can some one please explain per diem pay??

The thing I would need to look at with three kids is earned income credit. I think the tax code in the us is screwed up even tho to be honest I get every dime I pay in back and about 3000.00 more. If you make under (I think last year) $34,000 you received earned income credit. Well to be honest I was right under that line so I got back a few thousand dollars because of that. So if I took PD and that kept me under the earned income credit on my taxes I would get the best of both worlds. Yes, it is working the system but it would make since to get back all they offered even if it is screwed up but legal in every way.

 

mindbender, I don't think you are "working the system" at all. If you qualify you are entitled to it. That tax credit was designed to help those honest taxpayers who are raising children or taking care of dependents on a very tight budget. What it wasn't designed for are all of those who "work the system" by selling dependents to others so that they can claim the max EITC or those who claim dependents who weren't theirs. A taxpayer can maximize the credit with only 2 children...so if they have 3 or more, they fraudulently sell their dependents to another so that they can maximize the credit. That is working the system. Filing returns based on made up W-2s is working the system.

I am a CPA and have filed probably hundreds of fraudulent returns but I had no way of proving it based on IRS guidelines. They've tightened the guidelines a bit over the past couple of years but it is still wraught with fraud.

No, claim your credit. Based on your monthly takehome pay, your refund must equal at least 2 month's worth of work.

 

Well I know some might think I am full of crap but I feel guilty when I look at what I put in and then see what I get back. I have a friend who makes a lot more than I have in years gone by and he has to pay in so much. Me on the other hand always seem to be just under the earned income credit so I always get everything back and then some. I am glad to see that check come in don't get me wrong and I am not guilty enough to send it back but you know what I mean.

I don't have a college degree and my wife didn't finish college either. We have three kids all in school and I am self employed. This is why I am trying to go to school to get my CDL. I know if I go ahead and put in some time now, someday I can get a local route and still be more financially stable. God has always provided but it can get a bit tight that is for sure.

 

Don't feel guilty about it. Take it & run.

It's such an insignificant amount out of the treasury that isn't earmarked for pork, graft & corruption.

This government throws away so much more money on unimportant, wasteful, ridiculous stuff that your minor windfall will not tip the scales of economics at all. Not even a blip on the radar screen.

If anything, I'd rather see the government give bigger windfalls to it's middle class than throwing it all away on half the other supposedly humanitarian efforts it purports to.

I bet if the gov canned just one ridiculous program, it could throw every household a check for 100k & never feel it.

Give me the flat tax.

 

I have a questions, my husband in orientation now and he declined the per diem offer. However, in his classes they are telling him that at tax time he can deduction a standard deduction 57.00 per day. Is this true? What is it and what does it mean? If it for food, etc, should we still keep receipts for these items to add to these items?

One more question, how do you all keep receipts and or do you keep credit cards and bank statement instead? How do you keep them orginaized, do you use a compluter program? If yes, which one and is "it" tax deductable.

Except for mortage interest and taxes we didn't itemize before so I have no system!

 

It's either 52 or 57 dollars a day for meal expenses while on the road. It's a standard deduction for anyone subject to the hours of service imposed by the Sec of transportation. This generally means anyone filling out a log book but it also includes drivers w/o logs but still subject to HOS rules.

The deal is that when you itemize this deduction, you have to adjust that 52 or 57 by 75%. This comes out to about $39 that you can deduct on your taxes per day of being on the road.

There's other deductions as well & this is why you need to keep track of virtually every receipt &/or expense.

By the way, the % will be going up each year & may get to the point where the entire amount is deductible. Hope so. It's stupid to not be able to deduct the whole thing.

As for keeping receipts, a shoebox works & when you get the chance, you can enter the receipt amounts in the right categories in a cheap ledger.

Sure, you can use a computer program like the several out there for trucking bookeeping or you can use a simple one that comes with MS Works or just create a simple one in MS Excel.

No matter which one you use, the important part is to actually write it/type it into the program or ledger & keep the receipts safe.

If you get the right program or build the right spreadsheet, it can tell you where all your money is going & point you towards the best ways to save money as well.

 

Every year I do my taxes (I do them myself) I do them BOTH ways to see where the monetary advantage is. I use the standard per-diem deduction and compare it with a total itemized deduction using bank statements. I use no cash, but buy everything with my debit card, even if I only get a cup of coffee. My statements might not say what I purchased, but each purchase is indicated by the VENDOR and it is easy to determine by the vendor and amount what the purchase was.

 

i have ? i work for crst they pay pre rod like this they say you get pay .22 cpm take off .2 cents pay u 10 cpm and reimburse 10 cpm so i fact u r only get .22 cents a mile do they have to take off the other 2 cent or is that just a scam

 

Sorry for bumping an old post, but I wanted some clarification...you say above it's better for newbies to take the per-diem pay if they won't be able to pass the standard deduction at tax-year-end...it'll only make sense to do so financially. Now, if I'm the newbie (hopefully), I have a dependent child, mortgage with a black hole of deductible interest, various other deductions, and have exceeded the standard deduction (and, of course itemized) for about 8 years now, is it then safe to assume that I should NOT take any per-diem pay from the company, but rather claim the $52/day X # of days out at the end of the tax year, to add to my itemized $$$?

Making sure I'm understanding the per-diem somewhat...this thread jumped around alot, $52, $54, $59, 75%, etc.

P.S. - I realize you, or anyone else responding, may, or may not be a tax professional, and hereby release any willing participants of any and all liabilities of, or related to, the answering of this question

I'm sure I will seek professional tax advice the first year I have trucking income to report, even tho my wife and I have done our own taxes for years.

 

Okay, I know what Company Per Diem is and I know what the IRS allows for Per Diem. I know the difference between the two. Personally I claim the daily Per Diem allowed by the IRS since i itemize. NOW... the $20 question is..... Can the company force Company Per Diem on a driver??? and where might the answer lie to support or not support this fact in the IRS tax guides?