Massachusetts IFTA Filing Walkthrough: MassTaxConnect

Filing IFTA from Massachusetts looks like filing it anywhere else until you reach the Massachusetts line of the fuel tax schedule. The Department of Revenue treats travel on the Massachusetts Turnpike as nontaxable, and a carrier who takes that exemption owes a second return every spring: an annual Form ST-10 that charges the 6.25 percent use tax on the fuel. That Turnpike step is what sets a Massachusetts filing apart. The sourced facts render on the Massachusetts IFTA page; this walkthrough puts them in the order you will work through them.

Who runs it, and where

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) runs IFTA through its IFTA Unit, and nearly all of it happens in one portal: MassTaxConnect. You apply there, order decals there, file quarterly returns there and change your account details there. Plates are a separate office. The Registry of Motor Vehicles runs IRP apportioned registration on a July 1 to June 30 year, walked through on the Massachusetts IRP registration page.

The IFTA Unit's contact details, per DOR's AP 112: P.O. Box 7027, Boston, MA 02204; [email protected]; (617) 887-5080. The IFTA Manual also lists Taxpayer Services at 617-887-6300 or 617-887-6367.

Step 1: confirm Massachusetts is your base jurisdiction

Massachusetts can be your base jurisdiction when you keep operational control and the records for your qualified vehicles in Massachusetts, or can make them available there, and some of your travel is in Massachusetts. A Massachusetts-based carrier that runs a qualified vehicle in at least one other IFTA jurisdiction must apply here.

A qualified motor vehicle has two axles and a gross or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds (11,797 kg), or three or more axles at any weight, or runs in a combination over 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles are excluded. On leased equipment, the carrier operating the vehicle owes the fuel tax unless the lease says otherwise.

Step 2: apply and order decals in MassTaxConnect

AP 112 states that carriers must apply for the license online through MassTaxConnect, then log in to the same account to order decals. Form IFTA-1 is the paper version, and the application asks for your FEIN (or SSN), USDOT number, legal and trade names, physical and mailing addresses, the office where fuel records are kept for audit, principal officers, fuel types, jurisdictions traveled, bulk storage and any prior IFTA registrations, including a revocation.

The cost is the decals. DOR publishes no separate license fee, and Form IFTA-1 charges $8 per qualified vehicle for a set of two decals, one on the outside of each side of the power unit. Decals are not tied to a specific truck, so you can order spares for fleet additions. A current licensee who needs to run a truck before its decals arrive can get a vehicle-specific temporary IFTA permit, valid 30 days.

The license runs January 1 through December 31 and is renewed every calendar year. Keep the license or a photocopy in the cab of each qualified vehicle. At the start of each year you get a two-month grace period in which last year's valid license and decals are still accepted.

Step 3: weigh the trip permit route

A carrier that qualifies but does not join IFTA buys trip permits instead. The Massachusetts fuel permit costs $20 and lasts 72 hours, sold through the RMV's IRP Section and its approved permit services, and it does not cover registration: the IRP trip permit is a separate purchase. Against $8 a truck for a full year of decals, the permit route pays only for a truck that almost never enters the state. The permit details are on the Massachusetts trip and fuel permits page.

Step 4: file the quarter on IFTA-100 and IFTA-101

The return is Form IFTA-100, IFTA Quarterly Fuel Use Tax Return, with Form IFTA-101, IFTA Quarterly Fuel Tax Schedule. Prepare one IFTA-101 for each fuel type you used, and carry each schedule's tax or credit from column N to the matching fuel line on IFTA-100.

Returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter:

File even when a truck sat idle or you owe nothing. A weekend or legal holiday moves the due date to the next business day. Paper still works if postmarked by the due date, but the $5,000 line decides that for many fleets: businesses with certain combined tax liabilities at or above $5,000 must file electronically, and businesses whose total annual payments exceed $5,000 must pay electronically. For good cause the Commissioner can grant a written extension of time to file, but paying less than 80 percent of the tax by the due date voids it.

The rates are national. Massachusetts diesel this quarter is $0.2400provisionalIFTA Fuel Tax Rate Matrix, 4th Quarter 2026 (provisional) (International Fuel Tax Association, Inc. (IFTA, Inc.))Verified Sep 27, 2026 per gallon in the national matrix. Read every jurisdiction you ran in off the IFTA rates by state table, run your miles and gallons through the IFTA calculator, and check your records against the national how to file IFTA guide.

