October, 2023
FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SERVICE ADMINISTRATION - FMCSA
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is considering a change to its regulations to require every commercial motor vehicle operating interstate to be equipped with electronic identification technology capable of wirelessly communicating a unique ID number to federal or state motor carrier safety enforcement personnel. The purpose of the rule would be to inspect mainly the problem carriers. There are more trucks on the road and not enough inspectors to handle safety compliance. This regulation if enacted would take years to implement.
The CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse went into effect on January 6, 2020. Drivers and carriers have to register with the Clearinghouse. Drivers must approve each carrier to perform the queries. All carriers have to make pre-employment checks before a driver is used and must do annual checks for their drivers. A written driver release is required for the reports. All queries must be in the driver's qualification file. Please contact our office if you need assistance meeting these requirements. Carriers are being fined for non-compliance.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE - IRS
Carriers and owners of vehicles can obtain a credit for the unused months for any vehicle that is sold or destroyed. This filing can only be done at the end of the tax year (which was June 30th) for any vehicle in which the credit was not applied to a new vehicle during the year. The new purchaser of the vehicle must pay their own tax. Tax is due from the date that the vehicle is first used. To apply for the IRS credit we will need the vehicle information, the name of the purchaser, and the date of sale or destruction.
UNIFIED CARRIER REGISTRATION PLAN - UCR
The 2024 UCR registration is now open to make filings and payments. Every carrier both for-hire and private along with brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies must pay the registration fee. The UCR fees have been reduced for the 2024 year.
The 2024 UCR rates are:
Number of Trucks Fee
0-2 $37
3-5 $111
6-20 $211
21-100 $769
1001-1000 $3,670
1001+ $35,836
