Do I have to itemize my per diem

You have to itemize to take the deduction, and it reduces your taxable income.

 

To clarify- Are you on a per-diem pay package or are you regular pay and planning to claim per-diem on taxes?

 

Say you gross 50k- You were gone 240 nights of 2016.
63x240x0.8= About 12k

50k-12k=38k
You only pay income taxes on 38k rather than 50k

 

Turbotax will calculate it easily for you, so will most tax offices. Just keep a copy of all your logs in case you get audited. I was audited in 2009, I just had to prove I was actually gone 270 days that year.

 

That's the same year I got audited.
Sounds like they were busy that year

 

You can either use receipts for face value, or use your logbooks(print off is fine for e logs) for the 63/day. Keep receipts for clothing, tools, cleaning supplies, etc. anything reasonable you buy for the truck is additional to the per diem.

 

For the record, it's no longer called a 'per diem' in the eyes of the Infernal Revenue Service. It's referred to as the "meal allowance"...Companies call what they pay (or the amount they calculate off your gross to get your taxable income) a per diem. It's worded "meals and incidentals" which means cost of the food, gratuities, and travel expenses to/from (taxi, Uber...etc). I know several people in other occupations that get per diem pay...in the eyes of the government, that includes their lodging expenses as well. With us, you get the meal allowance AND you can deduct a certain number of days of lodging itemized separately, even if you're in a truck with a sleeper.

But to answer the question, yes, you have to itemize to claim it. And like it was said, no food receipts are necessary other than proof of your time away from home (i.e. your log book.) This deduction is one of the few deductions where the IRS has been generous. Unless you really eat at fancy restaurants 3 meals a day, most would have a hard time spending what they allow us to deduct.