Both agreements exist so a truck crossing state lines doesn’t need separate fuel permits and plates in every state. IFTA covers fuel tax: your base jurisdiction issues a license and two decals per truck, and you file quarterly returns showing miles and fuel by jurisdiction. IRP covers registration: your base jurisdiction issues the plate and cab card and charges fees apportioned by the distance you run in each member jurisdiction. A two-axle truck over 26,000 pounds, any power unit with three or more axles, or a combination over 26,000 pounds generally falls under both once it runs in two or more jurisdictions.
IFTA and IRP side by side
- What it covers. IFTA: motor fuel use tax. IRP: vehicle registration fees.
- What you get. IFTA: a license, with a copy carried in each qualified vehicle, and two decals per vehicle. IRP: an apportioned plate and a cab card; the truck is treated as fully registered in every jurisdiction listed on the cab card.
- How you pay. IFTA: a quarterly return to your base jurisdiction covering the tax owed to all member jurisdictions. IRP: fees at registration and renewal, figured from your share of distance in each jurisdiction.
- Who you deal with. Your base jurisdiction for both, though the agencies can differ. In Texas, for example, IRP runs through the Department of Motor Vehicles and IFTA through the Comptroller.
- Records. IFTA needs distance and fuel by jurisdiction. IRP needs distance by jurisdiction, documented on trip records such as individual vehicle distance records.
Which trucks qualify
The two agreements use almost the same test. IFTA calls it a qualified motor vehicle and IRP an apportionable vehicle. Either way, it’s a vehicle carrying property or passengers (under IRP, passengers count only when carried for hire) that:
- Has two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds, or
- Has three or more axles, regardless of weight, or
- Is used in combination and the combination weighs more than 26,000 pounds.
Recreational vehicles are excluded from both. The trigger is operating in two or more member jurisdictions. That combination rule is why a pickup pulling a heavy gooseneck can land in IFTA and IRP while the same pickup running solo would not. Hot shot trucking insurance.
Base jurisdiction: one place for the paperwork
Both systems run through a base jurisdiction. Under IFTA, that is the member jurisdiction where your qualified vehicles are based for registration, where your operational control and records are kept or can be made available, and where the fleet accrues some travel. IRP applies a similar test. Texas, for instance, accepts a carrier as Texas-based when it has an established place of business in the state, its fleet runs miles there, and its records are kept there or can be made available.
Under IFTA, you pay the tax owed to every member jurisdiction through your base jurisdiction, which can also audit your records on behalf of all of them. Under IRP, the only plate and cab card issued for the truck come from your base jurisdiction, even though the fees are apportioned among the jurisdictions you run in.
Filing and deadlines
IFTA returns are quarterly and due the last day of the month after the quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, moving to the next business day when that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday. A return is required even for a quarter with no operations or no taxable fuel. A licensee running less than 5,000 miles over 12 months outside its base jurisdiction can ask to report annually. Licenses are renewed by calendar year.
IRP registration runs on a 12-month registration year. Fees are calculated from your distance percentages in each jurisdiction; if actual distance wasn’t accrued in the reporting period, average distance is used. IRP fees cover registration only, not fuel taxes, oversize or overweight permits, or operating authority.
Both depend on trip records. Texas, for example, expects each trip’s dates, origin and destination, odometer readings, route, total distance and distance by jurisdiction, summarized by vehicle and by fleet.
Leased owner-operators and IRP paperwork
If you’re leased to a carrier, who reports fuel tax depends on the lease. Under IFTA’s rules, on a lease of 30 days or more the owner-operator and carrier can choose which of them reports and pays; if there’s no written agreement or it’s silent, the carrier does. On trip leases of 29 days or less, the owner-operator reports and pays.
IRP applications pull in other paperwork. The IRS notes that states generally require proof of heavy vehicle use tax payment before registering a taxable truck, and Texas’s IRP packet asks for that proof along with the USDOT number of the carrier responsible for safety and proof of liability insurance. Texas specifically does not accept non-trucking or bobtail policies as that proof. What Form 2290 is and how non-trucking and bobtail policies work.
Common questions
Do I need IFTA if I only drive in one state?
No. IFTA licensing applies when a qualified vehicle operates in two or more member jurisdictions. Your home state’s own fuel tax rules still apply.
Can I use trip permits instead of IFTA?
Yes. IFTA lets carriers handle fuel tax on a trip-by-trip basis with permits instead of licensing. IRP also provides trip permits for vehicles that aren’t apportioned.
Are Alaska and Hawaii in IFTA?
No. IFTA’s member jurisdictions are the 48 contiguous states and the 10 Canadian provinces.
Is IRP the same as UCR?
No. IRP apportions vehicle registration fees by miles driven in each jurisdiction, while UCR is a separate annual fee based on fleet size. An interstate carrier with heavy trucks typically owes both.
When are IFTA returns due?
The last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31, or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday.
Sources
- IFTA, Inc.: IFTA Articles of Agreement (rev. August 2026)
- IFTA, Inc.: carrier information
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles: International Registration Plan information packet
- DC DMV: IRP apportioned and exempt vehicles
- IRS: Instructions for Form 2290 (07/2026)
General information about IFTA and IRP as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice; your base jurisdiction’s rules and the current IFTA and IRP agreements control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.