An effective fuel-buying practice is to maximize fuel purchases in low-fuel-tax states and mileage run in those states. The International Fuel Tax Agreement between the United States and Canada facilitates the reporting, collection and distribution of taxes to states and provinces.
You pay taxes every time you fuel, but your ultimate fuel tax bill is calculated according to where you drive. If you purchase fuel in high-tax states and drive most of your miles in lower-tax states, you will get a refund when you file your IFTA report.
You cannot reduce your tax outlay unless you choose hauls that avoid high-tax states. What you have more control over, though, is how much you pay strictly for fuel when the fuel tax is not considered.
PUMP PRICE MINUS TAXES = REAL COST. The key to finding the cheapest fuel is to know the current fuel tax rates, both federal and state, and any state surcharges. Subtract taxes to find the raw fuel cost in each state, then buy where fuel is cheapest. The strategy means that you buy without regard for whether you are paying more at the pump -- or in taxes.
Depending on your routes, it might pay fuel-expense dividends even when the pump price appears higher. For instance, after conducting his own analysis, 2025 Trucker of the Year contender owner-operator Scott Smith found fuel stops along a regular route through the high-fuel-tax state of Illinois in fact offered the lowest fuel cost when taxes were removed. He made it a practice of buying there as often as possible, reducing his fuel expense and often enough ensuring an IFTA tax refund after filing.
IFTA also considers state surcharges, which complicates the fuel-buying strategy. Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia have per-gallon surcharges; Connecticut, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York and Oregon have per-mile surcharges. While some owner-operators buy only enough fuel to get through surcharge states, this practice can backfire, depending on the actual cost of the fuel in each state.
This feature is part of Overdrive's coproduction with business services firm ATBS of the Partners in Business manual, a comprehensive playbook for owner-operator careers. Browse the 2025 edition in its new dynamic online library format in eight sections via this link.
As suggested by owner-operator Smith's example, it’s possible to accumulate not only a debt but a credit, depending on just what states you purchase fuel in versus where you actually drive the bulk of your miles. Also, the higher your IFTA mpg, the lower your tax per mile, but the IFTA mpg will likely be different from what you are tracking in your truck day to day, given its quarterly calculation is based on actual purchases and miles driven over that specific time period.
Other fuel-buying costs depend on how your fuel taxes are managed. Many leased owner-operators depend on a carrier to collect and distribute fuel taxes.
If you’re leased and your carrier handles your fuel taxes for you, simply look for the cheapest pump prices. Some carriers charge a fee for this, and some pay simply by averaging the mileage of their entire fleet. If your carrier does that, and you average a better per-gallon average than the fleet, you could be paying more tax than you actually owe.
Whatever the case, a good lease will itemize all charges, including fuel taxes and how they are assessed. If your settlements do not reflect what is stated in your lease, you should ask for clarification and, if necessary, look for an alternate method of paying your tax.
You must get your own IFTA account to do your own fuel tax reporting, whether you do it yourself or through a third party. You do not have to have your own operating authority to get an IFTA account, but independent owner-operators must have such an account in their base plate state and be responsible for quarterly reporting.
Getting with the program
Owner-operators often can save a hefty amount of money when they are able to participate in discount fuel networks.
If your fleet has a fuel-optimizer program, use it. An optimizer program helps an owner-operator plan a trip based on fuel prices and locations in the carrier’s fuel network. Fees for using such networks have become rare thanks to competition for drivers.
Owner-operators are well advised, however, to pass up network fuel stops that are too costly, are too far off route, sell inferior fuel, are dangerous or poorly maintained, or are perceived as a profit center for the carrier at owner-operators’ expense. If you have concerns about a stop on the fleet network, respectfully bring them to the fleet’s attention.
The National Association of Small Trucking Companies offers members the opportunity to tap into the association’s network of fueling stops to find the lowest prices.
In recent years, many independents have found substantial per-gallon discounts available through participation in the Mudflap mobile payments service's network of independent truck stops, too, likewise a myriad fuel cards available to members of other discount networks.
