Who administers IFTA in Illinois?

The Illinois Department of Revenue, which runs it as the Motor Fuel Use Tax. The Secretary of State handles apportioned plates and the Commerce Commission handles operating authority, but the fuel tax license, the decals, and the quarterly returns all belong to Revenue.

Do I need IFTA if I only run inside Illinois?

No. A qualified vehicle operating only inside Illinois, on fuel bought only in Illinois, is one of the four categories Illinois exempts from registering for the Motor Fuel Use Tax. The license exists for carriers running qualified vehicles across member jurisdictions.

What does the Illinois IFTA license cost?

The license itself is free. The Department charges per decal set instead, one set for each qualifying vehicle you intend to operate, and the sourced fields on this page carry the amount. A bond can be required on top, sized against your estimated quarterly liability.

When are Illinois IFTA returns due?

Quarterly, on the last day of the month after each quarter closes. A return is due for every quarter once your license and decals issue, even if the vehicles never left the state or never operated at all. Filing late, filing nothing, or paying short draws the late-filing penalty shown on this page, plus interest.

What happens if I renew my Illinois IFTA license late?

You lose the decal display grace period. Renewing electronically before the calendar year turns buys you until the end of February to get new decals on the trucks. Renew after that and there is no grace period, and the license status shows as suspended.

Illinois IFTA Registration and Filing

By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026

Illinois IFTA administration

IFTA member: Yes
Agency: Illinois Department of Revenue
License fee: $0 (The Department of Revenue states plainly that there is no fee for the IFTA license itself; only the decals are charged.)
Decal fee: $3.75 ($3.75 per qualified vehicle. Decals are issued in sets of two, and one set is required for each qualifying vehicle the carrier intends to operate.)
Application: Not confirmed
Filing frequency: Quarterly. Form MFUT-15, IFTA Quarterly Return, is due by the last day of the month immediately following the close of the quarter: April 30 for January 1 to March 31, July 31 for April 1 to June 30, October 31 for July 1 to September 30, and January 31 for October 1 to December 31. A return is due for every quarter once the license and decals are issued, even if the vehicles never left the state or never operated.
Late-filing penalty: Failing to file, filing late, or underpaying is penalised at $50 or 10 percent of the delinquent tax liability, whichever is greater.

Who licenses for IFTA in Illinois

Illinois is your base jurisdiction only when four things are all true: the qualified vehicles are registered in Illinois with the Secretary of State, you operate from an established physical place of business in Illinois, operational control and records are kept here or can be produced here, and the fleet actually accrues miles on Illinois highways. A post office box, a shipping-store address, a virtual office, or an agent's address does not count as a place of business.

A qualified motor vehicle is one traveling interstate that meets the published axle and weight test, alone or in combination. Only four categories are exempt from registering in Illinois: school buses with school bus plates, recreational vehicles not used for business, state and federal vehicles, and qualified vehicles operating only inside Illinois on fuel bought only in Illinois. The rolling stock exemption is a sales tax concept and does not reach fuel tax.

How to apply

The application is Form MFUT-12, filed electronically through the state tax portal. You activate a portal logon first, and the portal uses two-step verification, so build in time before a deadline rather than the day of.

Two prerequisites catch new carriers. Illinois makes obtaining a USDOT number a condition of fuel tax registration, which is the one Illinois credential that does require one. Illinois-based carriers also file the state business registration application alongside the fuel tax application. When a bond is required, it has to equal at least twice the estimated average quarterly tax liability or a stated floor, whichever is greater.

The license costs nothing. The charge is per decal set, one set per qualifying vehicle, and the amounts are on this page as sourced fields.

Filing cadence and the renewal grace period

Returns are quarterly on Form MFUT-15, due the last day of the month after each quarter closes. A return is due for every quarter once the license and decals issue, even if the trucks never left Illinois or never turned a wheel. Filing nothing is not an option once you are licensed.

The license and decals run on the calendar year. Filing the renewal electronically by the end of December earns a decal display grace period that runs into the following February. Miss the December deadline and there is no grace period at all, and the license status shows as suspended.

The per-jurisdiction tax rates you actually calculate against are national and change quarterly. Those live in our IFTA rate tables sourced from IFTA Inc., not on this page.

The single trip permit alternative

A carrier making only occasional trips into or out of Illinois can buy a single trip permit instead of holding a license and filing quarterly returns. The permit is good for ninety-six hours and its price is fixed in the Motor Fuel Tax Law. Authorized providers, which the Department describes as most wire services, sell it and add their own charge on top, and the Department does not publish what that charge is.

The Department also warns that this option becomes expensive if used more than occasionally. Our Illinois trip and fuel permits page carries the permit fee, the term, and the penalty minimums for running without one.

Penalties, interest, and where the figures come from

The Department's fuel tax overview and licensing pages carry no penalty or interest figure at all. Every penalty number on this page comes from MFUT-53, the Department's own IFTA carrier compliance manual, which sets out the late-filing penalty, the interest basis, the cost of collection fee charged when an assessment goes unpaid past thirty days, and the minimum for running without valid credentials.

One figure stays blank on purpose. The interest rate is not a fixed Illinois number: it floats above the federal underpayment rate and resets every January, and the portal calculates the current rate for you. Rather than printing a rate that goes stale within a year, we point you at the manual and the portal that carry it.

The tax rates live in the quarterly matrix

IFTA rates change every quarter, so we keep them in one refreshed store instead of copying them onto every state page. The current quarter is 3Q 2026. Use the IFTA rates by state table for the full matrix, or the IFTA calculator to run your miles and gallons against the current rates.

For the registration-to-return process in order, follow the Illinois IFTA filing walkthrough.

What pairs with IFTA

IFTA and IRP travel together: the same interstate operation that needs a fuel tax license usually needs apportioned plates through Illinois IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in Illinois.

Frequently asked questions

Who administers IFTA in Illinois?: The Illinois Department of Revenue, which runs it as the Motor Fuel Use Tax. The Secretary of State handles apportioned plates and the Commerce Commission handles operating authority, but the fuel tax license, the decals, and the quarterly returns all belong to Revenue.
Do I need IFTA if I only run inside Illinois?: No. A qualified vehicle operating only inside Illinois, on fuel bought only in Illinois, is one of the four categories Illinois exempts from registering for the Motor Fuel Use Tax. The license exists for carriers running qualified vehicles across member jurisdictions.
What does the Illinois IFTA license cost?: The license itself is free. The Department charges per decal set instead, one set for each qualifying vehicle you intend to operate, and the sourced fields on this page carry the amount. A bond can be required on top, sized against your estimated quarterly liability.
When are Illinois IFTA returns due?: Quarterly, on the last day of the month after each quarter closes. A return is due for every quarter once your license and decals issue, even if the vehicles never left the state or never operated at all. Filing late, filing nothing, or paying short draws the late-filing penalty shown on this page, plus interest.
What happens if I renew my Illinois IFTA license late?: You lose the decal display grace period. Renewing electronically before the calendar year turns buys you until the end of February to get new decals on the trucks. Renew after that and there is no grace period, and the license status shows as suspended.

Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.