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2026 Q3 Official Rates

Texas IFTA Tax Rates for 2026 Q3

The official Texas diesel and gasoline rates for your quarterly IFTA return — with Webfile filing steps, the $50-or-10% penalty rule, and why the flat 20¢ rate makes Texas a fuel-stop magnet.

Data lookup page: this page lists official Texas IFTA fuel tax rates, filing deadlines and penalty rules. It does not calculate your return — run your numbers in the IFTA calculator.

Texas IFTA Rates for Q3 2026 (Jul - Sep 2026): What Carriers Need to Know

Texas charges a flat $0.2000 per gallon on gasoline, gasohol and special diesel, and $0.1500 per gallon on LNG and CNG — the figures printed in the IFTA Inc. Tax Matrix for Q3 2026, effective July 1, 2026. The table below shows the last four quarters: the 20¢ rate has not moved once, which is exactly why owner-operators who write per-state rates on a notepad tend to circle Texas on their fuel-stop plan.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts administers IFTA for Texas-based carriers. Texas steers applicants toward its Webfile system — the Comptroller's online channel for IFTA license applications and quarterly return filings — rather than mailing paper forms. Before starting an application, pull together what Webfile asks for: Social Security numbers for sole proprietors, officers or directors; your Texas Taxpayer Number if the business is already registered in Texas; your IRP cab card number (or the license plate number of each qualified motor vehicle if you have no IRP account); and your USDOT number.

The Texas Comptroller publishes the Texas IFTA Guidebook (Publication 96-336) as the official state reference for IFTA carriers. The guidebook covers qualified motor vehicle definitions, record-keeping duties, how to file amended returns, and the Comptroller's audit procedures — it is the document auditors cite when examining a Texas-based carrier's records. Carriers new to Texas IFTA are encouraged to download a current copy from the Comptroller's website before submitting their first return.

For IFTA purposes, the tax accrues where you burn the fuel, not where you buy it. Texas’s flat 20¢ per-gallon rate is low relative to neighboring states like New Mexico and Louisiana, which means the miles you drive inside Texas carry a lighter tax charge on your quarterly return than miles logged in higher-rate states. That gap shows up clearly in any multi-state return that runs through Texas corridors — the I-10, I-20 and I-35 lanes that account for a large share of cross-country diesel mileage.

Texas Quarterly Fuel Tax Rates — Last 4 Quarters

Texas Fuel Tax Rates by Quarter
Q3 2026 (Jul - Sep 2026)
Last four quarters, U.S. dollars per gallon, exactly as printed in the IFTA Inc. Tax Matrix.
QuarterDiesel (USD/gal)Gasoline (USD/gal)Separate Surcharge
Q3 2026Current0.20000.2000
Q2 20260.20000.2000
Q1 20260.20000.2000
Q4 20250.20000.2000

Texas prints one flat rate across gasoline, diesel and gasohol. No surcharge is flagged for Texas in the Tax Matrix.

Source: IFTA Inc. Tax Matrix (Q3 2026 (Jul - Sep 2026)) plus the Texas Comptroller - IFTA. Rates verified 2026-09-03; they change quarterly.

Quarterly Deadlines

File quarterly returns promptly: Q1 due April 30, Q2 due July 31, Q3 due October 31, and Q4 due January 31. When a due date lands on a weekend or holiday it rolls to the next business day.

Q1 (Jan - Mar)April 30
Q2 (Apr - Jun)July 31
Q3 (Jul - Sep)October 31
Q4 (Oct - Dec)January 31

1. Filing TX IFTA Returns: Essentials & Deadlines

How Texas filing works
From the official Texas source — see the link in the rate table above.

Quarterly returns, business-day roll

IFTA returns are due on the last day of the month following each calendar quarter: April 30 for Q1, July 31 for Q2, October 31 for Q3, and January 31 for Q4. If that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day becomes the due date. Texas follows standard IFTA convention for this roll.

Apply and file online through Webfile

The Comptroller encourages carriers to submit IFTA license applications electronically through Webfile rather than by mail. Quarterly returns and payments also go through Webfile, which pre-populates account information and gives an immediate confirmation number. There is no separate application form to mail when using the online channel.

Form AP-133 for paper applications

Carriers who cannot use Webfile may file a paper IFTA license application using Form AP-133 (Texas International Fuel Tax Agreement License Application). Paper processing takes longer, and the Comptroller notes that online filing through Webfile is the preferred and faster path for new accounts.

Where the rates come from

The Comptroller points Texas carriers to IFTA Inc. for current and prior-period jurisdiction rates — the same Tax Matrix this page mirrors, so you can cross-check every number above. The Texas rate itself is set by state statute and has held at 20 cents per gallon for special diesel and gasoline across all four quarters shown in the table.

Late penalties & interest

$50 or 10% of the taxes due, whichever is greater

Texas imposes this penalty for failure to file a report, filing a late report, or underpaying taxes due. On a small balance the $50 floor bites hardest; on a $1,000 liability the 10% ceiling applies. Both the penalty and the underlying tax remain due until paid.

Interest stacks on top of the penalty

Interest is assessed on all delinquent Texas fuel tax amounts in addition to the late-filing penalty, accruing from the original due date. A Q3 return due October 31 and filed in January carries more than three months of interest by the time it is submitted. The Comptroller calculates the rate annually.

Audit risk and the Pub 96-336 record standard

Texas Comptroller auditors use Publication 96-336 as the benchmark for what acceptable IFTA records look like. Carriers are required to retain trip records, fuel receipts and mileage logs for four years from the filing date. Missing or incomplete records during a Texas audit typically result in estimated tax assessments, which are harder to dispute than documented actuals.

2. Why Texas Shows Up on Every Fuel-Stop Map

A flat, unmoved rate is rare in the current IFTA table — several jurisdictions changed rates on July 1, 2026, but Texas did not. That stability has real planning value for fleets modeling quarterly cash flow.

Across the four quarters in the table above, the Texas diesel rate has held at $0.2000 — no seasonal adjustments, no mid-year surprises to split across a filing period. Texas also prices LNG and CNG at $0.1500 per gallon, which matters for natural-gas fleets planning lanes through the state. A fleet budgeting Texas at 20 cents will not be wrong for this quarter, and recent history suggests that assumption will hold into at least Q4 2026.

The Pub 96-336 guidebook puts the record-keeping expectation in plain terms: every trip must show the vehicle unit number, date, origin and destination, route of travel, beginning and ending odometer readings, total trip miles, and jurisdictional miles. Fuel records must show date, seller, location, product type, price and gallons. Keeping those records current prevents an auditor from substituting estimated miles — which are rarely favorable to the carrier.

For IFTA purposes the tax accrues where you burn the fuel, not where you buy it — but a low pump-plus-tax state still shortens the distance your tax-paid gallons have to stretch. Run your own lanes through the IFTA calculator on this site to see the full quarterly picture, keeping this table open beside it.

TX IFTA Tax Rates — Frequently Asked Questions

Done looking up rates? Run the numbers.

The rate table tells you what Texas charges per gallon. The calculator turns that into your actual quarterly return, and the mileage tracker splits your miles state by state.

Browse the full 48-state rates table
More State Rate Guides
Same-quarter official rates for neighboring long-haul states.

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