Significant Other New to the Trucking world

On his paystub it should show the emtpy/loaded miles for each trip. This is what he is paid by, not the actual miles the truck drives. If you go by physical miles you will always show about 150 more than what is on the QC or his paystub for that trip.

Odd, I used DD and my pay was usually deposited the night before. DD is done automatically by computers. Now they may have said that the first DD may take a little longer as his information has to be entered into the system and the bank-to-bank chitchat has to be established.

Any check you write not drawn on your bank will go to a clearing house and they will hold it till it clears.

As with any job, paydays fall on different times of the month. You just need to adjust your "payday" clock. Most drivers are paid on Thursdays DD should show up after midnight Thursday at the latest.(Friday Morning).

Equipment used for business purposes can be written off. Keep ALL receipts. If he works for a company then when he fuels he should be getting shower points. If he does not then yes the shower is also a tax write off when away from home.

Truck stops can be found online for each brand of truckstop (websites).

Mark

 

You can deduct showers, cleaning supplies, CB, cell phone, etc. As for finding Truck stops, no problem!! I used to trip plan or my hubby from home. There are 2 main types of 'Truck Stop Guides' available at most truck stops, the first is 'magazine sized' and costs about $15, the other is 'pocket sized' and runs around $5, GET BOTH!! Using both guides and GoogleMaps (I would also suggest a Rand McNally Motor Carriers Atlas), you can help get him where he needs to be. (he should also carry a set of truck stop guides and Atlas on the truck) The small truck stop guide lists all Interstates and the exits that have truck stops and rest areas; the larger one utilizes a mapof the state with 'dots' showing the locations of truck stops on highways, etc, keyed to a detailed list.

 

banks don't show DD till after 5 mountain standard time. in utah

other time zones and state might vary. credit unions don't show up till 8 mountain standard time.

we have DD on thursday. those that collect a paycheck are also on thursday.

yes the first time might be a little longer to get everything setup. but i've never seen it happen yet.

and even if it was delayed 3 to 4 days. that just means the first paycheck. from there on out. it's the same day every week. like above said. you just have to adjust your payday.

expenses for business purposes don't apply to company drivers.

showers and all that are a tax write off. or he can use the standard per diem. you can't have both. it's one or the other. and since per diem is higher then what he will be spending every day. that's what you want to use.

you CAN deduct for tools and such. like your cell phone bill. and cb and what not. but typical showers and meals are less then the standard per diem. so use the per diem instead and don't even both with saving your meal receipts.

one thing to keep in mind. we had a driver that got puled over. and when he reached for his license. the cop saw his burger king receipt and asked to look at it.
needless to say his logs didn't match his burger king. and he got put out of service.

i couldn't tell you anything about comdata checks or anything. never used em or even worked for a company that uses them.

i make the same money every week if not better then company drivers that do cross country. we are regional and home every weekend. for those of us that know how to work our hours correctly.

we have drivers that do there 34 DURING the week. very stupid thing to do. we haul flatbed. freight don't work on the weekend. so why would one take there 34 during the week when frieght is moving. and camping out on the road during the weekend when freight isn't moving. instead of being home for the weekend when freight isn't moving.

 

Direct deposit, from Comdata only takes one to two business days. I use it often and it usually posts to my bank the next business day. Showers are tax deductible, if he actually pays for them. Most truckstop chains offer a points card and free showers, if you fuel. The free showers are kept track of on the points card and do not need to be used the same day and the same truckstop, only redeemable at the same chain.
I use the Cobra 29 BT, blue tooth cb radio as my hands free device. I generally have no problem with background noise or call clarity, plus I don't have to worry about battery life, or looking like a fast food, drive through, order taker.

Anything that can be considered "ordinary and customary" to perform his job, may be deducted from income, for income tax purposes. Gloves are an example, while regular clothing is not. Any special clothing, required, or clothing he buys with the company logo is deductible.

