How Does Per Diem Mileage Pay Work?

Also of import, if not a 1099 owner operator as of 2019 i beleive it is, per diem does not apply to you except in very specific edge cases where the carrier has really done their homework and is fully tracking everything correctly, furthermore, in those cases, per diem will have already been figured and ther is no extra work for you to do at tax time

 

The loan thing is not necessarily b.s.; just depends. Some lenders only consider taxable, gross income (usually mortgage type loans. Mortgage outfits are ALWAYS going to verify your income. In that case, per diem *could* affect your ability to get approved.

More often than not, if you have a high credit score (750+), auto, boat, motorcycle lenders don’t verify your income. They just go off what you put on the application.

 

Haven't had any issues getting a mortgage and two car loans. In all instances they look at how much I actually deposit in the bank each pay period. They didn't care what I did or didn't pay taxes on.

I'm a huge fan of per diem pay. More of my money goes in my pocket and not in the government coffers. I also put a percentage of my pay in a 401K which further saves on my taxes. This will also help supplement any reduced SS payments when I retire.

 

I never had any issues either, but mortgage companies do NOT count non taxable income. But, to your point, in the end they care about your debt to equity ratio. That’s why it *might* affect the applicant. If someone is looking to buy a house, for example, and are on the the borderline with their debt/equity ratio, then they might consider getting off per diem until after they close to increase what the mortgage company counts as *gross taxable income*.

In mine and your case(s) our debt/equity ratio was fine even being on per diem. That’s why they didn’t give 2 squats about taxable or not.

 

Different thing, same name. O/O per diem allows specific write downs for material goods. Because it doesn’t apply to all drivers now, companies are allowed to set aside up to .10 a mile as not taxed and added back to pay after all other deductions.

 

Just need to be mindful of how you are paid. Some of the short loads I run are paid by percentage and there is no per diem allowance. Makes a noticeable difference to the take home pay.