CONTENT: The Trucking Handbook discussed a number of heavy duty diesel headaches. One we didn't talk about is fuel use tax (sometimes called state road tax). When it comes to paperwork headaches, this has got to be number one! Why? Because there are an unbelievable number of forms to be com- pleted every month. There can be a different form each month for every state you traveled through that month, each with a different set of rules and regulations to follow in filling them out. Horrify- ing isn't it? You'd better believe it.
On the bright side, you'll be happy to find out that few drivers have to fill out these forms for themselves. Trucking companies fill out use tax forms for all their drivers; and in many cases, companies fill them out for owner-operators who lease their trucks to them. The type of lease an owner-operator has determines who handles the paperwork. If they're lucky, those who lease on a long-term basis find that the lessor will complete the forms and simply charge the fuel use taxes back to them. The owner-operators will have to pay the fees on their own vehicles, but at least they won't have to do the paperwork.
On the other hand, some drivers, especially gypsies, do have to fill out state road tax forms for themselves. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to fill out your own forms, we recommend that you hire a bookkeeper. Chances are you won't want to spend the evening doing paperwork after a long day on the road. If you have a spouse (perhaps as a co-driver) who loves paperwork, okay, forget the bookkeeper. Otherwise, give yourself a break. There are simply so many different ways of handling fuel use tax among the 48 continental states that you're really asking for headaches to try to handle it all yourself, unless, as we said, you or your spouse likes that type of thing.
Regardless of who fills out the form, certain information is needed to fill them out accurately. No one, you or the company bookkeeper, can fill out any forms unless you supply certain information. Supplying that information, clearly and accurately, is your job as a truck driver.
So, in this exercise, we are going to teach you how to keep careful records of two things needed by the person who actually fills out the needed reports. These two things are: fuel put into the vehicle and miles traveled in each state. We'll introduce you to convenient forms for recording both types of data. And we'll give you practice in completing the forms so they won't be new to you when you hit the road.
Now let's take a moment to find out what fuel use tax is.
What is Fuel Use Tax?
What it all boils down to is this. You have to pay to use each state's roads. Car drivers usually pay to use state roads when they buy fuel at the pump. In most states, part of what you pay for fuel at a service station is state tax.
Truck drivers, however, don't always pay at the pump. Why? Well, for one reason, truck drivers don't always fuel up at commercial pumps. As many of you alrady know, truckers often fuel up at their own company yards. And there's another reason. Truck fuel tanks are very large. A driver may only need to fuel up once every three days, yet in those three days, that same driver may travel through 7 different states. The driver's using the states' roads, but not paying any road use tax at the pumps because he or she is not fueling up.
If you don't buy fuel in a state, you (or your company) will have to pay something later for the pleasure of using that state's roadways. In fact, even if you do buy fuel in a state, you (or your company) may need to pay more later. And that's why you need to keep careful records of fuel purchased and miles traveled.
Let's begin with keeping a record of fuel purchased.
CONTENT: The Trip Cost Report combines the Fuel Report and the Trip Mileage Report. Snap one copy of this form out from Part IV of this workbook now.
The Trip Cost Report Envelope does not have room for all of the informa- tion you can fit on the other two forms. There is no room for recording oil purchased each day or method of payment. And there is no room for list- ing starting and ending points (Milwaukee to La Crosse, for example). However, it does have space for the key details from the other two forms: toll and non-toll mileage by state, highways used, gallons of fuel pur- chased, cost for fuel, and fuel vendor (or seller).
NOTE: In its original form, the Trip Cost Report is printed on a large manila envelope. As printed in Part IV, it is simply a form, not an envelope. We will use the terms Trip Cost Report and Trip Cost Report Envelope interchangeably in this workbook.
Besides combining two forms into one, the Trip Cost Report Envelope has some other benefits. First, since it's an envelope, you can put all your trip receipts inside of it. Second, it has room on the right-hand side for a recap of other road expenses - tolls, permits, etc. And it has a Trip Summary so that you can make a quick check of such things as miles/gallon, cost per mile for running the truck, total money earned per mile, etc.
If you have read through the instructions for Instructional Exercise #1, you already understand the reasons why you must record miles traveled and fuel purchased by state. If you haven't read Inst. Ex. #1, do so now because it explains why and how these records must be kept.
Filling in the Trip Cost Report Envelope
If you've filled out the Fuel Report and the Trip Mileage Report, you should have no trouble at all filling in this new report. You can just transfer the knowledge you have of the other two forms to this one. You won't be filling in the "Expenses" and "Trip Summary Columns" on the right- hand side of the form in this exercise because they would be filled in by the company accounting office. They use these sections in figuring the total cost of the trip. If you plan to be an independent owner-operator, you can spend some time later figuring out how to make the best use of them. Right now, we'll just deal with the basics.
Here are a couple of pointers for filling in the form. In most cases, your outbound trip will originate at your home terminal. If you're an owner- operator, it will start at your home or truck yard. However, it may originate at a pickup point near your home terminal. The destination is the place where you make your delivery, or the delivery point furthest out from your terminal or home. The inbound trip originates at your outbound destination point, even though your actual pickup for the back haul may be at a different point.
Remember, as with the Trip Mileage Report, the mileage must be by state. The mileage for each state must be on a separate line, so you may have two or more lines for each date.
Under seller, list the vendor of the fuel purchased. If you buy fuel, for example at a Union 76 Truck Stop, list Union 76 under the seller heading. If you purchase fuel at a company terminal, put "terminal" under the heading column, or write in some other designation meaning that you pumped fuel at the yard. If you used an oil company fuel island, write down the approximate location of the fuel island, followed by the name of the oil company.
DO: Fill in the Trip Cost Report for Pete Washington's trip. All the information you need for filling in Pete's report is listed in Instructional Exercise #1 above. Pete's outbound trip begins in Sacramento. His inbound trip begins in Dallas. Fill in all parts of the form except invoice number for fuel purchases, cargo weight, trailer number and gross revenue. These things have not been given to you in the exercise. Leave the "Expenses" column and the "Trip Summary" column on the right-hand side of the form blank.
