I guess I am very lucky

Go for it DUDE! that sounds like a great job. I have heard lots of different opinions on per diem so if it works for you go for it.

 

good luck u hunting u will get where your going

 

We'll call you Mr. Lucky. LOL when I remember the joke by Gene Tracy called Mr. Lucky but can't tell it here.

Don't think your boss is getting a kick back for fuel at the terminal. It's much cheaper when you buy in bulk than to just buy off the island. Good luck and stay legal.

 

The only question I have is; Are you an employee or considered an independent contractor? An employee means you get a w2 and your boss pays half your medicare and social security tax as well as paying for workers comp insurance.

If he is paying you as an independent contractor (you will get a form 1099) then you will have to make arrangements to pay your own taxes quarterly.

Many small companies and owner ops will issue 1099's to their workers rather than a w2 to save money.

 

One thing is if you get hurt on the job you will not get as much workers comp due to the "tax" break the boss is getting on the per diem as he's not paying as much. You will also see your Social Security go down due to the "reduced" pay. And if you go in for a loan of any kind this will show up in your "gross" in your credit report.

THEN the most important is when you file taxes at the end of the year you will file per diem which will really knock you taxes down ! It's now at $59 a day that you can claim for every day you are out. Now you have to show where he pays you and then you still add every day you are out off of your log book (KEEP EVERY PAGE FOR TAX Purposes!) and add them up for your accountant. They now have to add those miles up and calculate how much you got "shorted" by getting this per diem by the mile which doesn't add up to $59 a day then they calculate the days you were out then figure out the balance to add to your taxes This is what is actually known as the "3 martini lunch" that the Democrats took away back in Clinton's watch and the ATA had to fight to get it back which is one of the few things they ever did to benefit us drivers!

Yes, a per diem is "nice " on pay day but a killer down the road. It only benefits the person writing the checks! Why doesn't he just pay you that .32 CPM or the $59 a day instead of "playing" with the pay checks? Because they never do something free for the drivers anymore! It actually costs him a bit more to do your pay but it comes out better in the end with him paying a ton less in taxes on you! And it's still kinda legal for a while longer!
But don't believe what you read in a forum, check with your accountant and ask the above as questions to your accountant.

Good luck but if you have the job keep it!

 

Good to hear!

Rollover did bring up some very good points as well. There are many threads regarding per diem and its effects to the employee's paycheck here at TR. Use the search function and you will find them.

The only thing I can add to Rollover's post is that we are only entitled to claim 80% of that "59.00" per day figure. When filing taxes you will also lose 1.5% of your per diem based on your agi. The same concept as when itemizing medical deductions. In that instance you lose the first 7.5% of your AGI before any medical deductions can be counted.

If this stuff is confusing then be sure to retain a competent CPA (one that specializes in truck driver tax returns) to help you.