Step 5: the Turnpike miles step

Here is the part that is unique to Massachusetts. The DOR's IFTA Manual and AP 112 set out the Massachusetts Turnpike exemption on the Massachusetts line of IFTA-101:

1. Column A (total IFTA miles): include your Turnpike miles.
2. Column G (total miles): include your Turnpike miles.
3. Column H (taxable miles): you may leave the Turnpike miles out, but only if you hold the toll receipts or Turnpike invoices and the fuel invoices showing the fuel was bought within three days of the Turnpike trip (or moved from bulk storage to the tank within three days).

The exemption is only available on the IFTA return. IFTA carriers may not file separate Turnpike refund claims on DOR's special fuel or gasoline refund application for qualified vehicles.

Step 6: file Form ST-10 by April 15

Leaving Turnpike miles out of Column H is not the end of it. The fuel you exempted owes the 6.25 percent use tax under G.L. c. 64I, s. 2 (Massachusetts General Court, "Section 2: Imposition; rate; payment"), and you report it once a year on Form ST-10, Business Use Tax Return. The return and full payment are due on or before April 15 for the prior calendar year's purchases, and both must be filed electronically.

The IFTA Manual walks through the math in a worked example:

1. Divide the year's Turnpike miles by your fleet MPG from IFTA-101 to get Turnpike gallons.
2. Multiply those gallons by your average price per gallon, less the Massachusetts fuel excise, to get "Total purchases" on the ST-10.
3. Multiply total purchases by 6.25 percent for the use tax due.

Keep the Turnpike claim and the ST-10 in step. The exemption lowers each quarter's Massachusetts fuel tax, and the ST-10 collects the use tax on the same gallons in April. A carrier who claims the Column H exclusion all year and skips the ST-10 has reported half the transaction.

Step 7: price a late return before you skip one

The penalty for failing to file when due, or failing to pay the full amount, is the greater of $50 or 10 percent of the net tax due to all member jurisdictions. Interest runs on delinquent tax at two percentage points above the IRC 6621(a)(2) rate, adjusted each January 1. So a quiet quarter with no tax due can still cost $50 if the return never goes in.

Missed returns escalate. DOR can require a bond for just cause, such as late returns, unpaid tax or audit problems, in the form of a surety bond, bank certificate of deposit or other obligation it accepts, and a licensee under bond pays by certified check. A license can be suspended or revoked for failing to file, failing to pay, failing to pay or protest an audit assessment, or failing to keep records, and every member jurisdiction is notified. A written hearing request is due within 30 days of the notice, or the finding stands.

Keep the records behind each return, including the Turnpike toll receipts and fuel invoices, for four years from the due date or the filing date, whichever is later.

Closing the account

To stop, check the final box on your last quarterly return or cancel the license online. DOR will cancel only once every return is filed and every liability to every member jurisdiction is paid.

FAQ

Where does a Massachusetts carrier file IFTA returns?

Through MassTaxConnect, the Department of Revenue's online tax system. The quarterly return is Form IFTA-100 with a Form IFTA-101 schedule for each fuel type. Paper returns are still accepted if postmarked by the due date, but businesses with certain combined tax liabilities at or above $5,000 must file electronically.

What does a Massachusetts IFTA license cost?

The Department of Revenue publishes no separate license fee. Form IFTA-1 charges only for decals, at $8 per qualified vehicle for a set of two, and the license runs for the calendar year, January 1 through December 31.

How do Massachusetts Turnpike miles work on an IFTA return?

Turnpike miles go into total miles (Columns A and G of IFTA-101) and can be left out of Massachusetts taxable miles (Column H) if you keep the toll receipts and fuel invoices. The fuel you exempt that way owes the 6.25 percent use tax under G.L. c. 64I, s. 2, reported on an annual Form ST-10 that is due with payment by April 15 for the prior calendar year.

What is the penalty for a late Massachusetts IFTA return?

The greater of $50 or 10 percent of the net tax due to all member jurisdictions, for failing to file when due or failing to pay the full amount. Interest runs at two percentage points above the IRC 6621(a)(2) rate, adjusted each January 1.