Leaving for orientation

ask the trainer, about the food, and it's usually, "LET'S GO NOW".......he ain't got time to wait on you.

 

I think I had the best trainer ever. I brought the essentials. I could have brought food if I wanted just as long as I had a place to put it. He was great he was loaded with food when he picked me up and we probably only ate at truck stops or restaurants 5 or 6 times. He would do all the cooking and then when it was time to go to walmart and stock up I would pay for half.

 

no, you will get a per diem for food/living on the road....expenses are more like, clothing, boots, maps, etc...so if you saved the food receipts, the per diem washes them away..best to go with the per diem, it'll be MORE than the food you actually buy...!!!

you DID get lucky, if it were me, i certainly would NOT cook for anyone but myself, and i would NOT allow food on/in the truck beyond crackers and water....i would NOT appreciate someone slobbering food and beverages all over my interior...after all, people MUST understand, that truck IS the second home to the trainer, so it MUST be respected..

i WOULD stop at truck stops and make the trainee pay for his food to get a feeling for how expensive it is to live on the road..i think that starting off a newbie with a silver platter only reinforces that trucking is NOT a hard inconvenience to a lifestyle one MUST adapt to right away...one must learn right away what it takes to live on the road, and cooking for a student, isn't one of them....

once learned how hard life on the road can be, THEN and ONLY THEN should the student prepare his/her own foods in his/her OWN truck....

but a trainer doing all the cooking...for both...??

sounds a bit gay to me......

did he volunteer to do your laundry as well....????

 

i don't see how you "get screwed at tax time"....

i never did.......

 

Per diem is a great option if its offered, (some companies dont offer it) it basically covers your food cost and unless you really eat ALOT its great. Some days I eat one good sit down dinner but most days i only get lucky enough to grab a burger and go. Any kind of supplies you buy (including shoes and other clothing items) keep your reciepts and they can be used if you itemize your deductions. If you work for a company that say doesn't have qualcomm and you use your cell phone for buisiness purposes it can be written off as well.

As far as trainers allowing food in the truck its really just a case by case deal. My trainer was great. He had no problem with me bringing food in the truck. Of course training pay is not very good so I was usually a little short on food money and he even bought me a couple meals while we were out.

Y'all be safe out there

 

The IRS gives truck drivers the option of using per diem when tax times comes. I saves you from keeping receipts for food and such. You can still itemize and deduct things above and beyond the per diem, such as tools of the trade, clothing specific to the job, safety gear etc.

You get to deduct (I think) 80 percent of 58.00 dollars for every full day you are on the road. Do use a tax professional. I am telling you what I know of the top of my hat.

The per diem a company "pays" is based on the allowance the IRS will give you. That said, you may still get less than the IRS allows, and you can claim the rest at tax time.