Being part of a fuel card network can also offer other benefits in the way of fuel fraud prevention. Fuel payments provider Wex in 2025 highlighted that 1 in every 12,000 purchases are flagged as suspicious, potentially fraudulent, and blocked in automated fashion among its millions upon millions of fuel transactions facilitated annually.
Translate that incidence to the roughly 350,000 fuel transactions NASTC President David Owen knows move through the association’s own Quality Plus Network fuel program any given month, and that’s right at 30 transactions held up by the system monthly, or a few hundred a year.
And while technology certainly helps, the human element in fraud prevention might be the biggest factor any size carrier can directly address to make the most gains in preventing losses, empowering themselves through self-education and passing that on to team members. Efforts from Wex, for example, include illustrating the kinds of schemes that might result in infiltration of its own backend, including simulated phishing attacks through targeted fake emails designed to get a user to provide access to their login data.
More smart practices for controlling fuel costs, improving efficiency
In addition to reducing speed and idling, there are several other good fuel conservation practices, each of which can reduce your fuel bill by 1% to 3% -- or several hundred dollars a year:
WATCH CASH FLOW. Don’t tie up money needlessly in the fuel tank when downtime of a few days or more is expected. If you know a low-price area is on your route, don’t fill up at a more expensive stop; limit your purchase based on your mpg.
TAKE CARE WITH BIOFUEL. Biofuels tend to be expensive and produce lower fuel mileage. Know the level of biofuel (B20, for example, is 20% biofuel) that is allowed under your engine warranty, and use only fuels approved by your engine maker. Carry extra fuel filters, as biofuel can cause clogging.
MAXIMIZE STORAGE. Whether you’re buying a used or a new truck, opt for larger dual tanks. This gives you the option of pigging out on super-cheap fuel and cutting down on the number of fuel stops, saving time.
SPEC YOUR TRUCK WISELY. Your paycheck will show whether you chose a truck with a big engine and a lot of chrome, or a truck engineered to meet your business needs and help you succeed.
First, there is the initial extra expense for the purchase, then the added cost of fuel consumption. In fuel savings alone, an aerodynamic truck generally more than offsets the resale value of the stylish truck. It also yields greater load capacity, more comfort, less noise and higher profit.
On the other hand, operators with too-low horsepower settings for the application will find their feet always hard on the throttle, consuming more fuel. Some have benefited in fuel economy by retuning the engine control module for maximum fuel economy, installing full-flow mufflers or using one of several new engine/transmission combinations built for maximum mileage.
The move toward the automated manual transmission has brought with it parallel trends of downspeeding and lower axle ratios. This reduces the engine speed and results in savings at the pump. Every reduction of 100 rpm is worth about 1.5% in reduced fuel consumption. Being able to maintain highway speeds at 1,150 rpm versus 1,370 constitutes fuel savings of 3% or more.
[Related: Paths to 10-plus mpg in a Class 8 diesel tractor with aero, downspeeding, more]
PERFORM REGULAR MAINTENANCE. This ensures your truck is running efficiently. Also, check your current miles per gallon at each fill -- if it falls off, determine the reason. Start a preventive maintenance routine; check often enough to catch low oil, a dirty air filter or an air compressor leak.
MAINTAIN TIRE PRESSURE. To reduce rolling resistance, check air pressure in all 18 tires, and fill them up at least weekly to the manufacturer’s specifications. The trailer tires may belong to your carrier, but why pay the extra cost of pulling a trailer with underinflated tires?
SLOW YOUR ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION. Both will consume less fuel and be easier on your equipment. Slowing acceleration is especially important running on hills or in the mountains because it helps reduce the effects of gravity. Rapid acceleration gets you an extra few seconds but creates premature wear on the engine, driveline and tires -- along with increasing your fuel costs.
CUT OUT-OF-ROUTE MILES. If you’re like many owner-operators, with 6% to 10% of your miles out of route, you possibly could cut them by 3 percentage points. Doing so would save an extra 3% on fuel, as well as on other variable costs such as tires and maintenance. Rethinking your route, keeping side trips to a minimum and using precise directions will pay off in savings.
Read next: Controlling tire costs: Keep your No. 2 variable expense to a minimum
