# IFTA in Florida: How to File and Stay Compliant

Florida runs IFTA out of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles rather than a revenue agency, with no licence fee and decals at $4.00 per set. Here's how the credential and the quarterly return work for a fleet running the peninsula and beyond.

Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/resources/ifta-florida-filing-guide
By Israel Margulies, CEO & Founder — published 2026-09-18, updated 2026-09-18

## Florida Issues IFTA Through the DMV

Unlike most states, Florida administers IFTA through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles — the same agency that handles vehicle registration and IRP — rather than through a revenue department. Carriers apply for the licence and order decals there. The requirement is the standard one: qualified motor vehicles, generally over 26,000 pounds gross weight or with three or more axles, operating in Florida and at least one other IFTA jurisdiction.

Florida charges no fee for the annual IFTA licence. Decals are $4.00 per set, with a set issued for each qualified vehicle.

## Filing the Quarterly Return

Returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, or the next business day, and are filed with the FLHSMV. A quarter with no interjurisdictional travel still requires a zero return. The licence is annual and renews on a calendar-year basis, so new-year decals need to be on the trucks by the time the old ones expire.

Because FLHSMV also administers IRP, Florida carriers deal with one agency for apportioned plates and fuel tax, which simplifies the credential side. It does not simplify the return: the distance by jurisdiction still has to come from somewhere.

## Distance, Heat and a Long Peninsula

A Florida fleet can run four hundred miles and never leave the state, which is why many Florida carriers are intrastate and need no IFTA at all. The ones that do cross into Georgia and Alabama typically do so on long runs where a single trip covers three jurisdictions. Reconstructing that from trip sheets is where the return goes wrong; a telematics device logs position continuously and the platform totals distance per state, so the number is measured rather than estimated. The same device reports the engine and idle data a Florida fleet watches in a climate that shortens the life of anything marginal under a hood.

## Records That Survive an Audit

Records supporting each return are kept four years from the due date or filing date, whichever is later, under the IFTA Procedures Manual. An audit asks for trip-level distance and fuel receipts tied to a vehicle, a date and a jurisdiction. A GPS distance report with its trip logs, kept with the fuel-card export, is the record that answers it.

## FAQ

### Which agency handles IFTA in Florida?

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), which also administers IRP — not a revenue department.

### What does Florida IFTA cost?

No fee for the annual licence. Decals are $4.00 per set, one set per qualified vehicle.

### Does a fleet that stays in Florida need IFTA?

No. IFTA applies to qualified vehicles operating in Florida and at least one other member jurisdiction; many Florida fleets are intrastate.

### When are Florida IFTA returns due?

April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, or the next business day, with a zero return for inactive quarters.

### How long must records be kept?

Four years from the return's due date or filing date, whichever is later.

## Sources

- [FLHSMV: International Fuel Tax Agreement](https://www.flhsmv.gov/motor-carriers/international-fuel-tax-agreement-ifta/)
- [IFTA, Inc.](https://www.iftach.org/)