Tax deductions?

That's about all of it. Just missing the big one, the meal deduction. You can claim $52 a day for every day you are out in the truck and not home. The figure you get must be multiplied by 80% to get your deduction for 09.

GPS, Internet Connection, Baby wipes.

 

i see tv is tax deductible... how about a playstation or xbox?

 

I don't think it could be. A TV can be used to get news, weather, and traffic reports. These are all legitamate reasons to have a TV in a truck and thus deduct it's cost.

 

Hiya Hardly, would there be a reference anywhere for the per-diem figure you mentioned above? (I'se a newbie to all this tax-deduction stuff as well and am just now figuring out that can write most of this stuff off - long as I have the receipts, that is...)


Thanks!

 

This information can be found on this site as well. It has been discussed before but here is the link to the "IRS Publication 17" known simply as
"pub 17".

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html#en_US_publink100034363





Special rate for transportation workers. You can use a special standard meal allowance if you work in the transportation industry. You are in the transportation industry if your work:

• Directly involves moving people or goods by airplane, barge, bus, ship, train, or truck, and
• Regularly requires you to travel away from home and, during any single trip, usually involves travel to areas eligible for different standard meal allowance rates.

If this applies to you, you can claim a standard meal allowance of $52 a day ($58 for travel outside the continental United States) from January 1 through December 31, 2008.

Using the special rate for transportation workers eliminates the need for you to determine the standard meal allowance for every area where you stop for sleep or rest. If you choose to use the special rate for any trip, you must use the special rate (and not use the regular standard meal allowance rates) for all trips you take that year.


http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html#en_US_publink100034390

Exceptions to the 50% Limit

Individuals subject to "hours of service" limits. You can deduct a higher percentage of your meal expenses while traveling away from your tax home if the meals take place during or incident to any period subject to the Department of Transportation's "hours of service" limits. The percentage is 80% for 2008.

If you use Turbo Tax, after you figure how many days out you have and multiply by 52 and input that figure it will automaticly multiply by 80%. A tax preparer will have to go to the paper version of pub 17 if they are unfamiliar with the deduction to find out how to make this deduction. It is easier to find all the information on this deduction in the paper version.

I've had Tax services screw this up before. You need to do the math yourself before you go to a tax service. count all your days then multiply by the rate for this year when it is published. Take this figure and write it down. Multiply by .80 and write this figure down as well. When you go to your tax pro (if you don't do it yourself) show him your record of how many days out you had, what you came up with as a total ($52 x days out) and have him enter this figure in the entry field in his software. It should automaticly multiply by 80%. compare the figure the computer spits out with your calculation you have writen down after multiplying by 80%.

What can happen is if they multiply by 80% before they enter the figure, the program they use will multiply again and you lose a huge chunk of your deduction from the error of multiplying 80% twice!

This is a meal allowance and not per diem. If you recieve per diem you must subtract it from your meal allowace reducing this figure since you've already recieved it tax free. If you are overpayed you may actually owe money but this rarely happens.

 

Save all your reciepts and if you use the per diem deduction, you need to keep you log books also. Used the per diem for the first time this year and came out really good. I think it varies on the amount from state to state but I only run in 6 states so I just used the lowest one. Saved me from having to go back thru all my logs to see how many days I was in each state.

 

Truckers receive a daily per diem that is a set rate of 52.00 per day.

It is 58.00 per day when in Canada.

 

Just count the days out and multiply by $52 a day. Its the best deduction going. People subject to hours of service get a higher rate per day than an average citizen even in low rate states.

 

Best to take the standard deduction. That covers meals, health and welfare (showers, toiletries etc) entertainment (your xbox could qualify, lot lizards dont count) but regardless of whatever deduction method you use be careful if the company you work for pays a per diem (such as 40 cpm including 8 cpm per diem) because in that case you would essentially be paying taxes on 32 cpm and getting the 8 cpm tax free as a reimbursement for expenses. A lot of drivers that get a per diem still claim either an itemized write-off or the standard deduction which can get you into a lot of trouble. You can only write off those necessary expenses that your employer doesn't normally reimburse (meals, showers etc)