From IRS publication 463, page 6.

Special rate for transportation workers. You can use a special standard meal allowance if you work in the transportation industry. You are in the transportation industry if your work:

• Directly involves moving people or goods by airplane, barge, bus, ship, train, or truck, and
• Regularly requires you to travel away from home and, during any single trip, usually involves travel to areas eligible for different standard meal allowance rates.

If this applies to you, you can claim a standard meal allowance of $52 a day ($58 for travel outside the continental United States) from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007.

Using the special rate for transportation workers eliminates the need for you to determine the standard meal allowance for every area where you stop for sleep or rest. If you choose to use the special rate for any trip, you must use the special rate (and not use the regular standard meal allowance rates) for all trips you take that year.

i am not spiteful or whatever you wanna call it. i am going by experience from what i have dealt with and have seen on a personal basis. my retirement benefits have dropped because of per diem and i have to change it and make uplost money. so all i can say is you file the way you want to and i'll do mine my way. and since i have never been audited and i have been doing this going into my 18 th year , i think i will keep doing it my way. peace out.

The per diem method you are talking about that had the effect on your retirement is plain nasty that trucking companies even offer it. It puts a sour taste in a driver who loses in the end.

If you ever have a question on taxes, pm me and I'll try to help. I may be on the road sometimes and it could take a while. I try to help truckers since I am now one by choice.

After all, the sun shines in my world and office now.

I read all that on the form. It didn't say anything about other expen. so I would assume that you can still claim anything you do and that is just the food deduction. The only thing that I don't understand is the half a day thing. I read it but it was not clear to me what I can do. If I leave out in the morning and come back 14 days later how many days can I claim? I think it would be 12 and a half but I am not sure.

Personally, I would not worry about it. If you are gone 14 days, take 14 days. I never worry about the half and whatevers. If IRS quibbles, there is not a large amount.

You're exactly right about that. I didn't even lose---our company's 2 cpm lost for 11 cpm per diem gained plan is optional, thankfully, and I didn't accept it (gerjamr I was happy to see you made the right choice too!)---but their misleading propaganda still put enough of a sour taste in my mouth that I'm going to quit the company later this year after driving nearly 10 years for them.

I read this whole thread just now, because I'm trying to find out as much as I can about the subject. It floors me that companies are pulling this on their drivers! Unbelievable!

Here's a tiny correction that I don't think anyone mentioned, from the first few posts...for tax year 2007 transportation workers under HOS regs get to apply 75% of the standard meal deduction, not 80%. (However it may be that the tax law changed from 80% to 75% in the time that's elapsed since those first few posts were written...I only know it's 75% now, for 2007.)

wow my eyes hurt from this post. im just trying to find out something simple. the actual money/cash/coin/scratch i would get back from the irs at tax time from per diem. say i have 200 nights on the road. single status etc.. what would be the actual refund?

That is based on many things.
1. Filing status.
2. Income level.
3. Any dependents.
4. Any other things to itemize.

The time on the road, 200 days comes to 10,400 of which 75% is allowed or 7,800. This is subject to 2% of the AGI before it is getting deductions. It also assumes all US and not Canada.

The best way to see is to try something like Turbotax or something like that.

Actually...
Technically I think there is another part of the deduction. Just because you are gone 200 days out of the year, that doesnt mean you get the full days deduction either. IE...if you leave town on a monday, and come back Friday, some people think thats five days of deductions.

However, you cant count the days you go or come back as a full days deduction either. Those only count for 1/2 or 3/4 of a full day. That is also seperate from the 75% figure.

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associate production coordinating directorial associate managing deparmental divisional office supervisor of the international network amalgamation distributors corporation management organizational association of men who drive trucks.

Roadmedic I have a question for you or anyone that knows the answer will help. Can a company force you to take per diem? I ask cause of what mathematrucker said...

I just got my CDL and that is a question I did not even think to ask.