Per Diem? Need some advice

Yeah, it just reduces your tax burden. All you're really trying to decide on is if you want more money per paycheck or a big refund at the end of the year.

I take the option myself. It adds a good $80 - $100 per paycheck that I normally wouldn't have. If I hadn't taken the option, I would've gotten a big refund this year, probably around $3,000 or so. But I got more on each check, which overall was more useful, and my refund was only $393. So it's all up to you really.

 

Each individual has different needs. Some people need to show a higher income so they qualify for home loans etc. etc. so it might be more beneficial to them not to take the company per diem. Which would raise their annual income by $10,000 plus every year.

Then at tax time take out the per diem yourself. Just keep copies of your logs to prove the day you were out. Which you can download from the website at maverick.

You need to look at what would be best for your own personal situation.

 

Don't be swayed by the bigger check now -- you can get bigger checks now by calculating your anticipated liability & increasing the number of exemptions. http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator


If the company "provides" per diem, do they charge you an administrative fee? For example, if you take per diem at a hypothetical starter company your 30cpm pay might be 23cpm regular pay (taxed) 6cpm per diem (untaxed) and 1cpm deducted from your check to pay the company for the hassle.

That may still come out ahead because they pay perdiem on line 14 so you can still take the standard deduction ($6100) on top of per diem. If you don't have many itemizations, it is worth 'losing' $1200/year in adminstrative fees to your company so your overall taxable income will be lower.

If your company does not provide per diem, in most cases you'll have to itemize when you file so you won't get to take the standard deduction on top of per diem.

 

Maverick doesn't play the silly games with per diem. They gave you the flat 59 dollars a day that the IRS allows.

 

Then I would almost certainly take it. For issues qualifying for loans, you can just bring in pay stubs to reflect that your actual pay is higher due to your tax-advantaged industry...

 

People always mention the issues with loans but I haven't had any problems. I've been on Per Diem for over a year and a half now at 2 different carriers and I have no problems. I have also gotten 2 new vehicle loans in the past 6 months without any hassles. They asked me about what I make in a year and that was all they wanted.