With fuel costs and tax burdens rising every year, choosing fuel cards that integrate with software platforms to automate International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reporting is no longer optional for commercial fleets seeking savings and efficiency.
The consolidated expenses, streamlined documentation, and automated reports produced by the most integrated fuel card programs and IFTA reporting software drastically reduce overhead while providing data trails ensuring full regulatory compliance. Keep reading to find out which fuel cards can accomplish your goals.
And when you’re finished, check out the other articles in our ‘IFTA reports’ series:
- What is IFTA?
- Understanding IFTA reporting and common mistakes
- How to calculate an IFTA quarterly tax report
- Best fuel cards to streamline IFTA reports
Quicklook: Top fuel cards for streamlining IFTA reports
- Best for quarterly filing assistance: Fuelman
- Best for real-time data: Motive
- Best for fuel savings or discounts: AtoB
- Best for owner operators: Comdata
- Best for consolidation: EFS
Best fuel cards to streamline IFTA reports
If you’re wondering what the best fuel card to streamline IFTA reports is, you can’t go wrong with any of the options on this list.
Fuelman
Fuelman offers a variety of fleet management reports showing all account activity, including summary reports, employee exception reports, and vehicle reports. Some programs include excise tax and IFTA standard reports to assist you with tax filings.
Furthermore, Fuelman cards are designed to control costs, allowing your business to customize card limits for your specific business needs, ensuring money is only spent on fuel for company vehicles. And with market-leading rebates on gas and diesel fuel with every fill-up and 24/7 customer service, Fuelman is sure to save you time and money.
Best for: Quarterly filing assistance
Features:
- Flexible packages with the deepest rebates available
- 50,000 fuel stations
- 20,000 maintenance locations
- Option for Mastercard that works anywhere that accepts Mastercard
Benefits:
- Up to $0.10 per gallon in rebates
- Two points per eligible gallon
- $100 annual loyalty bonus
- Option to use it at any gas station
- Environmentally-friendly and carbon neutral options
Disadvantages: Coverage gaps in parts of Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Montana
Pricing: Starting at $59 a month for all the fuel cards you business needs
Motive
With advanced integrations expected to roll out through 2024, Motive aims to link real-time fuel data directly into popular trucking management platforms as an affordable bundled solution for streamlined taxes.
Leveraging GPS and ELD connections, Motive can automatically validate locations down to the pump level and feed directly into IFTA reports to save drivers hours of paperwork each quarter.
As regulations and software options advance, Motive’s flexible hardware options and open API approach position it perfectly to adapt real-time data flows into the best platforms for small fleets to consolidate back-office administration.
Best for: Real-time data
Features:
- IFTA reports
- Spend reports
- Maintenance discounts
Benefits:
- Spend controls
- Detailed reports
- Streamlined IFTA reporting
- Integrated platform
- No annual fee
Disadvantages:
- No set discount rate
- Smaller network compared to competitors
Pricing: One-time activation fee of $25 per card
AtoB
AtoB fuel cards offer significant per-gallon diesel discounts at thousands of truck stops across their merchant network. This means fleets pay less at the pump, which lowers the tax basis for IFTA reporting.
Lower net fuel expenses paired with AtoB’s system gathering detailed transaction data makes inputting accurate figures into quarterly tax reports simpler and more affordable.
Best for: Fuel savings or discounts
Features:
- No out-of-network stations
- Get discounts on repairs at Pep Boys, tires at Discount Tire and more through AtoB Perk
- Spend on more than just fuel — oil changes, tolls, lodging and more
- Net seven-day payment terms
Benefits:
- Telematics integration to validate every purchase in real time
- Secure Card Unlock through the AtoB Driver App to ensure cards are only used by authorized drivers
- Optimal Station Selection to enforce drivers to fuel at the most affordable stations
- Allows small businesses to build credit
Disadvantages: Must pay balance within seven days
Pricing: $3/month per active card
Comdata
With advanced integration into top trucking management platforms, Comdata fuel cards capture purchase details like date, location, gallons, and taxes paid automatically with each owner-operator transaction for seamless IFTA reporting.
Solo truck drivers benefit from Comdata’s robust merchant network of over 30,000 nationwide fueling sites to easily manage fuel taxes across jurisdictions without requiring costly software investments.
Comdata’s automated reports driven by fuel card usage simplify the quarterly tax headache for owner-operators to accurately track deductions and minimize accounting overhead.
