Kentucky IFTA Tax Rate — 2026

How Kentucky IFTA tax is calculated

For every gallon of diesel your truck "burned" inside Kentucky during the quarter, you owe $0.1050 in IFTA tax. The number of taxable gallons isn't the gallons you bought there — it's the miles you drove inside Kentucky divided by your fleet's average miles-per-gallon for the whole quarter.

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

Kentucky-specific notes

Kentucky publishes a base IFTA rate plus a surcharge that's settled directly through IFTA filings. The rate shown here is the total (base + surcharge) — which is what you actually owe per gallon burned in Kentucky.

Common Kentucky IFTA filing questions

• Do I file IFTA in Kentucky if my home base is here? If your IFTA base jurisdiction is Kentucky, you file your quarterly return with the Kentucky Department of Revenue (or equivalent). Your filing covers every IFTA jurisdiction you ran in, not just Kentucky.
• What if I only drove a few miles through Kentucky? 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) Kentucky's share whether you bought fuel here or not.
• What if Kentucky fuel is cheaper than the IFTA tax? The IFTA rate above is what you owe per gallon "consumed" in Kentucky. The pump price already includes Kentucky'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 Kentucky, you'll owe the full Kentucky rate on those gallons at filing time.

Kentucky IFTA filing deadlines

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

• 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.