Guidelines for Motor Fuels Online Filing

Motor Fuels FLT and EDI Filing Guide

The Motor Fuels FLT and EDI Filing Guide is general plain text instructions needed to file tax forms (tax returns, reports, and claims for refund) via Flat File and EDI with the CDTFA.

It also contains:

• File type and formatting requirements
• Example Excel workbooks for creating FLT files
• The rules, procedures, and technical requirements for filing via FLT or EDI.
• Filing Guidelines
• Other useful information related to motor fuels online filing.

You are responsible for complying with the information provided in the guide and any supplemental communication provided by the CDTFA.

Instructions for Preparing Motor Fuels Schedules

The CDTFA has adopted uniform forms, schedules, mode codes, and product codes as published by the Federation of Tax Administrator's Motor Fuel Tax Section. By adopting uniform forms and codes, the CDTFA is helping to standardize reporting throughout the nation to minimize industry costs of reporting and to ensure that information can be readily exchanged between other government agencies. All required data must be presented in the format as specified by the CDTFA. CDTFA-810-FTE, Instructions for Preparing Motor Fuels Schedules, provides instructions for completing motor fuels schedules, regardless of filing method. It also contains charts displaying valid schedule code, product code, and mode code combinations for various types of filers.

Requirement to Provide FEIN

You are required to obtain and report the FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number) of all persons involved in a reportable fuel transaction. You are also required to furnish your FEIN upon request of another person involved in a reportable fuel transaction. (For example, a Terminal Operator is required to obtain a carrier's FEIN when the carrier makes a delivery to the terminal.)

Century Date Update

Motor fuels online filing uses the Century Date format established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. All motor fuels tax forms transmitted online must be developed in compliance with an 8-digit date format. Therefore, the date format must be reflected as follows: YYYYMMDD. For example, June 30, 2019 would be reflected as 20190630.

Codes Used in Schedule Preparation

• CDTFA-810-FTA, Product Code Table (sorted by Product Code Number)
• CDTFA-810-FTB, Product Code Table (Sorted by Product Description)
• CDTFA-810-FTC, Postal Abbreviations Table
• CDTFA-810-FTD, Schedule Code Table by Tax Program
• CDTFA-810-FTH, Airport Table Code (Sorted by Airport Code)
• CDTFA-810-FTI, Airport Table Code (Sorted by City)

Motor Fuels Glossary

See our Motor Fuels Glossary for a compilation of motor fuels, Internet, and online filing terms.

Motor Fuels Online Filing Participation

Prior to using FLT or EDI to file online, we encourage you to successfully complete certification testing. See our Motor Fuels FLT and EDI Filing Guide, Certification Testing tab, for details on certification testing.

Required Actions for Participation in Online Filing

To be in compliance, upon request by the CDTFA, you must give the CDTFA access to all materials that support the preparation of your online filings.

Timely Filing of a Motor Fuels Tax Form

Tax forms are considered timely if the following occur:

1. The tax form submitted online is transmitted to and received by the CDTFA on or before the due date. The status of submissions will progress from Processing or Pending CDTFA Processing to Filed, or Processed.
2. Any amount due corresponding to the tax forms submitted is paid on or before the due date of the tax form. You may make your payment through standard CDTFA online payment methods or include the payment information in your online file.

You must transmit your data to the CDTFA on or before the respective due dates, regardless of whether there is tax due, a refund, or no amount owing. If a motor fuels tax form is received by the CDTFA after the due date, interest and/or penalty may be charged. Failure to file a tax form or filing an incomplete tax form may result in charges for interest, penalty, and/or license revocation.

Receipt of Filings by CDTFA

Moving from a paper to an online filing environment means that certain traditional methods of proving that a motor fuels tax form was mailed and determining what constitutes a timely filing no longer apply. Online filing of tax forms eliminates the use of certified mail and postmark dates.

After you submit a motor fuels tax form online with the CDTFA, the Online Services Filing Record PDF file should be retained as proof of timely filing. If the status of the online filing submission indicates Filed or Processed, your filing is complete. If the status remains Processing or Pending CDTFA Processing after three (3) business days, contact the CDTFA.

Payment Information

A payment may be made by an online transmission separate from the return transmission, or it may be included in the online file. Payments submitted by customers without the correct routing and account information will not be processed and may result in billings including penalty. Information on online payment options offered by the CDTFA is available on our Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) webpage. A payment made after the due date may be subject to interest and penalty charges.

Failure to pay online may result in the assessment of penalty charges or license revocation.

Extension of Time for Online Filing

You may be granted an extension of up to one month upon submission of a request made through Online Services. You will still need to submit payments in a timely manner. Failure to make timely tax payments may result in interest and penalty charges.