By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Sep 28, 2026
MDT administers IFTA for Montana-based carriers, split between two offices: Motor Carrier Services issues the license and decals (406-444-2998) and the Revenue Services Bureau takes the quarterly returns (406-444-7664), both through the ePART online system. The license runs January 1 through December 31, renewal opens in October after the third-quarter return is filed and paid, and returns are due the last day of April, July, October and January. Montana publishes no IFTA license or decal fee.
Montana IFTA administration
- Agency
- Montana Department of Transportation: Motor Carrier Services Division (IFTA licensing and decals) and Revenue Services Bureau, Fiscal Services Division (quarterly returns, refunds and audits)
- License fee
- No IFTA license fee is stated on MDT's IFTA page, in the IFTA Guidelines (Rev. September 2025), on the new account information sheet, or on the MDT-IFTA-002 application, which has no fee field. None is recorded rather than guessed.
- Decal fee
- The IFTA Guidelines describe two decals per qualified vehicle and an Additional IFTA Decal Order Form without stating a price, so no decal fee is recorded.
- Application: methods
- New account documents must be mailed to Motor Carrier Services, PO Box 4639, Helena, MT 59604-4639, because MCS needs original signatures on new account documents, renewals and the signature page; other IFTA and IRP documents may be emailed to mdtmcsirpcontact@mt.gov. ePART login credentials are emailed 1 to 3 business days after setup.
- Application: requirements
- The application asks for the license effective date, FEIN, USDOT number, legal and trade names, Montana mailing and physical addresses, officers, three forms of proof of residency, bulk fuel storage in Montana and elsewhere, prior IFTA licenses and any revocation, and the number of vehicles needing decals. MDT's new account sheet also requires a USDOT number before IFTA, IRP or UCR can be set up.
- Application: contact
- IFTA license questions: (406) 444-2998, mdtmcsirpcontact@mt.gov. Tax returns and refunds: (406) 444-7664, mdtiftatax@mt.gov. Audit services: (406) 444-7609.
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly. Returns are due on or before the last day of April, July, October and January for the quarters ending March, June, September and December, and must be filed even with no operations. A due date on a Sunday or holiday moves to the next business day.
- Base jurisdiction: summary
- A carrier may license in Montana if it is a Montana-based interstate motor carrier, keeps operational control and records for its vehicles in Montana or can make them available there, and its qualified motor vehicles accrue miles on Montana public roads. The only alternative to IFTA is buying fuel trip permits.
- Base jurisdiction: qualified motor vehicle
- A motor vehicle used, designed or maintained to transport persons or property with two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds (11,797 kilograms), three or more axles regardless of weight, or used in a combination over 26,000 pounds. Recreational vehicles are excluded.
- Base jurisdiction: trip permit alternative
- A temporary special fuel permit costs $30 and is valid for up to 72 hours, void once the vehicle leaves Montana (Mont. Code Ann. 15-70-456(1)).
- Late-filing penalty
- $50 or 10 percent of the total tax liability, whichever is greater, on every late return; amending a return that falsely reported no miles draws the same minimum penalty.
- Penalty: revocation
- If a tax delinquency is not satisfied and no written appeal is filed within 30 days of the first notice, the license is revoked; record-keeping failures can also revoke it. Reinstatement needs all taxes paid, all reports filed, all requested records received and an account eligible for renewal.
More Montana IFTA rules
- Filing portal: account setup
- An online account is required; credentials are emailed at application or on request to mdtiftatax@mt.gov. MDT's Fiscal Services Division offers training by phone, in person at 2101 Prospect Avenue in Helena, and through online videos.
- Filing portal: return form
- IFTA Tax Return (form MDT-IFTA-001) for manual filers, with separate lines by fuel type and a Fuel Purchase Summary for refund requests.
- Filing portal: due dates
- The last day of April, July, October and January. A USPS postmark, fax date stamp, email date or online completion counts as the filing date. Returns may be filed online, faxed to (406) 444-5411, mailed, or sent through the State of Montana File Transfer Service.
- Filing portal: late penalty
- $50 or 10 percent of the total tax liability, whichever is greater, for any late return, even one showing a credit or no miles. Interest is assessed monthly on tax due to each jurisdiction, with a full month charged for any part of a month late. MDT will waive a penalty once every three years.
- Credentials: license
- One license is issued per fleet, valid January 1 through December 31; a photocopy must be carried in each vehicle.
- Credentials: decals
- Two decals per qualified vehicle, one on the exterior of each side of the cab. IRP-registered carriers get decals only for the number of registered vehicles. Decal colors rotate every three years (2026 green, 2027 red).
- Credentials: temporary permit
- A temporary IFTA license can be issued in place of decals while decals are pending, only to an established account in good standing, never to a new account.
