Recordkeeping requirements: Quarterly filing
- A quarterly fuel tax report and all owed fuel taxes must be filed and paid to a licensee’s base jurisdiction.
- Licensees whose operations total less than 5,000 miles/8,000 kilometers in all member jurisdictions other than the base jurisdiction may request to report on an annual basis.
- Reports and taxes not filed and paid by the due date are considered late/delinquent.
Licensees are required to file a quarterly fuel tax report with the base jurisdiction and pay all taxes due to all member jurisdictions with one payment to the base jurisdiction.
A base jurisdiction may authorize a licensee to submit a computer-generated tax report in lieu of the standard tax report if the report includes all required information and is in a form which can be processed by the base jurisdiction. Every licensee must submit a tax report even if there were no taxable operations for the period. Many jurisdictions now require online fuel tax filing, and carriers should check with their base jurisdiction for more details.
Tax reports are filed on a quarterly basis. The reporting quarters and due dates are:
| Reporting Quarter | Due Date |
|---|---|
| January – March | April 30 |
| April – June | July 31 |
| July – September | October 31 |
| October – December | January 31 |
Licensees whose operations total less than 5,000 miles or 8,000 kilometers in all member jurisdictions other than the base jurisdiction may request to report on an annual basis. This will be based upon filing history. The licensee must petition the base jurisdiction to report annually. If the base jurisdiction approves the request, it will notify the other member jurisdictions of the annual reporting frequency. If any member jurisdiction objects to the annual reporting, the licensee’s request shall be denied.
Timely filing
To avoid penalty for late filing, the tax report must be postmarked no later than midnight on the last day of the month following the close of the reporting period. If the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next business day is considered the final filing date.
Reports are considered filed and received:
- On the date shown by the U.S. Postal Service, Canada Post, or Delivery Service cancellation mark stamped on the envelope containing the report, properly addressed to the designated department of the base jurisdiction; or
- On the date it was mailed if proof satisfactory to the base jurisdiction is available to establish the date it was mailed.
Many jurisdictions now require online filing.
Reports not filed by the due date are considered late and any taxes due considered delinquent. The base jurisdiction may assess the licensee a penalty of $50 or 10 percent of delinquent taxes, whichever is greater, for failure to file a report, for filing a late report, or for underpayment of taxes due, which shall be retained by the base jurisdiction.