Guides

IFTA Surcharge States: Kentucky and Virginia Explained

By Motor Carrier Desk · Published October 23, 2026

Most IFTA jurisdictions have one diesel rate. You pay it at the pump when you buy fuel there, you owe it on the gallons you burn there, and the quarterly return settles the difference. A handful of jurisdictions add a surcharge, and the surcharge breaks that symmetry: it is owed on every taxable gallon but is never collected at the pump, so there is never a credit against it.

The 4Q2026 figures

Indiana has historically been the third surcharge state; its 4Q2026 row was ambiguous in the published matrix and is not printed on this site until it can be confirmed.

What it does to the return

Take 1,000 miles in Kentucky at 6.5 mpg, about 153.8 taxable gallons. If you bought 153.8 gallons in Kentucky you have paid $33.84 at the pump and owe $16.15 of surcharge on the return — the surcharge is always a net payment. If you bought none, you owe $49.99.

The practical consequence is that Kentucky and Virginia miles always produce a positive line on the return, however you fuel. The IFTA calculator handles the surcharge separately from the rate so the pump credit is never overstated.

Where the surcharge states sit overall

With the surcharge included, Kentucky's effective rate of $0.3250 moves it from the low end of the table — its base rate is among the lowest of 46 listed — to the middle. Virginia's $0.4790 puts it in the upper half. The highest listed base rate is CA at $0.9790; the lowest is OK at $0.1900.