- Grace period: detail
- Carriers whose renewal is received before December 31 have until the last day of February to receive and display the new license and decals, while displaying the prior year's valid credentials. Renewing carriers may run the new decals from December on but must carry the prior year's license until December 31.
- Renewal: detail
- Renewals open in October after the third-quarter return is filed and paid, for carriers not revoked or cancelled that have filed all returns and paid all tax, penalty and interest. Any account not renewed by December 31 is cancelled on January 15. Paper renewals go to Motor Carrier Services, PO Box 4639, Helena, MT 59604-4639.
Licensing rules, records, and penalties
Which vehicles the licence covers, how long it runs, what Montana can ask you to post or produce, and what a late or wrong return costs. Each one is sourced.
- Application: Methods
- New account documents must be mailed to Motor Carrier Services, PO Box 4639, Helena, MT 59604-4639, because MCS needs original signatures on new account documents, renewals and the signature page; other IFTA and IRP documents may be emailed to mdtmcsirpcontact@mt.gov. ePART login credentials are emailed 1 to 3 business days after setup.
- Application: Requirements
- The application asks for the license effective date, FEIN, USDOT number, legal and trade names, Montana mailing and physical addresses, officers, three forms of proof of residency, bulk fuel storage in Montana and elsewhere, prior IFTA licenses and any revocation, and the number of vehicles needing decals. MDT's new account sheet also requires a USDOT number before IFTA, IRP or UCR can be set up.
- Application: Contact
- IFTA license questions: (406) 444-2998, mdtmcsirpcontact@mt.gov. Tax returns and refunds: (406) 444-7664, mdtiftatax@mt.gov. Audit services: (406) 444-7609.
- Credentials: License
- One license is issued per fleet, valid January 1 through December 31; a photocopy must be carried in each vehicle.
- Credentials: Decals
- Two decals per qualified vehicle, one on the exterior of each side of the cab. IRP-registered carriers get decals only for the number of registered vehicles. Decal colors rotate every three years (2026 green, 2027 red).
- Credentials: Temporary permit
- A temporary IFTA license can be issued in place of decals while decals are pending, only to an established account in good standing, never to a new account.
- Renewal: Detail
- Renewals open in October after the third-quarter return is filed and paid, for carriers not revoked or cancelled that have filed all returns and paid all tax, penalty and interest. Any account not renewed by December 31 is cancelled on January 15. Paper renewals go to Motor Carrier Services, PO Box 4639, Helena, MT 59604-4639.
- Penalties: Revocation
- If a tax delinquency is not satisfied and no written appeal is filed within 30 days of the first notice, the license is revoked; record-keeping failures can also revoke it. Reinstatement needs all taxes paid, all reports filed, all requested records received and an account eligible for renewal.
- Penalties: Cancellation
- MDT may cancel a license with no activity or no travel outside Montana for three consecutive quarters.
- Grace period: Detail
- Carriers whose renewal is received before December 31 have until the last day of February to receive and display the new license and decals, while displaying the prior year's valid credentials. Renewing carriers may run the new decals from December on but must carry the prior year's license until December 31.
Who needs a Montana IFTA license
A Montana-based interstate carrier licenses under IFTA when it keeps operational control and records in Montana and its qualified vehicles run on Montana roads. Whether a vehicle qualifies turns on its axle count and weight, alone or in combination; recreational vehicles are excluded. The only alternative is buying fuel trip permits in each state you enter.
How to apply
File the IFTA New Carrier Application, form MDT-IFTA-002. It asks for your FEIN, USDOT number, Montana mailing and physical addresses, officers, proof of residency, bulk fuel storage, any past IFTA licenses, and how many vehicles need decals. New account documents go by mail because MDT needs original signatures, and ePART login credentials arrive by email a few business days after setup.
Quarterly filing and deadlines
Returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter, and you file one even with no miles. File online in ePART, by fax, by mail, or through the state file transfer service; a postmark, fax stamp, email date or online completion counts as the filing date. A late return draws the greater of a flat penalty or a share of the tax, plus monthly interest, and MDT will waive one penalty every few years.
License, decals, and renewal
Montana issues one license per fleet for the calendar year, with a copy in each truck, and a decal on each side of the cab of every qualified vehicle. Renewal opens in October once the third-quarter return is filed and paid. A renewal received before year end gets a grace period into the new year to display the new credentials, and an account not renewed is cancelled in mid-January.
Keep the records behind each return for the retention period, since unpaid tax or missing records can lead to revocation.
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 4Q 2026, effective Oct 1, 2026 through Dec 31, 2026, provisional until Dec 4, 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 Montana 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 Montana IRP. If you are still setting up, the full order of operations is in start a trucking company in Montana.