Guide
IFTA quarter close: the checklist before you file
The quarter is not the hard part. The three months before it are. If each month was totalled, closing takes an hour.
In short
- IFTA taxes fuel where you drove it, not where you bought it. Miles by jurisdiction and fuel receipts must agree.
- Close each month first. The quarter is then three monthly sheets, checked and added.
- A truck whose miles per gallon looks far from its normal range usually has a missing receipt or a missing trip.
- Filing dates and rates come from your base state and the official matrix. We list none. verify
Hook. In the example, 1 of 3 trucks shows 8.4 miles per gallon while the other two sit near 6.4. That gap points to about 1,150 gallons of receipts that are not in the file.
What closing the quarter means
Closing is a check, not a calculation. You are asking if the file is complete: every truck, every month, every state it drove in, and a receipt for every purchase you plan to claim.
The figure shows the flow. Three monthly sheets feed one mpg check, and only then does the return get prepared. The IFTA estimator does the sums when you enter the official rates yourself.
The record rules are in IFTA records. This page is the short list for the last week of the quarter.
Close the quarter in six steps
Collect the monthly sheets
One per truck per month. A missing sheet is the first thing to fix.
Count the trucks
Every truck that ran, including a unit that ran only a few days.
Count the jurisdictions
Each state or province that appears in the ELD report appears on the sheet.
Match receipts to cards
Receipts per truck against the card statement. Photo any missing one.
Check miles per gallon
Per truck and for the fleet. Chase any outlier before you file.
Confirm the date and rates
Look up your base state filing date and the quarter matrix. Save both.
Quick checks and what a fail looks like
| Check | Pass looks like | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| All monthly sheets present | 3 sheets per truck | Rebuild from ELD or trip sheets |
| Miles by jurisdiction add up | Sum matches the ELD total | Find the trip with no state split |
| Receipts match cards | Every card line has a receipt | Photo it or note the location |
| Miles per gallon in range | Close to the truck's normal | Look for missing gallons or miles |
| Filing date known | On the calendar verify | Check your base state page |
Worked example EXAMPLE VALUES
Example data. Three invented trucks, one quarter. Miles and gallons are made up.
| Truck | Miles | Gallons | Miles per gallon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truck 1 | 31,200 | 4,900 | 6.37 |
| Truck 2 | 29,800 | 4,700 | 6.34 |
| Truck 3 | 30,500 | 3,650 | 8.36 |
| Fleet | 91,500 | 13,250 | 6.91 |
Trucks 1 and 2 average 6.35 miles per gallon together. At that rate Truck 3 would have burned about 4,800 gallons, but only 3,650 are on file. The difference is about 1,150 gallons. The fix is to find those receipts before the return, not to guess. The numbers say where to look, not what happened.
Where it goes wrong
- Closing the quarter in the last week. Receipts are gone by then. Close monthly.
- Skipping the small trucks. A truck with few miles still has to be on the return if it ran.
- Mixing reefer unit fuel into tractor fuel. Keep them separate. See reefer documentation.
- Typing rates from memory. Use the official matrix for the quarter and verify it.
The formulas
The comparison mpg should come from similar trucks on similar work.
Not tax advice
We are not accountants or tax preparers. This page is about records. Rates, due dates and what you can claim come from your base state and your tax professional.
We do not give legal, tax or financial advice. Your contracts come first.
Questions
When is the IFTA return due?
Your base state sets it. Check its IFTA page. verify We list no dates.
Do I need paper receipts?
Ask your base state what it accepts. A card statement often lacks gallons and fuel type. verify
What if a receipt is lost?
Keep the card line, the location and a note. Ask your tax professional what is acceptable.
Where do I enter rates?
In the IFTA estimator, from the official matrix for the quarter.
Related: IFTA records, IFTA estimator, fuel card vs cash price, month end close, all guides.
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