KYU and NY HUT quarterly due dates 2026: two returns, one mileage close

Kentucky KYU: October 31, and don't test the weekend

Kentucky statute (KRS 138.685) puts the quarterly return "on or before the last day of the next succeeding calendar month following the quarterly period," filed through the Motor Carrier Portal. For Q3 2026 that's October 31 — a Saturday. Unlike New York and unlike IFTA, neither the KYU page nor the statute publishes a weekend-shift rule, so the safe reading is the literal one: have it filed by Friday the 30th and let the question stay theoretical. Filing for the quarter opens October 1.

The mechanics are the simplest of any state mileage tax: every Kentucky mile times $0.0285, flat, for any vehicle with a combined license weight greater than 59,999 lbs. No brackets, no methods to elect. The discipline Kentucky actually tests is the zero return — DRIVE's own wording: if you did not travel during a quarter, "you must file zero miles to avoid a penalty, interest, and a revocation fee of $500." A revoked KYU number is visible at every Kentucky scale, and reinstatement requires paying that $500 and filing every missing return first.

New York HUT: November 2, officially

New York's MT-903 instructions state both halves plainly: the return is due the last day of the month following the reporting period, and "if the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday… the return is due on the next business day." Q3 2026 is therefore due Monday, November 2 — the same shift IFTA makes.

Two New York details worth re-checking against your own account. First, your filing frequency may not be quarterly: carriers whose prior-year HUT liability was $1,200 or less can file annually, and anyone over $12,000 gets reclassified to monthly — the old $250 and $4,000 thresholds you'll still find on vendor sites are outdated. Second, the penalty structure has teeth: 10% of the tax due immediately, plus 1% per month to a 30% cap, with a $100 minimum once you're 60 days late — and a return is required "even if no tax is due" for every period you hold a certificate of registration.

One quarter, one dataset, three returns

The efficient habit — and the audit-safe one — is a single quarterly mileage close. Pull per-jurisdiction miles once for July–September, reconcile them against odometers, and file IFTA, KYU, and HUT from that one dataset. The reason isn't just time. Kentucky sees your Kentucky miles twice — once on the IFTA return, once on the KYU return — and New York sees its miles on IFTA and MT-903. When the two figures for the same state and quarter disagree, the discrepancy itself becomes the audit finding, and the burden of explaining it is yours. Same miles, same source, every return: that's the entire trick.

The 2026 calendar, all three programs

The split dates in Q3 2026 and Q4 (January 31, 2027 is a Sunday) are exactly why "they're all due the same day" is a habit worth breaking gently: it's true until a weekend makes it false in one state and not another. File everything by the unshifted date and the difference never matters.