Truck driving and taxes?

Question

If I have a job as an over the road truck driver how much $$ can I claim for days when I'm away from home? I heard there is a standard deduction I can take. Do I need to do the long form and itemize my deductions(i'm separated and file "married filing seperate") and would my wife also have to itemize her taxes?

Answer 1

Are you reimbursed for your expenses by your employer, and is this under an accountable plan?  If the answer to this is "Yes" then the reimbursements are not included in your income reported on your W-2 and you do not get any deduction for the expenses.  This includes if your employer bases the reimbursement on the Federal per diem rates even if your actual expenses are less than the Federal per diem rate.

If you are reimbursed under a non-accountable plan or are not reimbursed at all then any reimbursements are included in income on your W-2 and you would have to file Form 2106 to claim a deduction for your expenses.  The amount on Form 2106 flows to Schedule A as a miscellaneous itemized deduction.  If you itemize, your spouse MUST itemize as well if you file Married Filing Separately, even if that means she has to use $0 for her Standard Deduction amount.  Do her the courtesy of letting her know that you are itemizing!

When you deduct the cost of meals, you may either use 50% of your actual out-of-pocket costs or 50% of the Federal M&IE per diem rate.  You may use either the per diem rate or actual cost on any given day.  However an optional (usually higher) per diem rate applies to you as you are in the transportation industry.  If you choose to use this rate for any portion of the trip, you must use it for the entire trip.

The actual per diem rates vary based upon locality.  See IRS Pub 1542 (available only on line as it is updated frequently) for the current rates by location.  Here's a link to the current version:  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1542.pdf  You generally use the rate in effect for the highest cost location that you travel to in any given day UNLESS you use the optional rate for transportation workers.  If you choose to use the optional rate, it applies for all days of the trip regardless of which areas you travel to, even if a higher rate would apply for one or more stops on any given day during the trip.

Note that this discussion only applies to meal expenses.  While there is a per diem ceiling for lodging costs, there is no "per diem" rate that you can use for lodging; you MUST use the actual lodging expenses and have receipts for lodging expenses.  The lodging ceilings apply to Federal employees and reflect the maximum that they are reimbursed for official travel.  They have no application to you.

You should also get a copy of IRS Pub 463 for more information on employee business expenses.  Here's a link to that:  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf  Among other things, it discusses the record keeping requirements for whatever method you choose to use.

Good luck, and keep the greasy side down!

Answer 2

The standard meal allowance for transportation workers is $52 per day.  You can only take 75% of that amount for the 1st day and last day of the trip.

You would claim these expences on form 2106 employee business expences, which flows to Sch a itemized deductions.  If your itemized deductions exceed your standard deductions you should itemize.  Since you are married filing seperate you wife will also have to itemize.  If she has no itemized deductions, then her standard deduction is $0