IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement between the 10 Canadian provinces and the 48 mainland US states. A carrier who drives in more than one of them gets one IFTA licence from their home province and files one fuel tax return each quarter, instead of buying a fuel tax permit in every province and state.

Do I need an IFTA licence if I only drive in my own province?

No. If your truck never leaves your home province, the fuel tax you pay at the pump is the right tax, and there is nothing to share out. You need IFTA once a qualified truck crosses into another province or a US state, unless you buy a trip permit for each occasional trip instead.

When are IFTA returns due?

The last day of the month after each quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. You file even for a quarter when the truck did not move. Your base province confirms the exact date when it falls on a weekend or holiday.

How is IFTA tax calculated?

Divide your total distance by your total fuel to get your fleet fuel economy. For each province or state, divide the distance you drove there by that fuel economy to get the fuel you used there. Subtract the tax-paid fuel you bought there. Multiply what is left by that jurisdiction's rate. A positive number is tax owed, a negative number is a credit.

How long do I keep IFTA records?

Four years from the date the return was due or filed, whichever is later. That means distance records for every trip and a receipt for every fill.

Where do the tax rates in the calculator come from?

From the IFTA tax rate matrix published each quarter by IFTA, Inc. at iftach.org. The calculator comes with one quarter's diesel rates and surcharges already loaded, in both Canadian dollars per litre and US dollars per gallon. For any other quarter, copy that quarter's rates from the matrix into the Tax Rates tab.

Does the spreadsheet file my return for me?

No. It works out the numbers your return asks for. You still file the return with your base province, usually through its online tax portal, and pay any tax owed there.

Free tools

Free IFTA calculator

Work out your IFTA return in one spreadsheet

A free Excel workbook that turns your trips and fuel receipts into the numbers your quarterly IFTA return asks for, with the tax rates for July to September 2026 already in it. Below it, how IFTA works, step by step.

Download the calculator

The basics

What is IFTA?

IFTA, the International Fuel Tax Agreement, lets a carrier report fuel tax for every province and state on one return, filed every quarter with their home province.

Fuel tax pays for roads, so each province and state wants tax on the fuel burned on its roads, not the fuel sold at its pumps. A truck that fills up in Ontario and drives into Quebec has paid Ontario for fuel it burned in Quebec. IFTA sorts that out. The 10 Canadian provinces and the 48 mainland US states are members. The three territories are not.

Your home province is your base jurisdiction. It issues your IFTA licence and two decals for each truck, takes your quarterly return, collects the tax you owe and pays out any credit. It then shares the money with the other provinces and states.

Who files

Do I need an IFTA licence?

You need one if you run a qualified motor vehicle in more than one province or state.

A qualified motor vehicle carries people or property and has either:

two axles and a gross or registered weight over 11,797 kg (26,000 lb), or
three or more axles, whatever the weight, or
a combination weight over 11,797 kg (26,000 lb).

If your trucks never leave your home province, you do not need IFTA. The tax you pay at the pump is already the right tax. If you cross a border only now and then, a trip permit for each trip is the other option. Your base province's fuel tax office decides which applies to you.

Deadlines

When is my IFTA return due?

The last day of the month after the quarter ends. Four returns a year, even for a quarter when the truck did not move.

January to March: April 30
April to June: July 31
July to September: October 31
October to December: January 31

A late return costs a penalty of $50 or 10 per cent of the tax due, whichever is more, plus interest on unpaid tax. A late return with nothing owing still gets the $50. For a carrier based in a Canadian province the 2026 IFTA interest rate is 5 per cent a year, charged monthly.

The calculation

How is IFTA calculated?

IFTA works out how much fuel you burned in each province and state, and charges you that place's tax on it, less the tax you already paid at the pump there.

Canadian base provinces take the return in kilometres and litres. The spreadsheet works in either kilometres and litres or miles and US gallons.

Step 1

Find your fleet fuel economy

Add up all the distance your qualified trucks drove in the quarter, everywhere, including the territories and empty miles. Add up all the fuel you put in them. Divide distance by fuel. That is your fuel economy, in kilometres per litre.
Step 2

Work out the fuel used in each place

For each province and state, divide the taxable distance you drove there by your fuel economy. That is the fuel IFTA says you burned there, wherever you actually bought it.
Step 3

Subtract the tax-paid fuel you bought there

Take away the litres you bought at the pump in that province or state, where the tax was in the price. What is left is the fuel you still owe tax on. It can be a negative number: you bought more there than you burned.
Step 4

Multiply by the rate and add it up

Multiply each result by that place's tax rate for the quarter, plus any surcharge it charges. Positive numbers are tax owed. Negative numbers are credits. The total is what you pay, or what comes back.

Worked example

What does an IFTA return look like with real numbers?

Here is one quarter for one truck, worked through the four steps. The tax rates are made up to keep the arithmetic simple. Real rates change every quarter.

The truck drove 30,000 km in the quarter and took on 10,000 litres. Its fuel economy is 30,000 ÷ 10,000 = 3.0 km per litre.

