Iowa IFTA Calculator

Iowa is the agricultural freight capital of the Midwest, generating enormous volumes of corn, soybeans, hogs, and cattle for transport to processing facilities, ethanol plants, and export terminals along the Mississippi River. I-80 is the primary east-west artery running straight through the state from Council Bluffs on the Nebraska border to Davenport on the Illinois border — it's the main Chicago-to-Denver freight corridor. I-35 runs north-south from Kansas City to Minneapolis, crossing I-80 at Ames and serving a dense network of agricultural processing facilities. I-380 connects Cedar Rapids to Iowa City and is growing in freight importance as the corridor develops.

Iowa's IFTA rate of $0.325 per gallon is moderate. Missouri at $0.197 is significantly cheaper to the south, making it worth planning a fuel stop south of the border on I-29 or I-35 if your route brings you close to Missouri. Nebraska at $0.290 is cheaper to the west, so westbound drivers on I-80 should consider fueling in Nebraska. Illinois at $0.463 is considerably more expensive, making Iowa fuel stops attractive for drivers entering Iowa from the east.

Standard weight limits are 80,000 lbs on interstates, but Iowa has specific rules for farm equipment and grain haulers that allow seasonal overweight movement on county roads during harvest season — this creates significant permit activity from August through November. Spring weight restrictions on secondary roads are enforced from roughly February through April.

Weigh stations on I-80 near Des Moines (both directions), Walcott near the Illinois border, and Missouri Valley near Nebraska are consistently active. Iowa uses aggressive WIM technology and has one of the higher rates of overweight citations in the Midwest. For IFTA compliance, Iowa's online filing system is straightforward but requires accurate quarterly mileage breakdowns — the combination of high agricultural volumes and seasonal route variations makes clean record-keeping essential.