How IFTA and Dispatch Tracking Software complement each other?

Before the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA), fleets were required to obtain a fuel permit license in each state they operated in. This was a cumbersome task as it forced carriers to file fuel tax reports in multiple states, with each state maintaining a unique set of basic requirements depending on the State laws.

With IFTA, the process of filing a fuel tax report has been simplified across the 48 states in the United States and 10 Canadian Provinces.

What is the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)?

International Fuel Tax Agreement or IFTA is an agreement that has been signed by 48 states in the United States and 10 Canadian Provinces looking to simplify fuel tax reporting by interstate motor vehicles, who operate across multiple jurisdictions.

In simple terms, it was brought into effect to streamline the fuel tax reporting process for the companies operating a fleet across multiple jurisdictions. The IFTA reporting system has significantly reduced paperwork involved and has reduced the compliance requirements for the trucking companies.

What are IFTA tax rates?

Each member of the IFTA agreement has the liberty to set its own tax rate. Usually, these tax rates change quarterly.

What are the deadlines for IFTA reporting for each quarter?

For the first quarter (January to March), the deadline is April 30. The deadline for the second quarter (April to June) is July 31 and the deadline for the third quarter (July to September) is October 31. While, the deadline for the last or the fourth quarter (October to December) is January 31.

What is a Qualified Motor Vehicle?

As per the IFTA regulations, Qualified Motor Vehicle is used, designed or maintained for the purpose of transportation of either goods or for the transportation of persons and would require to meet one of the below mentioned conditions.

• If a qualified motor vehicle has two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,000 pounds; or
• If a qualified motor vehicle has three or more axles regardless of the total weight; or
• If a qualified motor vehicle is used in combination and the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight.

How does IFTA Reporting work?

IFTA requires the organization of the qualified motor vehicle to submit an IFTA application. With the successful completion of the application process, IFTA provides the organization with an IFTA license along with an IFTA decal for all of its qualified motor vehicles. If and when fuel is purchased in IFTA jurisdiction, the amount payable is logged into the trucking company’s IFTA account.

It is mandatory for all the IFTA licensed organizations to submit an IFTA report at the end of each quarter. As per the IFTA regulations, the report is required to contain the details regarding the total miles driven by the IFTA qualified motor vehicle and the total amount of gallons purchased. This report is essential in helping the State authorities and the organizations to determine the total amount of tax owed by the organization or the total refund owed by the authorities to the organization.

It is mandatory for the organization to file the IFTA report as long as the vehicle is operating. The IFTA report can be filled either electronically, or by physically filing the report in the IFTA offices.

What is Dispatch Tracking Software?

Dispatch Tracking Software is designed to automate routing and scheduling processes. The software has been designed to provide a simpler and efficient route in completing a task.

The software is a digital solution that allows organizations to automate the tedious jobs like tracking of fleets in transit. This helps the organization in increasing the efficiency of their business operations.

Important Features of Dispatch Tracking Software:

• GPS Technology – Dispatch tracking software is integrated with GPS technology and it is used for several reasons like predicting the traffic conditions and assisting in providing routes with minimal traffic movement to increase the efficiency of the business operations.
• Accuracy in Data – Dispatch tracking software helps in providing organizations with accurate data to help them optimise their business operations. The data collected and can be utilized in various formats to help scale the business.
• Convenient Communication – The dispatch tracking software provides organizations with a communication channel between the dispatcher and the driver. This helps the driver to conveniently share information and report any issues and seek assistance.

Benefits of Combining IFTA and Dispatch Tracking:

The process of manually collecting the information required for IFTA reporting is a tedious and time – consuming task for organizations. Most of the IFTA licensed organizations own and operate a considerably high number of qualified motor vehicles, which makes the task of manually collecting information an expensive task.

To reduce the time consuming and an expensive task, these IFTA licensed organizations should consider combining the dispatch tracking software with IFTA reporting.

Dispatch tracking software continuously monitors the physical location of the movable assets of an organization. As these dispatch software are integrated with GPS, it provides accurate data regarding the total miles travelled by the qualified motor vehicle and the time taken to complete the task.

With the help of GPS integrated in the software, organizations will be able to accurately capture the total miles travelled in each state and report the data for filing IFTA reports. The automated data collection improves the accuracy of the miles travelled by qualified motor vehicles and this will help these organizations comply with IFTA regulations, therefore, reducing the possibility of misreporting the data and minimizing the risk of an audit.

Moreover, all the data collected by the dispatch tracking software can be stored and utilized to increase the efficiency of qualified motor vehicles.