Compliance Index · Maintained reference
Fleet compliance quick reference
IFTA deadlines and penalties across US states and Canadian provinces, ELD rules on both sides of the border, FMCSA weight thresholds, and active 2026 regulatory activity, aggregated from primary government sources. No fabricated numbers, no vendor marketing figures.
Updated August 14, 2026
IFTA quarterly filing deadlines
Standardized across every IFTA member jurisdiction under the shared IFTA Procedures Manual, not set individually by each state or province. Each date pushes to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or holiday.
| Quarter | Period covered | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Jan–Mar | April 30 |
| Q2 | Apr–Jun | July 31 |
| Q3 | Jul–Sep | October 31 |
| Q4 | Oct–Dec | January 31 |
Late/missing/underpaid returns carry a shared IFTA-wide penalty of $50 or 10% of the tax due, whichever is greater, plus interest. Records must be retained 4 years from the due or filing date, whichever is later. Texas Comptroller (source)
IFTA jurisdiction quick reference
Administering agency and filing portal for the 9 US states and 4 Canadian provinces High Point GPS has published full guides for. Full write-ups link out from the jurisdiction column.
| Jurisdiction | Agency | Portal | Decal fee | Notable quirk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Comptroller of Public Accounts | Webfile | Free | No fee for license or decals; 2 free decals per vehicle. |
| Ohio | Department of Taxation | OH|TAX eServices | Free | License renews annually; window opens Oct 1, due Dec 31. |
| Kentucky | Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers | Motor Carrier Connect | Free | Runs a separate KYU weight-distance tax alongside IFTA. |
| North Carolina | Department of Revenue | Motor Carrier IFTA/Intrastate eFile | Free | License runs the calendar year, Jan 1–Dec 31. |
| Michigan | Department of Treasury | IFTA Processing Consortium | Free | Electronic filing required since December 2014. |
| New Jersey | Motor Vehicle Commission, Motor Carrier Services | Motor Carrier Services online filing | $10 per set | Only US state in this list that charges for decals; 4th-quarter miss can suspend IRP too. |
| Quebec | Revenu Québec | My Account for Businesses (clicSÉQUR) | $70 license + $14.10/pair (2026) | Charges for both the license and decals; SAAQ is not the filing agency. |
| Ontario | Ministry of Finance | ONT-TAXS Online | $10 per set | Same $10-per-set decal fee as New Jersey; license photocopy required in-vehicle. |
| Alberta | Tax and Revenue Administration (TRA) | TRACS | $10 per set | $15 registration fee plus $10/set decals; renewal window runs Oct 15–Dec 31 only. |
| British Columbia | Ministry of Finance | eTaxBC | Included in license | Highest cost in this series: $300 new registration, then $100/year to renew. |
| Pennsylvania | Department of Revenue | myPATH | $12 per vehicle/year | Charged annually per vehicle, not as a one-time fee; same $12 applies to replacements. |
| Georgia | Department of Revenue | Georgia Tax Center (GTC) | $3 per set | No separate license fee; one of the lowest total IFTA costs in this series. |
| Indiana | Department of Revenue | Fuel Tax System | Free | $25 license application fee instead, the inverse of a per-decal fee structure. |
FMCSA weight and classification thresholds
| Classification | Threshold | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) | 10,001 lbs GVWR/GVW or more | FMCSA |
| CDL required (Class A/B) | 26,001 lbs GVWR/GVW or more | FMCSA |
| IFTA qualified motor vehicle | Over 26,000 lbs GVW, or 3+ axles regardless of weight | High Point GPS guide |
| Kentucky KYU (weight-distance tax) | Combined licensed weight over 59,999 lbs | High Point GPS guide |
ELD: US key dates vs. Canada's certification model
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| December 18, 2017 | US ELD rule compliance date; AOBRDs installed before this date were grandfathered. |
| December 16, 2019 | US hard deadline. All carriers subject to the rule must use ELDs; no extensions granted. |
| June 12, 2021 | Canada's ELD mandate takes effect for federally regulated carriers. |
| January 1, 2023 | Canada's progressive enforcement period ends; penalties apply for non-certified devices. |
The bigger cross-border difference isn't the dates, it's certification: the US allows manufacturer self-certification, while Canada requires independent third-party certification against the CCMTA Technical Standard. A device registered with FMCSA is not automatically legal for use in Canada. FMCSA ELD Fact Sheet · Transport Canada ELD Q&As
2026 regulatory activity worth tracking
This section will go stale, by design. Check the source link for each item before relying on it.
| Item | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| English Language Proficiency out-of-service rule | NPRM published Aug 10, 2026 | Formally codifies ELP failures as an out-of-service violation, following a 2026 Congressional mandate. |
| CVSA International Roadcheck 2026 | May 12–14, 2026 | Focus areas: ELD tampering/falsification and cargo securement. |
| Automatic emergency braking mandate (Class 7/8 trucks) | Active FMCSA/NHTSA rulemaking | Compliance likely starting 2027; estimated to prevent thousands of crashes annually. |
| Federal speed limiter mandate | Withdrawn July 24, 2025 | FMCSA/NHTSA formally withdrew the decade-old NPRM; no federal mandate currently in effect. |