 

If he uses the "per diem" deduction, that is for meals and incidentals. That does not include showers and motels, they are still separate deductions. Per diem deductions are figured by how many days he is away from home, overnight, when he has to take his 10 hour break, before being able to return home. The day he leaves home and the day he returns home are counted as 3/4 days, each. This is a much better deduction than keeping actual receipts for his meals. Last year, as a transportation worker, the deduction for per diem was figured at 80% of $59 per day. Whoever does your income taxes needs to know about this deduction, as it is a specialized deduction allowed by the IRS and can be quite large.

 

If he doesn't want to do direct deposit that maybe a sign of him possibly skimming his pay for a little funny money. Direct deposit is the most easiest, fastest way to get your pay so I'm not sure why he wouldn't want to do that.

Another theory about your pay conflict is, how are you adding up what he is supposed to be making? Is he getting paid hub miles or post office miles. If he isn't getting hub miles then there will always be dispute over how many miles exactly he should be getting paid for. No matter what always keep track of your pay because mistakes are often made, especially in the trucking world because there is a lot of paperwork to keep track of and often gets sent long distances or scanned and goes through many hands. If he is doing trip pak or scanning make sure to photo copy all his paperwork and receipts before sending them so that he has exact record of what he is doing.

As far as tax write offs he should be getting a per diem. Make ask and see how that is being handled. If you have questions about taxes and such try this site:

http://www.atbsshow.com/transportation

As far as electronics, don't buy them at a truck stop. Walmart, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Internet etc... are all going to be cheaper than a truck stop. Craigslist and Ebay are really good! Keep the receipts, you can write those off.

Finding truck stops, you can buy a truck stop guide or being this is 2012 you can get an app for that. I recommend an app called "My DAT Trucker Services" its the best! This app will find truck stops, rest stops, showers, truck washes and even Walmarts! There are also separate apps for CAT Scales, the Blue Beacon has an app and there are a bunch of others. I personally have found the "DAT" app to be the best.

For hands-free devices I highly recommend a little ear piece made by "Plantronics" it is $100 and is superior to all the rest! Truck stops have them but it will probably be more expensive, so check the places I named above.

Good luck, hope this helps...

 

Just a little humor, but the statement to make copies of paperwork scanned reminds me of the person that said, "I'll fax the paperwork to you, but please fax it back, as it is the only copy I have!"

 

I often did routing and finding truck stopsfor my hubby from home, while he did have a map and gps, i kept up with traffic and accidents. I used mapquest and changed "my" route to his, was just a matter of draging the blue line wher i wanted it. In large towns i would use the traffic app and it would say how long from one point to another. Plus if your husband listens to the CB the conversation going on will give the same info and sometimes an alt route that is moveing faster.
You can search for the truck stops on mapquest also, but the guides are easier and sometimes faster to use.

Cb and gps are really a matter of taste and budget. My hubby likes his connex 3300 &his mcnally gps. Their is a thread that dicusses the pros and cons of both cbs and gps's, you might get some good info off that.

We got the DD and got his money on time, even after changeing banks mid pay period. I've had DD with various companies over the years as had my husband and never had a proboem with them, sometimes the 1st DD doesnt go in and you get a check or whatever right after you put in for it, but i've never had one go into the bank 2 or 3 days after everyone else got their paper or card pay.

My husband uses a blue parrot hands free, sure it looks like a fastfood order takers set, but i have no problems hearing him, no back ground noise, even the radio doesnt sound over it unless he has it at full blast. I have a hearing problem, i often cant hear over background noise, like in resturaunts, i end up reading lips over all the noise, so he had to get something with no background bleed or just not talk me.

Depending on your husbands likes and dislikes and what the company allows in the truck, you can save alot of mony by cooking/reheating in the truck. There is a thread on that also. I'd put a link in but my tablet is a pain in the tuche about links and my laptop is a dinosaur to pull out going down the road.