IFTA deadlines 2026: every quarterly due date
All four 2026 due dates, the weekend shifts, and what a late return actually costs.
IFTA returns are due the last day of the month following the close of each quarter. When that date lands on a weekend or a legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Two of the dates in this cycle shift for exactly that reason.
The 2026 filing calendar
- Q4 2025 (Oct–Dec 2025) — normally January 31, 2026, which is a Saturday, so the next business day, Monday February 2, 2026.
- Q1 2026 (Jan–Mar) — Thursday April 30, 2026.
- Q2 2026 (Apr–Jun) — Friday July 31, 2026.
- Q3 2026 (Jul–Sep) — normally October 31, 2026, which is a Saturday, so the next business day, Monday November 2, 2026.
- Q4 2026 (Oct–Dec) — normally January 31, 2027, which is a Sunday, so the next business day, Monday February 1, 2027.
Legal holidays differ by jurisdiction, and some jurisdictions set their own observed dates. Confirm the exact date with your base jurisdiction before relying on a weekend shift.
What late costs
A late or incomplete return generally draws a penalty of a flat amount or a percentage of the net tax due, whichever is greater, and interest accrues per jurisdiction on the amounts owed to each. Penalty applies even when the return itself is a zero return or shows a net credit — the filing obligation is separate from the payment obligation.
Beyond money, a pattern of late filings is the usual route to license suspension or revocation and to being flagged for audit. Two dates on a calendar avoid all of it.
Zero returns and idle quarters
If your IFTA license was active during the quarter, you file — even with no miles, no fuel purchases, and a parked truck. Cancel the license properly if you have stopped operating; simply stopping filing is what generates the notices.
A rhythm that keeps you early
- 1.Log miles by jurisdiction and photograph fuel receipts as they happen.
- 2.In the first week after the quarter closes, total the miles and gallons.
- 3.Build the worksheet, check the fleet MPG, add surcharge lines where they apply.
- 4.File with your base jurisdiction, pay, and file the worksheet with the return.
FuelTaxDesk emails you two weeks and three days before each due date, so the deadline arrives as a reminder rather than a surprise.
How FuelTaxDesk fits in
You enter your own miles and gallons — there is no ELD requirement and no GPS tracker to install. FuelTaxDesk applies the official quarterly rates, handles the Kentucky and Virginia surcharges, produces a printable worksheet you can transcribe onto your base jurisdiction's return, and keeps four years of worksheets on file. Pricing is flat, and you remain the filer of record.
Run your quarter in minutes
Enter your miles and gallons, get a printable worksheet with the official quarterly rates and surcharges applied, and keep four years on file.
Keep reading
General information about IFTA rules, not tax or legal advice. Your base jurisdiction's instructions control, and you remain the filer of record.