Anyone starting Millis Ohio school on 6/27/11

Also with Bill, be on time and ready for the day. Make sure you get a Motor Carriers Atlas, ruler(clear 6 inch is best), pens with black ink, a calculator, a good pair of work gloves and a good flash light.

 

I wish I were! I still have a couple months left of college before I can go that route!

Get it? Go...that...yeah...bad joke.

 

Im on practical straight pay. A lot of drivers like per diem but are getting shorted in long run on per diem. The irs allows u to deduct an amount per day on your taxes for per diem. Whether your on per diem pay or not u need to calculate the difference between what the company paid u and what the irs allows for deduction. In my case the company pays zero for per diem so calculation is easy. A lot of drivers take per diem for 2 reasons 1: the company gives extra perks with it such as an extra week vacation in your 1st year and pays your avg pay while on vacation vs. Only$ 500 for those on straight pay. They also pay $50/day for six holidays during the year. 2: drivers like getting a bigger net pay because 10 cents of every mile paid is not taxed. Here's the problems I have with their second reason:
1st they get paid 5 cents less on every mile gross. 2nd that 10 cents per mile doesn't factor in to workman's comp. So if hurt it looks like they got paid .19/ mi starting. It also doesn't factor into social security meaning company doesn't have to contribute 6.4% on that. 10/mi.(whether u believe social security will be there or not no one would think the government would make u forfeit contributions to the system). Of course if applying for loan that ten cents is not income. But the kicker is if you want bigger net pay now and not a huge refund you just increase your exemptions on your w-4 withholding. Nobody will say boo at 9 exemptions and you can have less withholding, still get a refund and make 5 cents more than the per diem guy. Remember im just a dumb truck driver now but I tend to look at things in the big picture and even if you don't follow me, answer this question before choosing pay option, "why does the company make per diem so attractive? Best for u or them?"
oh and you'll find the majority of drivers ,if not all, are on practical.

 

Sully, don't call yourself a dumb truck driver. That post above shows you are pretty smart.

 

Thanks r.d. I forgot to mention it also affects your 401k contribution and thus your match. Ie. You can't contribute a % of reimbursements which is not income therefore u can't get a match on it. Money left on table.

 

I can't remember off hand. Maybe someone will pipe in before I look it up. I remember not being impressed with match% but being impressed that they didn't put a cap on it. Like I said ill have to look up to refresh my memory.