Tracking Fuel Taxes

The RTA Fleet Management Software includes a feature that assists you in calculating fuel taxes for the various required state tax reports. The system tracks miles traveled and fuel consumed in each state for each fuel transaction entered in the system. This, of course, requires that you enter the information for these kinds of statistics, but the time savings produced by this feature are great in comparison to calculating these figures by hand.
Fuel tax reporting may be one of the biggest reporting problems in any fleet. This feature is designed to ease the burden of reporting, not replace it. RTA provides the numbers on the reports; it is still your responsibility to transfer and manipulate these numbers for your various state tax reports. Since each state is different in the manner in which it handles these fuel taxes, you'll need to think over carefully just how this feature will be of best use to you.
The Setup:

• Set up state tables and tax rates.
• Set the "Company Fuel Taxable" switch as needed (SSM, Fuel Parameters tab , switch 2).
• Set the "Prompt State Miles" switch as needed (SSM, Fuel Parameters tab , switch 40).
• Set the Fuel taxable flag as needed in vehicle records (MVM, Fluids tab).

The Procedure:

• Record fuel transactions. Refer to "Fuel Entry" earlier in this chapter for instructions.
• Generate fuel tax reports as needed.
• Process of period for fuel taxes (SEF). Refer to "End of Period for Fuel Tax Reports" for instructions.

Setting up State Tables and Tax Rates

Define the tax rates for each state or province your fleet travels in. Up to 60 different states and/or provinces can be defined. Trim the table down to contain only the states that your vehicles will be traveling in to speed up searches, calculations, and reports. To add, modify, or delete the states and tax rates, do the following:

1. Select Master > Fuel > State Tax Tables from the RTA main menu (MUS).
2. To add a state or province, choose Add and then define the abbreviation, tax rate (in decimal format), and the description.

To modify, highlight the record to change, choose Edit, and then modify the tax rate and/or description. If you change a tax rate, the new rate becomes effective immediately and all calculations are based on the new rate.
To delete, highlight the record to delete, choose Delete, and then choose Yes to confirm the deletion.
NOTE: The dates displayed at the top of the window print at the top of the State Report by Vehicle (RFV); choose Change to modify the dates printed on the report.

Reviewing the Fuel Tax Switches

1. Select System > Setup System Switches > Fueling Parameters from the RTA main menu (SSM, Fuel Parameters tab ).
2. Enter password level 3.
3. Review the setting for "Company Fuel Taxable" and change the setting if necessary (switch 2). Set to NO if taxes are paid up front for your fuel purchases; set to YES if taxes aren't paid when fuel is purchased and thus taxable at the pumps.
4. Review the setting for "Prompt State Miles" and change the setting if necessary (switch 40). Set to NO to automatically update state miles as fuel transactions are input; set to YES to be prompted to update state miles. A YES setting is uncommon and is used only when miles traveled in certain states or provinces are taxable at times and not taxable at other times.

Setting the Fuel Taxable Flag

The RTA system tracks state mileage and fuel usage only for vehicles that are flagged as fuel taxable. Vehicles can be flagged as such individually through the vehicle record or globally for a range of vehicles using the Set Vehicle Tax Flag program in the Utilities 2 add-on package (SIVT). To mark an individual vehicle record as fuel taxable, do the following:

1. Select Master > Vehicle > File Maintenance from the RTA main menu (MVM).
2. Enter a vehicle number or press F1 to select a vehicle from the lookup list.
3. Select Edit > Fluids from the menu or click on the Fluids icon in the toolbar.
4. Select the Fuel taxable checkbox to flag the vehicle as fuel taxable.
5. Save the record.

Fuel Tax Entry

Once the switches and vehicles have been set up for tracking fuel taxes, the RTA system automatically accumulates totals for state miles, turnpike miles, taxable fuel, and tax-paid fuel as fuel entries are entered or uploaded using the Many States, Quick Fuel Entry, TriCoder Input, and Electronic Fueling. State miles can also be input without having to input fuel data using the State Tax Input option.

State Tax Input

This option allows state mileage figures to be posted to vehicles without having to input fuel transactions. It should be noted that this option only updates state mileage figures but does not update the vehicle's primary or fuel meter readings. To use this option, do the following:

1. Select Fuel > Fuel Entry > State Tax Input from the RTA main menu (FFS).
2. Enter a vehicle number or press F1 to select a vehicle from the lookup list. If a previous entry has been made, press F4 to use the previous vehicle number.
3. Enter the transaction date or press F1 to select a date from the calendar.
4. Enter a state or province or press F1 to make the selection from the lookup list.
5. Enter the distance traveled or enter the ending meter reading. Keep in mind that the primary meter reading is displayed only for reference and is not updated with the entries made here.
6. Choose OK to accept the entry and then choose Yes when prompted to post the mileage.

Fuel Tax Reports

State Report by Fleet

This report contains the totals (not detail) for the fleet in each state. It also provides the fleet MPG for calculation purposes. The bottom of the report shows grand totals for the entire fleet in all states. This report can be generated to show figures for the current period, quarter, or year. This report is a very good way to see the totals for your fleet, for all states.

1. Select Reports > Fuel > State Report by Fleet from the RTA main menu (RFF).
2. Select a radio button indicating whether to generate the report for the current period, quarter, or year.
3. Read the message displayed and choose OK to continue.

State Report by Vehicle

This report shows all vehicles that traveled in a specified range of states, providing details for the totals printed on the previous report, State Report by Fleet.

1. Select Reports > Fuel > State Report by Vehicle from the RTA main menu (RFV).
2. Enter the starting and ending state or province abbreviation(s).
3. Select a radio button indicating whether to generate the report for the current period, quarter, or year.
4. Read the message displayed and choose OK to continue.

Vehicle by State Figures

This report prints vehicle details by state and is a nice crosscheck for your fleet, showing all states each vehicle has traveled in along with the mileage and fuel usage for each vehicle. The data shown on this report is basically a combination of the other two state reports.

1. Select Reports > Fuel > Vehicle by State Figures from the RTA main menu (RFS).
2. Enter the starting and ending vehicle number(s) or press F1 to make the selection from a lookup list.
3. Select a radio button indicating whether to generate the report for the current period, quarter, or year.

Adjusting State Mileage Figures

As you view reports or enter data, you may come across some values that require modification. The Change Vehicle by State Figures option allows changes to be made to the vehicle figures, which in turn will affect the figures on the fuel tax reports. It's best to make correcting entries in the options where the errors occurred so there is an audit trail; however, direct changes can be made to the figures by doing the following:

1. Select Fuel > Change Vehicle by State Figures from the RTA main menu (FC).
2. Enter a vehicle number or press F1 to select a vehicle from the lookup list.
3. Highlight the state record to change and choose Edit.
4. Make the changes to the current period, quarterly, or yearly figures as needed.