What do Trucking Companies need to renew at the end of each year?
The last quarter of the year means it’s time to start looking at getting your renewals scheduled. It’s a busy time of year what with holidays and many people scheduling time off to celebrate, so it can be easy to miss one of the many renewals that are necessary to keep your fleet on the move.
So, we thought we would try and help by compiling a list of common year-end renewals for trucking operations to help you keep on track.
Yearly Renewals for Trucking Companies
International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)
Your IFTA license and decal expires on December 31. Carriers who are compliant with IFTA must obtain a new IFTA Carrier License and a decal for each applicable vehicle each year. Carriers do have until March 1, to display their new credentials. Carriers who owe or have not filed previous years’ returns will not be able to renew their license or obtain decals until their account has been cleared up.
Unified Carrier Registration (UCR)
Motor carriers, motor private carriers, freight forwarders, brokers, and leasing companies operating interstate or internationally in the US must obtain an annual UCR registration. The fee is based on the number of motor vehicles for carriers.
New Mexico Tax ID
The state requires qualified motor vehicles to register with the state annually. Carriers and trucks without this registration must obtain a single-trip permit every time they enter the state. Registration expires on December 31.
U.S. Customs Decals
U.S. Customs Decals can be purchased annually or for single trips. If you do U.S. Customs Decals are good through to December 31 and need to be renewed for each year. If you plan to make more than 30 crossings in a year, your best bet is to pay for the annual pass. As well, the pass is not pro-rated should you choose to buy halfway through the year.
Oregon Highway Use Tax
The state requires qualified motor vehicles to register with the state annually. Carriers and trucks without this registration must obtain a single-trip permit every time they enter the state. Registration expires on December 31.
And a bonus renewal reminder that might apply to some:
New York Highway Use Tax or HUT
This renewal only occurs on a three-year rotation. The 24th series decals are still in effect. So, while not due for renewal this the new 2024 year, keep a reminder in your calendar so you don’t miss this one.
New York requires qualified motor vehicles or trailers to register for HUT. This is required for any truck, tractor, (or combos thereof) with a gross weight of over 18,000 lbs. to register and file a highway use tax. There is an unloaded weight filing for any truck with an unloaded weight of over 8,000 lbs. and any tractor with an unloaded weight of over 4,000 lbs.
The other vehicle that requires a HUT are automotive fuel carriers, with the same gross weight and unloaded weights as listed above.
Tips to make sure you don’t miss any of your trucking renewals
Get help for handling trucking renewals
This is where having a trucking compliance company to help you out comes in handy. As a business, a good compliance company will make sure that your paperwork gets completed on time. This means sending reminders to send paperwork in for processing and making sure nothing gets missed to prevent documents from being accepted by the appropriate governing body.
Another bonus of hiring a trucking compliance company to assist with your paperwork is that you now have an extra set of eyes to spot anomalies and inconsistencies. This can save you time (you don’t have to do it), and money (fines, or out-of-service time loss) if something gets missed, or erroneously entered.
Make a spreadsheet and calendar alerts
This is a simple method to keep track. Set up your calendar with alerts to when your various authorities and permits are coming due. Then set up a spreadsheet that allows you to highlight when each one is handled. You can even set this up in a shared drive such as Google Docs if you happen to have more than one person handling your renewals. Then highlight each one as they are accomplished. At the end of the year, everything should be highlighted so you know you haven’t missed a date.
If your current system looks like this, it might be time to change your system! A little organization can go a long way.
However you choose to handle your trucking year-end renewals, we hope that you have a successful time of it and a great last quarter of the year.
If you are interested in finding out how a trucking compliance company such as PSTC could help you this year, click on the button for a free quote on how we can help you keep on top of all your operating authority and permit renewals.
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