Arizona IFTA Filing Walkthrough (Quarterly)

In most states IFTA sits with a revenue department. Arizona keeps it at the Arizona Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division, the same office that runs apportioned registration. Specialized Registration Services issues the license and decals, and the IFTA Fuel Tax Reporting Unit takes the quarterly report. That one-agency setup shapes almost every step below. The sourced fees, deadlines and penalties render on the Arizona IFTA page; this walkthrough puts them in the order you will meet them.

Step 1: confirm Arizona can be your base jurisdiction

Arizona asks for proof that you really operate here. The application needs evidence of an established place of business in Arizona: a business license, a commercial or real estate lease covering the registration period, or a utility bill in the business name. ADOT does not accept virtual offices. The alternative is proof of Arizona residency, using three of these: an Arizona driver license, personal vehicle registration, recent tax filings, a property tax assessment, a utility bill, or a rental, lease or mortgage statement (ADOT Motor Carrier Services).

The qualified vehicle test is the standard one. IFTA covers vehicles used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26,000 pounds, or three or more axles whatever the weight. A truck that never leaves Arizona is not eligible for IFTA and pays full Arizona registration instead.

Leased trucks follow A.R.S. 28-5734(B). The license goes in the name of the vehicle registrant, unless the registrant leases to a licensed lessee and a written agreement puts the vehicle under the lessee's license. The lease has to say which party gets the license.

Step 2: apply on the combined IFTA/IRP form

Arizona uses one application, form 70-0508, for IRP, IFTA or both. Before you file it, you need an active USDOT number and an active operating authority (MC number). Corporations, LLCs, partnerships and business trusts also need Arizona Corporation Commission registration. The rest of the packet:

• The place of business or residency evidence from Step 1.
• A copy of active vehicle registration or cab card.
• The Record Keeping Agreement, form 96-0537.
• An IFTA lease agreement, form 70-0901, if a lease applies.
• A power of attorney, form 96-0441, if an agent files for you.

Email the forms to MVDMCS@azdot.gov, mail them to MVD Motor Carrier Program, P.O. Box 2100, Mail Drop 527M, Phoenix, AZ 85001, or bring them to Motor Carrier Services at 1801 W. Jefferson St. in Phoenix or 621 E. 22nd St. in Tucson. A corporation's or partnership's license number is its FEIN with AZ in front.

The license fee is small. A.R.S. 28-5735 sets a $10 filing fee for the first license and a $10 renewal fee each year, and the ADOT FAQ lists that as the only IFTA fee. ADOT publishes no separate decal charge, so our Arizona IFTA page records none rather than guessing zero. On a paper application, the Arizona IFTA Manual asks for certified funds such as a money order or cashier's check.

The larger cost some new carriers meet is the bond. ADOT may require a $3,250 bond from a carrier without good standing or one that has never held an IFTA license in any member jurisdiction, posted as a surety bond (96-0224) or a cash bond (96-0460). A.R.S. 28-5736 lets the director set the amount up to $100,000, and MVD may waive it for an applicant with a verifiable favorable account history. ADOT also issues a license only to a carrier in good standing: current IFTA filings, current IRP or Arizona full base registration, and no unpaid balance owed to ADOT.

Step 3: file the quarterly report on AZ MVD Now or form 70-4434

Every licensee files an IFTA Use Fuel Tax Report for every calendar quarter, including a quarter with no miles. Online filing runs through AZ MVD Now. You enter miles and tax-paid gallons, and the tax calculates itself. Paper filers use form 70-4434 and mail it to IFTA Fuel Tax Reporting, PO Box 2100, Mail Drop 519M, Phoenix, AZ 85001.

The due dates, from ADOT's reporting section:

• 1st quarter (January to March): April 30
• 2nd quarter (April to June): July 31
• 3rd quarter (July to September): October 31
• 4th quarter (October to December): January 31

When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day is the due date, and a mailed report counts as filed on its postmark date. The per-jurisdiction math works the same in every state. Our how to file IFTA guide walks it, and the IFTA calculator runs the numbers before you enter them.

One line on the report is Arizona's own: the two-cent per gallon credit. An Arizona-based carrier claims it on the quarterly report itself when Arizona diesel gallons purchased exceed gallons consumed, and AZ MVD Now calculates it automatically. A carrier based in another state has to file for the same credit as a refund.

Step 4: know what a late or missing report costs

The Arizona IFTA Manual sets the late charge at the greater of $50 or 10 percent of the quarter's tax liability, and $50 when the quarter shows zero tax or a credit. Interest on delinquent tax owed to each jurisdiction runs at 1 percent a month, or fraction of a month, from the due date. The director can also revoke or suspend the license when a report is not filed with full payment.

Poor records make an audit expensive. Keep supporting records for four years from the return's due date or filing date, whichever is later. That includes an Individual Vehicle Mileage Report (96-0531) for every trip and monthly, quarterly and yearly mileage and fuel summaries. When records are missing at audit, IFTA assessments cut MPG to 4.0 or by 20 percent, raise reported miles 25 percent in every jurisdiction, and disallow tax-paid gallons.

Step 5: renew each calendar year and carry the credentials

The license and decals run January to December. Renew on form 96-0424 with the Record Keeping Agreement, or online through AZ MVD Now, with the $10 renewal fee, and ADOT mails the new decals at renewal. Each qualified vehicle gets two decals, one on the lower rear exterior of each side of the cab, plus a copy of the license in the cab. A truck missing either faces a citation or has to buy a trip permit.

A carrier without IFTA buys a single-trip use fuel tax permit instead, valid 96 hours: $16 for 50 miles or less in Arizona and $65 for more than 50 miles. The longer permits run $130 for 30 days, $390 for 90 days and $780 for 180 days under A.R.S. 28-5739. Entering Arizona with neither IFTA credentials nor a valid fuel tax permit is a class 2 misdemeanor.

The Arizona shape, in short

Four things to remember. The program belongs to ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division, with licensing at 602.712.6775 and reporting at 602.712.8473. The license needs a real Arizona place of business or proof of residency, applied for on the combined 70-0508 form, for $10 a year. The report files on AZ MVD Now or form 70-4434 on the standard quarter-end calendar, and Arizona-based carriers take the two-cent credit right on it. A late report costs at least $50 plus 1 percent a month. Apportioned plates come from the same office, covered on the Arizona IRP registration page, and current fuel tax rates by jurisdiction render on the IFTA rates by state table.