POSSIBLE RECESSION and starting as and Owner Operator?

Thanks I read section 179. I didn’t know it was taken as an expense deduction. I’d heard of accelerated depreciation. Reading 179 I see that it can be carried over also. From what I understand the only way I could be subject to Capital gains is if I sold my Truck for more than I deducted under 179. That is what I deducted would be recaptured as income and any amount above that would be considered Capital gain. Am I understanding that correctly?

 

My apologies Sir. I know just enough about Taxes to get myself into trouble. I better keep Driving!!

 

It happens every couple years... everybody jumps in, rates go to crap and people go broke. Rates go back up and it repeats. If you bridge from good through bad back to good then you’ll be in it for the long haul. It’s not easy.

As for the driver shortage. It depends on your perspective. Overall there are a ton of drivers. As a fleet owner you would say there is a massive driver shortage. As an owner op you would say there are too many drivers. It’s all relevant to your situation.

 

This is correct to my understanding. This scenario typically comes into play in real estate transactions -- and I am weak in my understanding of that area.

For ordinary assets like trucks, the sale price will be significantly below the purchase price, so capital gains are never an issue.

When selling a BUSINESS, it can be beneficial to expense as much as possible (i.e. leasing trucks rather than spending money on assets), because then the revenue from most of the business value becomes a capital gain instead of income through recaptured depreciation. For the same reason, if you have an asset based business and you expect to sell it in the future, it is common advise to expense as many of the investments as you can to avoid a big tax liability upon sale. You can do that by buying used trucks and refurbishing them in house, building your shop in house, etc.

 

I'm trying to relax and take some down time, not to mention get all my chores, and administrative things done.

But they keep calling, emailing, and now texting with freight.

Do these people not know there is a TTR recession?

 

What is TTR?

 

This website.

The Truckers Report= TTR

 

Oh

 

Actually, it's a super exclusive club. Entry requires Big Boy pants.

 

I’m doing the same. Projections are looking iffy right now. And all the talking heads are crying. But it shouldn’t deter you from giving it a go, provided you have your finances in order.

Reports I’m reading, are projecting a further increase of 4% this quarter. With a loss of 3% per quarter in the last half of 2019.

Look at it this way. If you’re in a position you can weather a downturn. You’ll be positioned to take advantage of the next upswing.

The ones who are struggling now, will be gone in short order. Mega carriers will shift the churn machine into overdrive as they grab low payed students to pull the majority of freight. Leaving higher paid and experienced drivers looking for new homes.

The last downturn found me with a company struggling to provide everyone with 1800 miles a week. I weathered that just fine, even though I was hired in at a frozen payscale and didn’t have a truck payment.

This next downturn may be the icing on the cake for some of our older drivers. With the onset of ELD, and other requirements coming down the pipe. They may just hang it up if they’re close enough to retirement.