Greetings from TaxIFTA.com, we’re delighted to have you as a part of our blog family. Our blog posts are dedicated to commercial truck drivers and today we would talk about fuel record management and its own set of requirements.
What is Fuel Records?
Fuel Records are records of the fuel purchased, received and used by the vehicle under the license of IFTA. With a variation of fuels available in the market, it is important to maintain a separate total for each fuel type.
Also, records for retail and bulk purchases should also be maintained separately.
A) Retail Fuel Purchases:
Every time you purchase fuel at Truck Stops, service stations or other dealers, it should be addressed with evidence i.e. fuel receipt or invoice, a credit card receipt, automated vendor-generated invoice or transaction listing, or a microfilm/microfiche of the receipt or invoice.
However, the original fuel receipts are not required, although if the receipts show an evidence of erasures or any alternation made, will not be accepted for the tax-paid credit until and unless you prove that the receipts are valid.
Besides, many key-lock and other fuel dispensing systems have converted their offline functionalities to computerized process for making it easy, rather than providing paper receipts for individual sales, furnishing periodic printouts of the purchase transactions. Also, these records are acceptable for filing IFTA tax to authenticate the fuel purchases.
However, in order to claim your credit for tax paid on a purchase, it is important to notify (through the receipts) if the taxes were paid at the pump or directly to the jurisdiction.
Do note the receipts should also identify the vehicle by plate number, unit number (including fleet number if applicable) or other licensee identifier to verify that the vehicle belongs to your fleet.
In addition, the receipt or invoice must include:
- Date of purchase
- Seller’s name and address
- Quantity of fuel purchased
- Fuel type
- Price per gallon or the total amount of the sale
- Purchaser’s name
Although, if the vehicle is being fuelled and operated under a lease, the receipts are required to be in the name of either the lessee or lessor, indicating a legal connection for the party reporting fuel tax.
B) Bulk Fuel Records
These bulk fuel storage facilities are required to be filed separately and so the purchases should be separately maintained from retail fuel purchases. While maintaining bulk fuel purchases and inventory records there should be distinguished from tax-paid fuel and non-tax-paid fuel, fuel placed in qualified versus non-qualified vehicles for all member jurisdictions.
Also, when withdrawals are made from the bulk storage, the record is mandatory to be made, distinguishing fuel placed in qualified vehicles from other uses. However, to claim a tax-paid credit on the tax return, you need to retain receipts or invoice to support the claims i.e. credit card receipts, automated vendor generated listings or copies or microfilm of the receipts or invoices.
However, if there is a bulk fuel delivery done, your fuel records should contain the following information:
- Date on the receipt of fuel purchased, including the name and the address of the person from whom the fuel was purchased or received
- Quantity of fuel received
- Fuel type received
- Plate or unit or ID number of the vehicle or equipment into which the fuel was placed
If you withdraw fuel from your bulk fuel storage, your fuel records must contain the following information:
- Date of withdrawal
- Quantity of fuel withdrawn and also its type should be mentioned
- Plate or unit or ID number of the vehicle or equipment into which the fuel was placed