Desperate for information on tax preparation for lease/purchase driver

He's an independent contractor. That's what lease purchase is in almost every case. He needs his 1099.

 

Wow, another one - no offense but we've see a few asking questions like this.

I would use the service you pay for, you can have them work through things with you if you know what you have in records.

The leasing of the truck is not considered a lease purchase until the purchase is made, so I would stress that with whom ever you talk to. There is a contract and that contract spells out the deductions that they take so you can use that as a guideline. The company should give you a breakdown of the expenses related to that lease, which could be deducted - but it depends on your situation. I used to lease a couple trucks out, so it is pretty straight forward.

ALSO just a little FYI, you won't get your 1099 until near the end of January, they are by law supposed to give it to you before 1/31. However if you don't get it, the accountant can deal with that and with your records, can tell the IRS this is what you made and the company didn't issue it.

AND one last thing, turbo tax is good but I would use an accountant to make sure you are getting it straight so yes have the look at it all.

I don't have an accountant who is in the tucking business, I have one who does corporate work and he has been very good. The reason I refuse to use a trucking business person is they come up with all these fees and BS to get more money out of me and then when I need to make a business decision, I can't get a straight answer out of them. Something to think about.

 

Make sure your accountant is a CPA. A CPA is required to be up on the current laws and regulations. You will have certain recourse against a CPA, as opposed to "tax preparers". Some of these "tax preparers", use the title "Accountant", but beware if they are not CPA's.
It sounds like you have a complicated situation, that needs to be untangled, do not rely on advice from TTR, TTR is a great resource, but I think you need to get with a professional CPA. Good luck!

 

Maintaining good records is critical, especially starting out. With the start of a new year, you may want to think about buying software specifically designed for the trucking industry. There are a few around. I have been using Trucknpro for a number of years. They came out with a program that can be used by lease purchase operators. This program will help you to keep track of your per diem along with other things about your business. At the end of the quarter or year, you just print out a profit and loss or breakdown expenses and give that to your accountant. They have several programs from the single truck operator to fleet owners to carriers with a number of trucks. I think that the will still allow you to try the program for a couple of weeks or so to see how you like it before buying. I have several friends who have also used the program for several years. There web address is www.foglinesoftware.com or www.trucknpro.com. I have found it simple and easy to use. I like that it will break down my profit and loss by a load or time period and by the mile. It is important to know where you are in any business. If you don't want to buy the program, you can use a spreadsheet. I did use a spreadsheet for a number of years. I prefer the trucking specific software.

 

All the above is good advice. There no way things can be worked out right without great record keeping an a CPA to advise you. In some instances it works with not going this route, but then, even a blind squirrel with find a nut once in a while. You have to know where you have been to know where you are going. And crunching numbers is the only way to do it. I run multi layered spread sheets that talk to each other with cumulative summaries, and I have a real CPA that I work with to keep me in the groove. That is why I am now a LLC with a S Corp tax structure and basically I am just an employee of my own 1 truck company. And it only cost me $150 one time to set it all up and it saves me thousands in taxes every year. But like the TV commercials say... don't try this at home. You have to get a good CPA that primarily specializes in small business operations.