If you make $40k as an O/O, you have to pay 10k in federal income tax?

Not true.

You need to watch the advice you give. The daily deduction is for over night travel. But apparently, you will know better.

 

As far as you making mistakes just starting out, do not worry, you are not the first. I learned from some very costly lessons when it comes to taxes. After over paying by close to $15,000 in two years, I learned. I did not use H&R but something similar, they even filed with the wrong form, which I did not learn about till later

 

It is true, for example if you are a dedicated driver and spend everynight in bed at home you are allowed a deduction. I am not an accountant either but I can take a quick look at my taxes to see how much I was allowed

 

I am an accountant and a dedicated driver that sleeps in their bed is not entitled to the deduction on a properly filed tax return.

 

on my taxes this year it was $5350 allowed for daily deduction for around 160 days on road as company driver and I was home every except one

 

Read my comment again.

A properly filed tax return.

If you think it is legal, call the IRS and ask them to audit it.

 

You are an accountant and you do not take off for the meals allowance, or do you get paid perdiem? I did not get paid perdiem, therefore any traveling I do that is job related as either a company driver or o/o am allowed an allowance

 

Was audited in '99 useing this same accountant, no problem with my taxes that were job related, only proplem was interest on morgage since it was a miscom on the varable insurance rate

 

From the IRS publication on travel. Note that there is definitions on travel and reference to away from the tax home.

A driver who take the daily per diem, is no different than the office employee who works in an office and goes out to lunch.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch01.html#en_US_publink100033797

Example 2.
You are a truck driver. You leave your terminal and return to it later the same day. You get an hour off at your turnaround point to eat. Because you are not off to get necessary sleep and the brief time off is not an adequate rest period, you are not traveling away from home.


Standard Meal Allowance





Generally, you can use the “standard meal allowance” method as an alternative to the actual cost method. It allows you to use a set amount for your daily meals and incidental expenses (M&IE), instead of keeping records of your actual costs. The set amount varies depending on where and when you travel. In this publication, “standard meal allowance” refers to the federal rate for M&IE, discussed later under Amount of standard meal allowance . If you use the standard meal allowance, you still must keep records to prove the time, place, and business purpose of your travel. See the recordkeeping rules for travel in chapter 5.



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, 2008, through December 31, 2008.


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

 

100% correct,you CANNOT take the OTR meal allowance if you are going home every night-gray area-drivers subject to HOS regulations(daily log) are eligible for this deduction,better have log book pages that show being away from home!! and you cannot claim your hometime either! I may be wrong on this but i was advised not to claim the deduction when i worked local(within 100 miles radius),when i worked beyond that, i claimed it since i ate bfast,lunch on the road and was still on duty during normal evening meal times(12 hours driving-3 hours on duty,CA intrastate-when you only required 8 off duty)