That wonderful time of year is here…businesses scramble to dig up old receipts, maximize their deductions, and ensure they’re not leaving money on the table as they submit their final tax filing to the IRS. If you’re feeling the pressure of all this paperwork, it might be time to consider what steps you can take to minimize your stress next year.
Fuel cards are excellent for minimizing fraud and simplifying small business accounting, but they also make filing your taxes easier than ever. Here are a few ways that these programs simplify tax season for business owners:
A whole year in review
Companies that use credit or debit cards for their fuel purchasing face an additional challenge as tax season rolls around. How do you determine what charges fall into each filing category? With a fuel card program, all your gas transactions can be easily printed in a quarterly or yearly report, so you don’t have to scour through 12 months of invoices with a highlighter to calculate your spending. Additionally, the IRS may require you to submit physical credit card receipts for the entire year if you’re selected for an audit. When you use our program, just the invoice will suffice, and our software holds onto this information for years in case you ever need it in the future.
Minimizing the guesswork for your off-road diesel excise tax.
Before your company can file for diesel tax refunds, you must determine how much of your fuel was used off-road. For some companies, this is a tedious process including highlighted line items on various receipts and year-round organization. However, our fueling program eliminate the guesswork by creating a separate Off-Road Refund Report that automatically identifies and stores off-road or dyed diesel transactions throughout the entire year.
Learn how to file your off-road diesel refund →
Easy IFTA filing
The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is an accord between the 48 contiguous stages and 10 provinces in Canada which simplifies the collection and distribution of fuel taxes paid for by interstate and international motor carriers. If your vehicles cross state lines, you are required to complete quarterly IFTA reporting, specifying the total times traveled and total gallons purchased for each vehicle in each state.
Without proper reporting software, IFTA filings are a complicated process and must include date, fuel type, seller, purchaser, vehicle, sale amount, and gallons. However, P-Fleet offers complimentary IFTA Reports for all of our customers, eliminating this giant headache businesses must undergo four times a year.
Eliminating the Human Element
Alexander Pope famously said, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” But as tax season rolls around, the IRS is unlikely to forgive lost receipts or misplaced invoices. Ensuring that expenses are automatically saved and categorized saves small businesses a monumental headache when it comes time to file, and using a comprehensive fueling program is the easiest solution. No more rummaging through glove boxes and peeking under car seats to find tiny slips of receipt paper…all your transactions are automatically logged for safekeeping.
If you’re feeling the pressure this tax season, it’s the perfect time to consider how to make your life easier next year. Fuel cards make it easy to submit your Off-Road Refund Report and IFTA filing, maximizing your potential return from each program. Don’t leave money on the table by skimping on your reporting software!
Learn how a GPS fuel monitoring system can help your business →
