Potential Co. has mandatory Per Deim?!?!?

For travel within the US, you can deduct 80% of $59 ($49.20) per day away from home. For international travel, it is 80% of $65. There is no required minimum distance away from home -- you simply must be away from home as part of your work duties.

 

Not sure how old you are but I'm 37 and am confident that social insecurity won't be there when I retire. I'm sure this is a good deal for the company but I don't think it's that bad for the driver unless you count on living on social insecurity like many who have commented on this post? Correct me if I'm wrong but per diem is non taxable so this would lower your income but it will also lower your tax bracket. Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me but I'm not concerned about getting a loan or social security.

 

I like your play on words, "Social Insecurity".

 

If the amount you are paid in per diem is less than the amount for which you qualify to claim, you can itemize the difference just like you would filing on your own. But if you have to itemize, you can no longer claim the standard deduction ($6100-$12,200 depending on filing status). So in most cases a company driver comes out ahead taking company per diem & claiming the standard deduction.

Your pay stubs & W2 will show per diem pay which 99% of lenders will be able to use when determining whether you can qualify for a loan. Additionally, you may have the bonus of qualifying for "low income" government financing benefits because those are generally based on taxable gross income.

 

Thanks for the correction double yellow. I knew my numbers were off since things have changed the past few years. Like others have said it is not to your benefit to take the per diem from your employer. They get all the tax breaks and you get nothing in return.

 

Boy there is A LOT of misinformation in this post. When dealing with taxes, and your income, talk to an accountant!

 

AND,

given your location, ie. floriduh,

you can't let per diem be a deciding factor.

I honestly think you'll find find Armellini to be a stand-up outfit.

 

I just love how everyone on here has a very negative opinion of Per Diem. Well I get Per Diem where I work to the tune of .10 per mile. I have only had one job in 25 years of driving that didn't pay Per Diem. Have never EVER had a problem with getting a home loan, in fact multiple home loans over the years. My accountant tells me that the Per Diem is probably one of the best benefits I have here, taxable income is a lot lower, filing taxes is a lot easier and in the end I live very well, own a couple nice homes, have nice toys all the while earning Per Diem.

The best person to tell you if Per Diem is a good idea in your particular situation is your accountant not an internet forum for truck drivers. Yes, your social security contributions will be less but if you work your whole life there's a cap on social security and if there's any social security left by the time you retire it won't matter whether your got paid Per Diem or not, the amount of your monthly SSI check is going to be the same.

If you can't manage your money and are always behind the curve then Per Diem might be a bad idea but if you earn a decent living, manage your money and don't want to hassle with trying to save every single receipt on the road then Per Diem might well be a huge benefit for you.

Personally I will NEVER work for a company that doesn't offer Per Diem. My annual Per Diem pay is well above the standard deduction amount and trying to save every receipt to beat the standard deduction isn't worth the hassle, I'll take the much larger Per Diem (for me last year it was $15,600) and pay less in taxes.

 

I'm considering going to work for a company that pays a flat per diem rate per day instead of taking it out of your mileage pay. The way it was explained to me is that the per diem (as described earlier) is designed to benefit the driver by providing extra income in the form of tax free earnings without having to keep and file receipts for year end tax purposes. Sounds like a win-win for me, I get my normal mileage pay PLUS a flat per diem each day I'm on the road. My wife has an income and I also have a military retirement income. I honestly don't see any drawbacks by taking the per diem in my situation.

 

I don't know why everyone always brings up loans with this. If per diem is part of your pay it still shows as income, even on a W-2. It's not magical money that appears in your account that no one knows how it got there. With all of the documentation you need to apply for a loan, they will know it is part of your income. The same thing applies to something like child support. They know.

Per diem is reported income, it's not taxed income. It will affect social security and such because it's not taxed, but it is still reported.