Consider a one-truck client that runs under its own operating authority, hauls across state lines and assumes nothing is due before April. Before March 1, 2027, that client’s file has eight dates to track, starting Nov. 19, 2026. On Feb. 1, 2027, a one-truck owner-operator can have a fuel tax return, Forms 1099-NEC and a Form 2290 due on the same Monday.
The dates below come from federal rules, guidance from four states and the International Fuel Tax Agreement, or IFTA. The base state that issues the client’s IFTA license may add dates of its own.
November: a new truck and a renewal window
Form 2290 reports the heavy highway vehicle use tax on highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. It is due by the last day of the month after the month a truck is first used in the tax period: Nov. 30, 2026, for October first use; Dec. 31, 2026, for November; Feb. 1, 2027, for December; March 1, 2027, for January.
A client with a New York IFTA license, for example, renews for 2027 through the state’s online OSCAR system starting Nov. 2, 2026. The state asks carriers to apply by Nov. 30, 2026, so decals arrive on time, and requires renewal by Dec. 31, 2026. New York will not issue renewal credentials while the client owes IFTA fuel tax or New York highway use tax, so check for open bills and unfiled returns first.
If filed electronically, the client’s 2026 Forms 1099-NEC go through IRIS, the IRS Information Returns Intake System. FIRE, the older system, takes its last returns, including late or corrected prior-year forms, at 3 p.m. Eastern time Nov. 19, 2026.
December: pay before Jan. 1
The 2027 Unified Carrier Registration, or UCR, fee is $55 for a carrier with zero to two vehicles and $167 for three to five (49 CFR 367.50). The client must register and pay by Dec. 31, 2026: after that, the fee is still due, and states may take enforcement action.
The bracket counts power units: those on the last MCS-150 filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or the fleet in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. For a client enrolled in auto-renewal, the 2027 renewal uses option A, the MCS-150 count, and charges the card on file after email notices, under the UCR Plan’s policy. If the client confirmed the renewal, the policy rules out a refund once it is complete, “unless proven otherwise.” An outdated count on the form becomes the count on the charge.
Federal relief for dyed diesel used on highways ends Dec. 31, 2026, and the IRS says the relief has no effect on state fuel taxes or penalties.
One fourth-quarter return, three tax holidays
Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia each cut or suspended their motor fuel tax for part of the fourth quarter.
Ohio’s rate is $0.0001 a gallon from 12:01 a.m. Oct. 4, 2026, through 11:59 p.m. Jan. 2, 2027, against a standard diesel rate of 47 cents. The IFTA rate matrix for the fourth quarter carries two Ohio lines, and Ohio says the split continues into the first quarter of 2027.
North Carolina’s motor fuel excise tax is zero from Oct. 10 through Nov. 30, 2026; returns are still required. The fourth-quarter matrix shows a single North Carolina rate of 41 cents, and the state’s notice, which promises more guidance, does not say how to split the quarter. Ask the client to keep North Carolina miles and gallons by date.
Georgia’s suspension has been in place since Sept. 29, 2026, under a state of emergency that an Oct. 24 executive order renewed through 11:59 p.m. Nov. 30, 2026, unless a later order extends or ends it. Georgia’s Oct. 6 IFTA guidance, written for activity through Nov. 5, counts Georgia miles driven during the suspension as total but not taxable miles, and tax-free Georgia gallons as total but not tax-paid gallons.
Fuel bought tax-free carries no tax-paid credit, so tax owed for miles driven in other states can show up as a balance due on the return. Have the client set the cash aside before Feb. 1, 2027.
January: the estimate and a new fuel-card rule
The fourth estimated tax payment for 2026, on Form 1040-ES, is due Jan. 15, 2027.
Under an IFTA amendment effective Jan. 1, 2027, a fuel card or other third-party transaction listing supports tax-paid credit only if the third party was involved in the original transaction (IFTA Procedures Manual P550.220.015).
Feb. 1, 2027: three filings, one Monday
The fourth-quarter 2026 IFTA return is due Monday, Feb. 1, 2027, because Jan. 31 falls on a Sunday (IFTA Articles of Agreement R960.100). Forms 1099-NEC for 2026 are due to recipients and the IRS the same day, for the same reason. The threshold for 2026 payments is $2,000, so check what the client paid a dispatcher or contract driver. A truck first used in December adds a Form 2290.
IFTA gives renewing carriers January and February to display the renewal license and decals (R655.200). An Oct. 1, 2026, memo from IFTA Inc. says that in those months a truck may run on 2027 credentials, on 2026 credentials if the 2027 renewal has been filed, or on a trip permit. The memo adds that renewals must be filed with the base state before the end of 2026: the grace period covers display, not filing.
The calendar
1. Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026: last FIRE filings, 3 p.m. Eastern time.
2. Monday, Nov. 30, 2026: Form 2290 for October first use; New York’s requested renewal date; last day of North Carolina’s zero rate and, unless a later order changes it, of Georgia’s suspension.
3. Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026: 2027 UCR registration and fee; Form 2290 for November first use; 2027 IFTA renewals due at the base state; federal dyed diesel relief ends.
4. Friday, Jan. 1, 2027: unpaid UCR fees stay due, and states may take enforcement action; the fuel-card listing rule takes effect.
5. Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027: Ohio’s $0.0001 rate ends at 11:59 p.m.
6. Friday, Jan. 15, 2027: fourth estimated payment for 2026.
7. Monday, Feb. 1, 2027: fourth-quarter IFTA return, Forms 1099-NEC to recipients and the IRS, Form 2290 for December first use.
8. Sunday, Feb. 28, 2027: the IFTA grace period ends for 2026 decals, if the 2027 renewal went in by Dec. 31, 2026.
Just past the window: Monday, March 1, 2027, Form 2290 for January first use.
What to ask for in November
1. Miles and gallons by date. Fourth-quarter miles and fuel for Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia from the tracking export and the fuel card.
2. The card system’s own listing. For each fuel card, the transaction listing from the system that handled the purchase, kept with the receipts.
3. The month of first use. For every truck added since Oct. 1, 2026, the month it first went on the road.
4. The power-unit count. The number of power units on the latest MCS-150 and, for a client in UCR auto-renewal, whether the 2027 charge has gone through and at what bracket.
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Dmitry Borovoy founded TruckerNavi, an FMCSA compliance service for new motor carriers, and places first policies as a New Jersey-licensed property and casualty insurance producer with SafeBridge Insurance. He is the author of “Safety Manager: From Zero to Expert.” His Aug. 31 data column on FMCSA pending authority ran in Commercial Carrier Journal.
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Tags: Income Taxes, otr, owner operator, trucker tax, trucking, trucking clients
