Driver expenses that are tax deductable

Your allowed 58bucks a day without receipts to cover meals entertainment,etc.... extras like a cb radio , GPS, paper,pens, tools, gloves , boots, soap, cleaning supplies, etc... those are on top of the 58bucks for per diem.

 

The daily rate is 59.00 for US and 65.00 when in Canada.
Here is a link with some information.


http://www.ooida.com/EducationTools/Resources/per-diem-rate.asp

 

If you are serious about itemizing then set you up a spreadsheet and you can even scan your receipts.

Since you are a new driver I'll assume you are young. From a company driver standpoint unless you have a mortgage and a bunch of medical expenses it's hard to beat the standard deduction. Until you move up in the itemizing world keep it simple as possible. Do keep track of the number of days on the road where being at the house doesn't touch. That can be done by saving logbooks or use a calender or even some software or app.

Company deducted perdiem can have an advantage on taxes but it hurts so many other things like company matches to your 401K, SSI, disability, workers comp, etc that's based on your gross pay.

 

Company per diem is where they pay you 30cpm and say, 8cpm of that is per diem.

 

The only person you should be discussing itemized deductions with is a guy in the know....aka a specialized tax professional. And I don't mean Turbotax or Taxcut. Sounds like you need that kind of warm body help. I've driven all these years as a co driver and now O/O and never done a short form or standard ded.
But then I listened to my guy in the tax dept of my business interests. So what he says, goes.
Good luck.

 

A couple of places to gather information:

Historical Overview and Terminology:

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Trucking-Industry-Overview---Complete-Version

There is meal / per diem info there such as:

Meal/Per diem deduction = Section 274(n)(3) provides a special rule that increases the percentage that can be deducted for meals of persons, such as truck drivers, who are subject to the hours of service limitations established by the Department of Transportation.

Meals Deductible Percentage Under 274(n)(3)
....
75% for years beginning in 2006, 2007
80% for years beginning in 2008, 2009​

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Trucking associations have lobbied for several years to return the meals deduction to 100 percent for truck drivers.

2. Rev. Rul. 2006-56 - Nonaccountable meal reimbursement plans: ​

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Amounts treated as paid under a nonaccountable plan are included in the employee's gross income, must be reported as wages or other compensation on the employee's Form W-2, and are subject to withholding and payment of employment taxes.
This may constitute:
(1) all payments under the arrangement if the arrangement does not satisfy each of the requirements of business connection, substantiation, and return of excess,
(2) all payments under the arrangement, even if each of the requirements of business connection, substantiation, and return of excess are satisfied, if the arrangement violates the anti-abuse rule of § 1.62-2(k),
(3) payments made under a separate arrangement for other bona fide but nondeductible business expenses, or
(4) payments to an individual employee that are in excess of his or her substantiated expenses and, although the arrangement requires the excess to be returned, the employee does not return the excess to the employer within a reasonable period of time.
3. TIRES
Rev. Proc. 2002-27, 2002-1 C.B. 802, provided a safe harbor method of accounting (original tire capitalization method) for the cost of original and replacement tires for vehicles used in various business activities.
Trucking companies who don't elect the safe harbor method for depreciating tires (Rev Proc 2002-27) must treat the original, replacement and retread tires as a separate asset and depreciate them under MACRS class 42.0 (5 year recovery period) if they last longer than one year.

Note: -- 1099's are NOT required to be issued to owner operators.

How to depreciate property: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p946.pdf

And of course, right here on this site: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/trucker-tax-tips/

FYI - my wife has done taxes professionally for years.