Best for: Owner operators
Features:
- Fuel card program with over 30,000 fueling sites across US and Canada
- Integrates with popular trucking management software
- Provides detailed fueling data and analytics
Benefits:
- Streamlines IFTA reporting and taxes
- Controls driver spending and improves oversight
- Offers loyalty and volume discounts
Disadvantages:
- Higher card fees than competitors
- Can only be used within their merchant network
- Limited support for electric charging
Pricing:
- Monthly card fees plus transaction fees
- Customized enterprise plans
- Discounted volume pricing tiers
EFS
EFS lets fleets choose approved fueling locations to standardize purchases. Drivers can only fuel at certain truck stops and gas stations. By standardizing where fuel transactions occur, EFS makes it easier to collect receipts and mileage per jurisdiction for IFTA reports. Consolidated data improves accuracy when filing quarterly fuel taxes.
Best for: Consolidation
Features:
- Merchant control capabilities
- Integrations with ELD systems
- Customizable alerts and notifications
Benefits:
- Consolidated fuel expense reporting
- Optimized preferred fueling locations
- Enhanced oversight of driver spending
Disadvantages:
- Smaller network compared to major fuel card providers
- Mostly US-based truck stops coverage
- Lack of mobile app and driver tools
Pricing:
- Monthly card fees plus transaction fees
- Customized pricing for fleet size
- Bundled discounts available
What is IFTA in trucking?
The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) simplifies fuel tax compliance for interstate trucks. Instead of paying every state, enrolled vehicles file one quarterly report on all jurisdiction miles and fuel. Trucks must log detailed records.
Companies then file consolidated mileage and fuel data. Taxes owed to each state are calculated and disbursed from the IFTA clearinghouse. Overall, IFTA streamlines multi-state reporting into a single quarterly process.
What is an IFTA sticker?
An IFTA sticker is a credential required to be displayed on all interstate commercial vehicles operating under IFTA. The 2”x5” sticker shows that the vehicle is registered for IFTA fuel tax reporting and serves as proof that the carrier has an IFTA license to traverse between member jurisdictions.
The decal will feature the carrier’s name and IFTA license number as well as the expiration date of their license.
Vehicles need to have a valid, up-to-date IFTA sticker clearly affixed to the passenger side of the cab in order to legally operate across borders without having to pay additional fuel taxes at every pump. The sticker ensures compliance and simplifies audits for tax collectors.
How much does IFTA cost quarterly?
IFTA costs vary quarterly depending on miles per jurisdiction and fuel rates, but expect fees around $300 per truck to cover license registration, decals, taxes owed, reporting time, and potential professional filing services.
IFTA sticker requirements
Proper IFTA sticker format, visibility, and validity is essential for interstate trucking compliance.
- Must be displayed on the exterior passenger side of the truck’s cab. Common placement is the lower front corner of the passenger door.
- All IFTA registered vehicles must have a sticker to legally operate interstate without paying taxes at each pump.
- The sticker design and layout is standardized across all IFTA member jurisdictions. It must include the carrier’s name, IFTA license number, and expiration date.
- Stickers are typically two inches high by five inches long.
- Must be visible and legible by enforcement officers, usually inspectors at weigh stations. Damaged or unreadable stickers may result in fines.
- Carriers must replace stickers that are damaged or upon license renewal every year. Updated stickers are distributed with each new license.
- Stolen, lost, or illegible stickers must be promptly reported and replaced by contacting the base jurisdiction’s motor carrier division.
- Failure to display a valid IFTA sticker can result in costly fines from $50 up to $500 depending on the number of offenses. It may also lead to fuel tax evasion penalties.
Who needs an IFTA sticker?
Any commercial motor vehicle operating interstate that is over 26,000 pounds (11,797 kg), has two or more axles, and is used for business must display an accurate IFTA sticker in the cab to indicate active annual fuel tax license registration as part of IFTA.
How to get IFTA stickers
Obtain IFTA stickers after successfully processing annual fleet registration with your base jurisdiction’s department of transportation or motor vehicles/carrier division. IFTA stickers featuring your license number and expiration are distributed with license renewal paperwork.
Accurately calculate IFTA miles today with the best fuel card option
Adopting IFTA-simplifying fuel cards should become a top priority in 2024 as reporting burdens grow. Fleets must act quickly to transition before regulations complicate changes.
The most integrated providers consolidate expenses and location data to automate reporting and removing mundane tasks. Early adoption maximizes long-term savings from optimized reimbursements and discounts. Specialized cards reducing manual tax overhead provide substantial savings and audit protection.
Now is the time to engage forward-thinking partners streamlining fuel taxes.
FAQ
IFTA fuel tracking is the detailed logging of fuel purchases and miles driven by commercial vehicles in each jurisdiction to accurately report and pay quarterly fuel taxes. Carriers must closely monitor jurisdiction-level fuel usage data to comply with IFTA requirements.
IFTA exists to simplify fuel tax payments for interstate carriers, instead of having to pay different taxes in each state. It consolidates tax reporting and payments into one system across member states and provinces.
The non-IFTA jurisdictions consist of Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia which have not joined the IFTA system between states and Canadian provinces. Those regions have separate fuel tax reporting requirements.
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