[GMAN]

Originally Posted by merrick4

Sales tax. I didn't think of that. Don't forget Gman the Indian fuel stops in New York. Of course I know you are not supposed to do that but if it slips by .

Actually I kind of do what you do Gman too. I am very good about where I bought fuel so sometimes if it's wicked high I will just buy it in a more IFTA expensive state but much lower fuel cost. I know in the end we still have to pay like no_worries said but I just don't like paying $3.50 for fuel and as I am good about where I fuel it all comes out even. I only paid $50 last quarter.

I forgot about the Indian truck stops in New York, merrick. It is about the same difference as running in Oregon and buying fuel using their puc.

I have a friend who consistently buys fuel in the higher tax states. He often has a credit at the end of the quarter. He prefers it that way. The way I do it I don't usually pay too much fuel tax.

[rank]

Thanks for the replies.

99% of our miles are along I-81 in ON, NY & PA so good fuel options are limited. It always used to be cheaper to fill in ON when the Canuck Buck was $.65 against the Greenback, but now that it's at par, I need to start looking at this. Should have done it before now I guess.

So about this fuel routing program Merrick.......what is the cheapest net place to fuel between Napanee, ON and Lancaster, PA?

[allan5oh]

Yes you're doing it 100% right rank.

You can only compare the "base price" without tax. You cannot affect how much your "total fuel tax" bill is. But you can certainly affect how much you pay for just the fuel.

Well that isn't totally true, you can affect your total fuel tax bill by routing through different states, or getting better fuel mileage. A good example of this is crossing at port huron instead of detroit. I always do that.

How much you owe or get back at the end of the quarter is irrelevant. It should never be a consideration when buying fuel.

As for your original problem, I think the husky's in ontario are much cheaper then that. 80 cents per litre or so. That would be $3.06 for a base price.

You're also missing something else, and it happens every winter. Our Canadian fuel switches all to #1, and there's a disparity between our #1 and US #2. Is this fuel in PA #1 or #2?

A good example is comparing Winnipeg, MB to Fargo, ND.

Winnipeg's base price is $3.21 converted(.85 per litre). In fargo:

#2 is $3.37 - .23 = $3.14
#1 is $3.77 - .23 = $3.54

So unless you want to risk buying #2, the Winnipeg fuel is a much better deal. This may apply in your case.

[rank]

Originally Posted by allan5oh

As for your original problem, I think the husky's in ontario are much cheaper then that. 80 cents per litre or so. That would be $3.06 for a base price.

The Husky a few miles down the road is the same price as the hook but it's full serve. $1.039 at the pump +/- depending of the day.

You're also missing something else, and it happens every winter. Our Canadian fuel switches all to #1, and there's a disparity between our #1 and US #2. Is this fuel in PA #1 or #2?

I pulled thet PA price off the Flying j website. I'll have to check.

And there is something else that affects us Canadian guys Allan......Gman touched on it.......sales tax. You and I get a 6% rebate on the fuel price because of that tax that's included in the fuel price. We don't get that rebate when we fuel in the US. We can't really count that when figuring base price since we get it back. So the real ON fuel price is now $1.015/L - $.143/L fuel tax - $.06 GST = .812/L = $3.07/US gal.

[rank]

Oh and here's another Flying J rip off that I'm sure you know about Allan.

US pump price is $.06 higher than the cash price posted on the sign.
CDN pump price is $.02/L higher than the cash price posted on the sign.

But here's the ripoff: $.02/L = $.076 when converted to US gallons.

[merrick4]

Rank, it's giving me an error message. Sometimes it does that when I have a slow connection but I changed it from Ontario to Boston and it worked so I don't know. By the way the rate they gave was $2.15 a mile but just for flatbed not that drop or double drop thing you have.

By the way I always thought Ontario was a city not a state ops: . American what do I know. The only thing I know of up there is I had one hell of a night on St. Catherine street in Montreal when I was a teen.

I'll try again when I get to Cali and have high speed.

[allan5oh]

The correct formula is:

1.039 / 1.06 = .98 no GST, but including fuel tax

.98 - .143 = .837 base price

.837 X 3.785 = $3.17 base price in US gallons

you stated 1.015

1.015 / 1.06 = .957

.957 - .143 = .814

.814 X 3.785 = $3.08

[allan5oh]

in case you're wondering, yes the GST is "on top" of the fuel tax.

[GMAN]

There are those who only look at the fuel tax when making decisions on where to purchase their fuel. I look at the fuel tax, but also look at the total amount of money I will pay for the fuel expense. That is the reason why you may buy more fuel in the cheaper fuel tax states than the higher fuel tax states. It is sometimes less expensive to buy fuel in the cheaper fuel tax state and pay the difference to the higher fuel tax state. The total fuel expense is less to do it this way. That isn't always true, but is in some cases. If you don't want to do all the calculations then you could just stick with using the fuel tax as your only means of deciding where to purchase your fuel.

[allan5oh]

Yup you're looking at reducing your total fuel bill. Like I said, since you cannot affect how much total fuel tax you'll pay by where you buy fuel, you have to strictly look at the "base price" sans fuel tax.

If you get a refund at the end of the quarter, all that means is you overpaid at the pump. You're getting your money back.

If you have to pay at the end of the quarter, you underpaid at the pump.

But the overall fuel tax bill is exactly the same, so it's irrelevant to look at how much you get back or how much you pay. Income tax works the same way.

GMAN I find the higher fuel tax places(canada, illinois) generally have the best base fuel price. I almost always get a refund, it just works out that way.

http://www.etrucker.com/apps/promiles/fuelprices.asp

The third column is all that matters when buying fuel.