Per Diem

$50 per day

 

The IRS M&EI rate for those under FMCSA HOS for 2021 is 80% of $66 which is $52.80. Since the IRS removed that deduction for company drivers, the per diem plan really took off. So, by which ever way your per diem is paid, it should be somewhere around $52.
If by the mile your getting shorted unless you get at least 500 miles every day you are out.

 

I used to always opt out of per diem as a company driver because I could just deduct it instead, but since the IRS took away our M&EI it's now a no-brainer to opt in---especially considering that I can afford to sacrifice some earned income since I make almost 60 cpm now. I average 450-500 miles/day with the company's per diem rate being 11.5 cpm, so I'll be maxing the daily allowance. Another nice aspect of opting in is it doesn't disqualify you from taking the generous standard deduction the IRS is now offering. It makes it feel like we get to legally "double-dip" now, whereas before it was against the rules.