Carriers in the Permian do not usually get into trouble because a rule is complicated. They get into trouble because a deadline passed while they were busy hauling. The IFTA return was due while the truck was in the shop, the medical card expired on a Sunday, the UCR renewal email went to a spam folder. This is every recurring deadline a small carrier deals with, arranged by how often it comes around, so you can put it all on one calendar and stop relying on memory.
Quarterly
- IFTA fuel tax return: due the last day of the month after each quarter, April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Filed even when no fuel was bought or no miles were run. Requires mileage by state and fuel purchased by state.
- Form 941 and Texas Workforce Commission wage report, if you have employee drivers: same four dates.
- Quarterly estimated income tax payments for owner-operators and the business itself.
Annually
- Form 2290, heavy vehicle use tax: the tax period runs July 1 through June 30, and the return for vehicles in use in July is due August 31. The stamped Schedule 1 is needed to renew registration.
- UCR registration: covers the calendar year, opens in the fall, and must be paid before January 1. Enforcement begins in the new year.
- IRP apportioned plate renewal: on the schedule your base state assigns, typically tied to the month your plates were issued.
- Annual vehicle inspection: every commercial vehicle, every twelve months, by a qualified inspector, with the report kept on file and a sticker or copy on the truck.
- Driver annual review: pull each driver's motor vehicle record at least once every twelve months, review it and place it in the qualification file.
- Clearinghouse annual query: at least one limited query per CDL driver every twelve months.
- Form 940, federal unemployment tax, and W-2s and 1099s: January 31.
- Texas franchise tax information report, if the carrier is an LLC or corporation: May 15.
Every two years
The MCS-150 biennial update. The month is set by the second-to-last digit of your USDOT number and the year by whether the last digit is odd or even. It is required even if nothing about the company changed, and missing it deactivates the USDOT number. Medical examiner's certificates for drivers are also valid for a maximum of two years, and often less when the examiner sets a shorter period.
Put the medical card expiration on the calendar the day the card is issued, with a reminder a month before. An expired medical card means the CDL is downgraded, and a driver with a downgraded license cannot legally move the truck.
Ongoing, with no fixed date
- 01Driver vehicle inspection reports every day a vehicle is used, with defects corrected before the next trip.
- 02Hours-of-service records, kept for six months.
- 03Maintenance records for each vehicle for as long as you control it and for a period afterward.
- 04Random drug and alcohol testing through the year at the required rates.
- 05Insurance: never let it lapse. A lapse cancels operating authority automatically.
Frequently asked questions
I only have one truck. Does the whole calendar apply?
Yes. The rules do not scale down for fleet size. A one-truck operation has the same deadlines as a fifty-truck fleet; it just has fewer entries under each one.
Which deadline gets missed most?
UCR, because it is once a year and the notice comes during the holidays. Then the MCS-150, because it is every other year and nobody remembers the month.
Can you track all of this for me?
That is what our DOT compliance service is. We keep the calendar, prepare the filings and tell you what to sign.
Bring your USDOT number
With the number we can look up what is current and what is not, and build your calendar from there. Call (432) 257-7547 or come by 700 C Andrews Hwy in Midland. English and Spanish.
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