it?
TruckingOffice IFTA Resource Center for New Owner-Operators
If you’re looking for a quick answer to your questions, take a look at the TruckingOffice IFTA Resource Center. We have put together all the information you need – including when your next IFTA is due – on our resource page because it’s probably one of the things the most truckers hate to do – and the thing that people looking to get into the driver’s seat need to know.
There’s a lot a new owner-operator needs to know that they probably didn’t experience as a driver for a trucking firm. Being a business owner requires a lot more work than being the trucker who turned in an envelope with receipts and a signed BOL. Now that you’re the owner-operator, you’re the one opening that envelope and dealing with all those little pieces of paper.
And who wants to deal with little pieces of paper?
Managing Your Owner-Operator Trucking Business
Now that you’re in charge of the envelope, how are you coping with the business end of trucking? Here are just a few things you may not have had to deal with before now.
How Do You Manage Fuel Receipts?
We know that many truckers use a fuel card or their credit or debit cars to track their fuel purchases. Do those credit card receipts show your taxes paid per gallon of fuel? Some fuel companies post that information on the receipt – but does your VISA statement? When you’re trying to figure out your IFTA tax payment, those numbers determine if you owe extra taxes and how much?
But fuel receipts can be hard to track – especially in the winter when it’s often too dark to see a receipt that’s fallen under a seat or it’s gotten soaked by wet boots. We have a simple suggestion for you: take a picture of your receipt with your odometer reading. Then send the image to yourself in an email. This will help you keep track of your records and remind you of where and when you purchased fuel. One forgotten receipt can lead to extra payments to IFTA because you can’t prove you paid the fuel tax in a particular state – so you may have to pay it again.
Are Insurance Payments Deductible?
You’re not hauling freight without some kind of insurance or bond to cover the value of the load. Do you know that those payments are deductible business expenses?
Insurance payments are made from your business bank accounts or with your business credit card (you do have a business-only credit card, right?) It can be easy to forget to put them into your accounting program – or not even know that you should.
The cost of doing business includes your insurance payments on your rig. Don’t forget them when it’s time to file your taxes every April.
An easy way to track these payments is to enter them into your accounting program as a recurring expense. But if you’re not using a trucking management program that will figure out how much it costs to run your trucking business – you might miss this deduction.
How Do You Track Tolls and Other Charges?
This is one part of trucking that we are glad to see improve – we don’t always have to stop at the toll booths. With the sensor technology developments, it’s a slow down but not a stop at the interstate toll booths and the bill is sent directly to our VISA card.
When do you look at your monthly credit card or debit card bill to enter your purchases into your owner-operator trucking business software? Or do you let them pile up and do months at a time?
With most credit card statements now viewable online, there’s no reason to delay this little task. You can look at your statement and enter your expenses and tag them with the right categories very easily – maybe even as you’re waiting for a load in the dock! These expenses will add up and it’s easy to think it doesn’t matter if you do it now or later. But doing it now gives you a clear and complete view of your financial position.
How Do You Know Your Miles Per State and Your Expenses Per Mile?
IFTA filings require that you report your miles per state, loaded or not.
Your success as an owner-operator requires that you know your expenses per mile.
The average accounting program can’t tell you either of those numbers because the average accounting program is not programmed for trucking. You need a trucking accounting software that will handle all the transactions your trucking business will have that no other industry requires.
That’s why you need TruckingOffice. When you use TruckingOffice trucking management software, you’ll have the peace of mind that your numbers are right – whether it’s IFTA or your expenses. Your numbers will only be as good as you are at entering them – but TruckingOffice manages the math while you manage the loads.
Let TruckingOffice make it easy for you to be an owner-operator with a complete management solution. We’re convinced that you’re going to discover how to go from a business that manages to stay alive month to month into a thriving owner-operator trucker.
How TruckingOffice TMS Helps You Handle IFTA Reports Easily and Effectively
As you already know, the IFTA is supposed to make reporting and paying fuel taxes easier. And it does, to some extent. However, it can be confusing to some drivers because the tax rates can differ state by state. Plus, those tax rates can change every quarter. Not to mention, you also have to keep up with the ever-changing fuel costs. Then, when it comes time to submit your IFTA report, you’re not at all confident about getting it right.
TruckingOffice has a solution to that dilemma. Our IFTA fuel tax software will ensure that your math is accurate and your IFTA reporting is submitted on-time. The system takes the data you’ve already entered during the quarter and compiles the report automatically. No more digging for lost receipts and staying up all night rechecking your math. Another benefit is that you’ll avoid late-filing fees and penalties that can eat away at your profit.
So if you’re ready to make your job easier and have more time to spend driving, you need TruckingOffice TMS on board. Get signed up soon so you’ll be ready for the 1st quarter IFTA report due by April 30. It’ll be here before you know it!
Want to know more?
We’ve got a chance for you to explore TruckingOffice TMS right now – you can start your free trial right away. You’ll have access to everything – and you can even do your Q2 IFTA report if you want to put in all of April -June’s loads. Sign up now and find out what you need to know.
Like… your IFTA fuel taxes are due on July 31.
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