• Required records must be retained for a period of four years from the date of filing the tax report or the return due date, whichever is later.
• If a carrier has extra decals, the extras must be kept with IFTA records and retained for four years, as well.

Required records, such as the individual vehicle mileage reports, fuel receipts, and quarterly tax returns, must be retained for a period of four years from the date of filing the tax report or the return due date, whichever is later, plus any time period included as a result of waivers or jeopardy assessments. Non-compliance with any recordkeeping requirement may result in having the license revoked.

Failure to provide records requested for the purpose of audit extends the statute of limitations until the records are provided.

Most vehicle tracking systems, such as a global positioning system (GPS) or an electronic logging device (ELD), will capture the required information and provide adequate records in the event of an audit. However, if a carrier has an ELD provider that also captures data for the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA), the carrier must make sure the provider retains the right types of records and keeps them long enough to satisfy recordkeeping requirements. Carriers must also make sure the records are accessible in case of an audit.

Recordkeeping for decals, too?

If a carrier has extra decals, the extras must be kept with IFTA records and retained for four years — just like IFTA mileage data and fuel receipts. A carrier can list unassigned decals on a decal inventory sheet and update the sheet if the decals are ever assigned to a vehicle.

If audited, the inventory sheet would help demonstrate that the company keeps good records and goes above the minimum requirements. It would also be a backup in an audit to help account for all existing decals, especially if the decals fell off or if the vehicle was sold or destroyed.