Per Diem

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Exempt employees get 100 percent of actual expenses, not a daily rate.

 

Here we go with the dead horse again. IF you save every receipt for everything you spend on the road related to living (food, lodging etc.) then you can use that amount for your deduction. If you choose not to try and save every receipt then you can take the standard daily deduction. Per Diem is a term often misused.

I used to work for a company that provided a Per Diem credit card, in other words they paid for EVERYTHING except tobacco and alcohol while traveling. Meals, lodging, laundry, Tylenol, etc. That was paid 100% by the company (Per Diem) and as such I was not allowed to take any deduction on my taxes.

I now work for a company that pays $.10 per hub mile Per Diem. So in other words rather than try and sort everything out on my taxes, standard daily deductions, actual expenses etc. I get $.10 per hub mile paid before taxes to use for my daily expenses.

Last year I had just over 150,000 miles, or $15,000 paid Per Diem (no taxes on that amount). Even with the standard daily deduction figuring 300 days away from home I would have been able to deduct $14,160 so my companies Per Diem benefited me by almost $900.00. Now I was probably out more than 300 days but I didn't have to keep any records, receipts, days out reports, logs etc. For me personally the company Per Diem pay is a huge benefit. However if you drive for one of the mega carriers and only drive 80k to 120k a year and spend 330 days on the road then the per diem based at $.10 per mile would not be enough. BUT, if you keep track of the days away from home or keep every receipt and find that you can deduct more than the per diem benefit then you can take the additional deduction above and beyond the per diem amount you were paid before taxes.

The best thing you can do is not worry about whether or not a company pays Per Diem. Go work, earn your pay and decide if your going to take the standard deduction, save receipts and try to beat it or take the per diem paid by the company and forget all the rest. GET AN ACCOUNTANT THAT KNOWS TRUCKING TAX LAWS, have them do your taxes and in the end, if they know what they're doing your going to wind up netting the same money for the year no matter which way you go unless you eat out every meal, stay in a hotel every night, rent a car every break and save all those receipts. If you do all that you'll show a higher net but have less money because you blew it all trying to beat the IRS. Personally I spend right at $150 a week on food because I cook in the truck and that my friend is no where close to the standard deduction of $330.40 or the Per Diem paid by my company. In the end the Per Diem is a great benefit for me.