Another Millis Experience

Thank you so much. That benefit total sounds about right! Makes me lean more towards Millis now, Primes is way higher.

As for the driver payment plan you choose it looks like per diem and non per diem. Being brand new I have no clue as to what that means! Could you explain it to me? Which direction did you go?

Is everyone in the company a solo driver? Do they have team drivers? I was reading on Primes website you ride with a trainer after getting your CDL for 4-6 months before going solo. That sounds like a bit much but for a green horn like myself you never know it might be necessary. I just want to be safe out there and sure im properly trained so i know what im doing. Dont want to be in a boat without a paddle so to speak..

 

heres the pay break down....
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...hat-dummy-would-switch-practical-mileage.html

and as far as i know there is no teams... but thats just what ive read... Hope this helps

 

Still really doesnt explain to me what per diem and non per diem pay scale means. It explains something called HHG which just confused me even more...lol But thank you for trying to help!

 

lol yeh theres actually 4 ways to get payed.... lol per diem hhg, per diem practical and non per diem hhg and practical. But i actually dont know if im 100% on the per diem thing... So just use the search thing on the top of this forum and it will search the whole forum for what ever key words you put in.... So try to put like "per diem" in there or something! Srry i couldnt help much lol

From what ive been told tho. On per diem if you make .30 per mile, you will only be taxed on .20 per mile. And you can also write off alot on your taxes... V.S. Non per diem you get taxed on all of the .30 and they dont allow you to write things off on your taxes they just give you a certain dollar amount per day(dont know the dollar amount) your away from your home as a tax cut.... And PER DIEM bonuses are higher than NON PER DIEM.

Like i said im just trying to help so dont hold me to anything im saying.... thats all what ive been told... But search the site for it up top!! Good luck!

 

Ok well I did a bunch of research and found per diem to not be a good idea. The only ones it really benefits is the company. So that leaves non per-diem, and the choices for non per-diem at Millis is HHG miles and practical miles.

I did some research on HHG and practical miles and found that HHG would be more of a benefit because you can do things like go out of route to avoid major metro areas to make better time or go over to the local Walmart to pick up a few things and not be penalized or have to face a firing squad asking why you went out of route.

Practical miles keeps you restricted to staying on dispatched designated route and doesnt allow much leeway. Yes you get paid pretty much your exact hub miles but keep your fingers crossed you wont be late because they routed you through downtown in major traffic and the only place you can stop is at nothing but truck stops on the toll roads they restricted you 2!

Now I am new and could be off a little on this but from the way it has been explained on this forum this is what I came away with.

 

Millis doesnt give you a route, when you get a load all the addresses will be in there for you. On the qualcom there will be a letter code for almost every customer we go to. You type that code into a certain macro and it will pull up directions for you once you get into that town or city. A macro is preformed message in the qualcom to make it easier for you. If there are no directions than you call the customer and get directions and than once you get there you turn them into the company so that they are in there for the next driver.

 

How per diem benefits you is that you pay less in taxes in the front... however it also benefits the employer because they pay less taxes on you as well. This is why they push per diem on you. Companies make even more money by paying you less per mile but then entice you into the per diem plan by offering other perks like more time off, more bonuses, etc.

On either plan you can still take the per diem break on your taxes at the end of the year, you just have to take into consideration the per diem break you already received if you are on the per diem plan. This is why you need to keep track of the days you are OTR by keeping copies of your logs (for audit purposes). They prove the days you can claim per diem on your taxes. I can't remember the current rate for per diem per day.

Per diem plans also mean you are paying in less per year into social security which could affect the amount of your benefits once you reach retirement age. These are all things to take into consideration when choosing a plan.

Overall, remember that a company will never offer you something unless it also benefits them as well. Personally, I am taking regular pay, HHG miles.

 

Thank you everybody for the clarification. I have been researching the answers to these questions not only here but all over the web. I agree with you L.B. non per-diem HHG miles seems like the way to go. Then when I file my taxes at the end of the year worry about the per-diem deductions. I will be sure to save all my papers.

I will be contacting the recruiters at both Millis and Prime next week armed with about 1000 questions. There is a very good guide in the newbie section on questions you should ask. I have also added a ton more to that list myself. I have been doing a lot of research the past several weeks about this industry and I hope I am armed with enough knowledge for now to talk to the recruiters in an educated manner.