Help understanding Per diem

I don't know how it works down in the states but in canada I get (roughly) $50 a worked day per deim and $7 for shower...... tgere are incidentals in there too.

 

Anyone who thinks per diem is screwing their SS benefits, is screwing themselves by counting on SS to retire.

 

You get 80% of $62 or whatever the rate is these days.. for taxes. According to landline now. That equate to anywhere from 11 to 14 tousand dollars. That per diem saved me from paying uncle sam for not having insurance the last 2 years. I still got money back.

 

If you do not take it you will have a higher taxable income at the end of the year, but less cash in your checks.

if you take it, you'll have more cash in your checks, but your taxable income at the end of the year will be lower.

The trade off can be substantial.

 

My pay statement looks like this:

Gross pay
Minus taxes
Plus per diem
Plus reimbursements
Minus benefits
= net pay

 

What these companies call per diem pay is not per diem nor is it pay. In any other industry, per diem is extra pay they pay you to compensate you for additional expense and time away from home when they send you some where for work. It is extra pay and has nothing to do with taxes. (Well, other than its taxed as income.) What trucking companies call per diem is where they just declare a portion of your income as pretax income, and then they don't withhold income tax, SSI, and such from that portion. It allows you a little higher take home pay. But it is not extra pay. It is just giving you some of the money you should have spent on taxes, and letting you make it up when you file your income taxes and spend it then. Per diem as trucking companies do it is a shell game to make you think you are getting paid better than you really are. You will find some guys on here that defend per diem pay, and their explanation sounds logical. But they are basically saying what I just said. They just aren't a pessimist like I am. My humble opinion is to say no to trucking company tax dodge shell games. There may be a few OTR companies where per diem pay really is pay. But I'm not aware of any.