Benefits in handling your own IFTA

As the owner of a carrier that leased owner-operators and the president of the company that created TruckBytes software, I’ve become very familiar with IFTA filings. I encourage leased owner-operators, as well as carriers considering leasing owner-operators, to contact their managing IFTA jurisdictions about owner-operators managing their IFTA accounts and paying their own IFTA taxes. The regulations clearly allow for it. See for yourself by reading the IFTA “Articles of Agreement” at www.iftach.org.

Among the benefits of doing so is increased profit. Also, carriers can reduce IFTA filing man-hours, and most owner-operators who begin managing their own IFTA see overall fuel costs drop immediately.

Most owner-operators purchase fuel according to the cost at the pump, not the actual cost. Operators who pay their own IFTA learn the key to purchasing fuel is to deduct the IFTA tax from the pump price for the jurisdiction in which the purchase is being made.

Also, some owner-operators who use TruckBytes have discovered their carriers are charging them a “service fee” and/or charging them according to the entire fleet miles per gallon average. This is legal for carriers because they pay IFTA fuel taxes according to that average, which can include their leased owner-operators if defined in the lease agreement. In most cases, this practice raises the IFTA fuel tax for the owner-operator and offsets the carrier’s IFTA tax for company trucks.

Owner-operators who do not read or understand their lease agreement are unaware of what they have agreed to with regard to IFTA.

W. JOEL MUNSON