International Fuel Tax Agreement | Recordkeeping

Your operational records must be made available to the Fuel Tax Unit and/or Field Audit upon request. If you do not provide the requested information, the Department will make a determination based upon the information available.

You must maintain complete records of your qualified motor vehicles’ interstate and intrastate operations. The Individual Vehicle Distance Record and Fuel Report (DR 0735) is an acceptable source document for recording vehicle distance information. You may choose to use on-board recording devices to generate your distance records, if so they must be able to provide similar details as below or other source documents, such as a trip report that includes all of the following information: 

• Date(s) of trip (starting and ending)
• Trip origin and destination (including city and state)
• Routes of travel (beginning and ending odometer readings by jurisdiction)
• Total trip miles or kilometers
• Distance by jurisdiction
• Vehicle unit number
• Vehicle fleet number
• Your name
   

You must maintain complete records of all fuel purchases. Separate totals must be compiled for each fuel type by jurisdiction. Fuel types include diesel, biodiesel, gasoline, gasohol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), alcohol fuels (ethanol, methanol, E-85 and M-85), and any other fuel you use to propel your vehicle.

DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) is not fuel, but rather, is a part of the exhaust system and is not included in the calculation of your total gallons reported on the quarterly IFTA tax return. Fuel used in refrigeration units (reefer fuel) is also excluded from your IFTA return. 

Your fuel records must contain all of the following information:

• Date of purchase
• Name and address of the seller
• Number of gallons or liters purchased
• Type of fuel purchased
• Price per gallon or liter, or total amount of sale
• Unit number of the vehicle into which the fuel was placed
• Purchaser’s name

If using a card lock system for your fleet, we must be able to identify the IFTA qualified vehicle in your fleet that was fueled. It is recommended the credit cards be kept vehicle specific and identified by unit number.

If you maintain a bulk fuel storage facility, you may obtain credit for tax paid on fuel withdrawn from that storage facility and used in your qualified motor vehicles, provided you maintain the following records:

• Date of withdrawal
• Number of gallons or liters withdrawn
• Fuel type
• Unit number of the vehicle into which the fuel was placed
• Purchase invoices and inventory records showing that tax was paid on your bulk fuel purchases

Gallons withdrawn from your bulk storage and used in qualified vehicles should be listed under “Tax-paid gallons” on your IFTA tax return.