California IFTA Tax Rate — 2026

How California IFTA tax is calculated

For every gallon of diesel your truck "burned" inside California during the quarter, you owe $0.9710 in IFTA tax. The number of taxable gallons isn't the gallons you bought there — it's the miles you drove inside California divided by your fleet's average miles-per-gallon for the whole quarter.

Your IFTA return then nets that against the California fuel-tax you already paid at the pump on gallons purchased inside the state. If you ran more California miles than you bought California fuel, you owe the difference. If you bought more California fuel than you ran California miles, you get a refund or credit.

California-specific notes

California's diesel IFTA rate is the highest in the country and moves frequently. CA also charges a sales tax on diesel that is NOT part of IFTA — that's collected at the pump on California purchases, not via your IFTA return.

Common California IFTA filing questions

• Do I file IFTA in California if my home base is here? If your IFTA base jurisdiction is California, you file your quarterly return with the California Department of Revenue (or equivalent). Your filing covers every IFTA jurisdiction you ran in, not just California.
• What if I only drove a few miles through California? Every IFTA mile counts, even if you only crossed the state. Track them on your trip sheet or ELD report — you'll owe (or get refunded) California's share whether you bought fuel here or not.
• What if California fuel is cheaper than the IFTA tax? The IFTA rate above is what you owe per gallon "consumed" in California. The pump price already includes California's state fuel tax — that's what gets credited on your return. If you bought all your fuel in a low-tax state and drove all your miles in California, you'll owe the full California rate on those gallons at filing time.

California IFTA filing deadlines

IFTA returns are due quarterly across all 48 contiguous U.S. states, including California:

• Q1 (Jan–Mar): due April 30
• Q2 (Apr–Jun): due July 31
• Q3 (Jul–Sep): due October 31
• Q4 (Oct–Dec): due January 31

Late filings collect penalties even if you owe nothing — some states charge $50 minimum per late return. File on time even if your net due is $0.