International Registration Plan (IRP)
IRP (the International Registration Plan) pertains to commercial vehicle registrations when a carrier registers to travel in two or more IRP jurisdictions, both states and provinces that are members of IRP. The basis of the plan is to allow carriers to register with one jurisdiction to operate in all or some member jurisdictions. Registration fees are apportioned based on the percentage of travel in a jurisdiction for the prior “mileage year”. “Mileage year” is defined in the IRP agreement. Generally fees pertain to trucks, however, in some jurisdictions trailer registrations are allowed through IRP.
IRP was developed by several states with the assistance of the trucking industry. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators administers the plan with the advice of the motor carrier industry. Every state in the continental United States must join IRP or forfeit the ability to register commercial motor vehicles used in interstate commerce. Additional IRP information is available from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and from IRP Inc.
International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)
Maine is a member of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA). Anyone operating a qualified motor vehicle in Maine is required to satisfy fuel tax licensing and reporting requirements. Maine-based intrastate carriers and carriers from non-IFTA jurisdictions also must license for fuel tax reporting. In IFTA, a motor carrier contacts its base (home) jurisdiction to obtain a license to operate in all IFTA member jurisdictions. Fuel tax reporting is done with the carrier’s base jurisdiction. Every state in the continental U. S. and all Canadian provinces are IFTA members.
The carrier’s base jurisdiction issues the IFTA license and vehicle decals to a carrier. The decal is valid in all IFTA jurisdictions. In addition, no IFTA jurisdiction may require any additional fuel tax licensing requirements of a carrier.
Carriers file quarterly tax reports with their base jurisdiction. Amounts due and credits are netted so that the carrier makes only one payment if tax is due with their IFTA return. The return covers the carrier’s operations in all IFTA jurisdictions. Generally carriers file only one return. The base jurisdiction, in turn, distributes tax payments to the other IFTA jurisdictions based on the requirements set forth in the IFTA agreement. The base jurisdiction is responsible for fuel tax auditing on behalf of all member jurisdictions. Generally, in IFTA, only a carrier's base jurisdiction may conduct an audit. For more information regarding IFTA visit the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or IFTA Inc.