North Carolina IFTA Tax Rate — 2026

How North Carolina IFTA tax is calculated

For every gallon of diesel your truck "burned" inside North Carolina during the quarter, you owe $0.4100 in IFTA tax. The number of taxable gallons isn't the gallons you bought there — it's the miles you drove inside North Carolina divided by your fleet's average miles-per-gallon for the whole quarter.

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

Common North Carolina IFTA filing questions

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

North Carolina IFTA filing deadlines

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

• 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.