Where	Distance	Fuel used	Fuel bought	Net litres	Example rate	Tax or credit
Ontario	18,000 km	6,000 L	7,000 L	−1,000 L	$0.20 / L	−$200
Quebec	6,000 km	2,000 L	3,000 L	−1,000 L	$0.25 / L	−$250
New York	6,000 km	2,000 L	0 L	2,000 L	$0.30 / L	$600
Total	30,000 km	10,000 L	10,000 L	0 L		$150 owed

The truck bought all its fuel in Canada, so it paid no New York tax at the pump. It still burned 2,000 litres there, and New York's share comes through the return. Ontario and Quebec are credits, because the truck bought more fuel there than it burned. The three lines net to $150, which the carrier pays to its base province.

Where you fill up changes the tax you pay at the pump. It does not change the total fuel tax you owe for the quarter. Buy fuel where the price is lowest, and let the return settle the tax.

The calculator

What does the IFTA calculator do?

It does the four steps for you. You enter your trucks, your trips and your fuel receipts. It gives you the numbers to copy onto your return.

Start on the How to Use tab. Each tab has one job:

Settings

Your company, IFTA account, base province and the quarter's dates. Pick kilometres, litres and Canadian dollars, or miles, gallons and US dollars.

Tax Rates

Diesel rates and surcharges for every province and state, from the IFTA rate matrix. The rates for July to September 2026 are loaded.

Units

Each truck once. It shows each truck's distance, fuel and fuel economy, and flags one that is far off the fleet average.

Trip Log

One line per trip leg in each province or state: date, truck, distance, and any distance that is not taxable.

Fuel Log

One line per fill: date, truck, where, how much, and whether tax was paid at the pump. Keep the receipt for every line.

IFTA Return

Fuel economy, fuel used, tax and surcharge for every jurisdiction, plus interest and penalty if you file late, and the balance due.

Every line in the two logs is checked as you type. A missing date, an unknown province code, a date outside the quarter or a missing truck number shows up next to the line, and the return counts how many lines still need fixing.

IFTA fuel tax calculator

Excel spreadsheet, version 1.0, updated October 2026, 349 KB. Tax rates for July to September 2026. For Microsoft Excel. No macros.

Download free

The loaded rates are the IFTA tax rate matrix for July to September 2026, checked against the matrix at iftach.org. Rates change every quarter: for any other quarter, copy that quarter's rates into the Tax Rates tab before you start. This page and the spreadsheet explain how IFTA works. They are not tax advice: your base province's rules decide your return.

Records

What records do I need to keep for IFTA?

A distance record for every trip and a receipt for every fill, kept for four years.

An audit checks your return against these. A fill without a receipt is fuel you cannot claim as tax-paid, so you pay its tax twice.

For each trip

Date, start and end of the trip, and the route
Odometer or hubometer readings at the start and end
Total distance, and the distance in each province and state
The truck's unit number

For each fill

Date, and the seller's name and address
Litres and type of fuel
Price per litre or total paid
The unit number of the truck it went into, and the buyer's name

A fuel card statement that lists every fill with its location, litres and truck is most of your fuel record already. Keep the statements with your receipts.

Avoid these

What are the most common IFTA mistakes?

Most errors come from distance that was left out and receipts that were lost.

Leaving out distance. Empty miles, and kilometres in the territories, still count toward your total distance and your fuel economy.
Missing receipts. Fuel you cannot prove was tax-paid is taxed again on the return.
Using the wrong quarter's rates. Rates change every quarter. Always use the matrix for the quarter you are filing, not the one you are filing in.
Forgetting surcharges. A few states add a surcharge on top of the fuel tax. The rate matrix lists it.
Skipping a quiet quarter. A quarter with no trips still needs a return, or it is late.
Fuel economy that is too good. A number far better than your trucks really get is the first thing an auditor notices.

Questions

IFTA questions, answered straight.

What is IFTA?: IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement between the 10 Canadian provinces and the 48 mainland US states. A carrier who drives in more than one of them gets one IFTA licence from their home province and files one fuel tax return each quarter, instead of buying a fuel tax permit in every province and state.
Do I need an IFTA licence if I only drive in my own province?: No. If your truck never leaves your home province, the fuel tax you pay at the pump is the right tax, and there is nothing to share out. You need IFTA once a qualified truck crosses into another province or a US state, unless you buy a trip permit for each occasional trip instead.
When are IFTA returns due?: The last day of the month after each quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. You file even for a quarter when the truck did not move. Your base province confirms the exact date when it falls on a weekend or holiday.
How is IFTA tax calculated?: Divide your total distance by your total fuel to get your fleet fuel economy. For each province or state, divide the distance you drove there by that fuel economy to get the fuel you used there. Subtract the tax-paid fuel you bought there. Multiply what is left by that jurisdiction's rate. A positive number is tax owed, a negative number is a credit.
How long do I keep IFTA records?: Four years from the date the return was due or filed, whichever is later. That means distance records for every trip and a receipt for every fill.
Where do the tax rates in the calculator come from?: From the IFTA tax rate matrix published each quarter by IFTA, Inc. at iftach.org. The calculator comes with one quarter's diesel rates and surcharges already loaded, in both Canadian dollars per litre and US dollars per gallon. For any other quarter, copy that quarter's rates from the matrix into the Tax Rates tab.
Does the spreadsheet file my return for me?: No. It works out the numbers your return asks for. You still file the return with your base province, usually through its online tax portal, and pay any tax owed there.

Get the calculator. It is free.

No card and no account needed. Leave your details only if you want to hear about updates.

Download the calculator See our fuel card

More free tools: see them all. Want to know what your diesel really costs? Check your fuel bill. Crossing into the US? See where our card works.