...about how many miles can I expect to "average" per week as a first year driver? I'm looking at Schneider now and they are offering $.29 per miles for the first year. I just want to see about how much I expect to see in my first full year. Also, does anyone have a link to a thread that has a list of everything that I can write off on my taxes at the end of the year? Thanks in advance for any help.
As things are right now figure on 2000-2500 miles on average. You may get more or less. Per year a good average would be around 100,000. Sounds like alot doesn't it?
Hey MILK, there is a company I believe out of CO. that all they do is trucking business and taxes. I am not sure if it is against policy to post their name here so it may get deleted. The company is ATBS. We used them for seven years and there are great. They send you a giant envelope to keep all your stuff in and at the end of the quarter or how ever you have it set up, you just mail them the envelope and they take care of everything. They are literally easier than H&R Block! As for your getting miles question. There are so many variables involved in that there is no way to get a straight answer. Usually though companies give the new drivers miles that way they can pay back everything they own the companies, such as advances, schooling, cab fees, etc... It also depends on how fast you pick up driving too. Are you dickin around along the road burning time until you have to deliver or are you at drop two days ahead of time trying to get unloaded and get your next one. Log books are going to play a big factor too! For the first few months you are going to be filling out your log like you did in school. Now I know you need to do it legally but there are many ways to do so without sacrificing miles. Companies absolutely do not want to get a call saying you are out of hours. Guess what? Whenever they have a good load now it is not going to you because they know you cannot handle it! Also, never ever, ever ,ever be late! This will bury you! I think maybe $20,000 - $25,000 your first year is probably a good estimate. Also .29$ is the norm for starting pay. Like any other job you have to pay your dues and it takes time to advance. If you can't cut the mustard you will not be getting the miles. If you hear a driver complaining about miles this usually means their trucking practices aren't the best and there are too many drivers out there that can handle it. You could always tell when someone was going to get canned. First month they would complain about miles, second month it would be worse, third month they wouldn't even leave the terminal and fourth month they are gone. That's usually how the companies weed you out. My advice to you would be to stay away from the mega-companies and you will do just fine. (ie; schneider, swift, werner etc...) I don't know why these are the only companies drivers feel they must go with. They have really turned up the brainwashing in school! These companies pay schools kickback so schools usually recommend them but ####, I didn't know they were actually putting drivers in trances SWIFT, SCHNEIDER, WERNER REPEAT, SWIFT SCHNEIDER WERNER REPEAT, SWIFT SCHNEIDER WERNER REPEAT
First there is no "set" miles per week! it ALL depends on your company and how good the in house brokers are! If they are bad then expect 500 miles a week! if soso maybe you'll get 1500-2000 and now a days a good broker is considered one who can get you 2000-3500! On average for a Really GOOD week if you get 3500 miles you've done great! Now lets don't argue PAPER miles x 70 x 65 mph! it doesn't work that way! But if you want to then 70x65=4550 miles! The catch here is DOT and some companies frown on a continuous 65 MPH log as you aren't always on an interstate and traffic does not flow at 65 all the time and that truck of yours is NOT going to run up Black Mountain, Mont Eagle, The Grapevine at 65 when fully loaded and LA, NYC, Atlanta, Chicago has traffic jams that will stop a clock! The best until you get on the road is 3000 as the average! Now for taxes get an accountant close to home! Ask an O/O you see around town or check the book or make a few calls. Is there a small trucking company in town? Ask around but stay away from those big box tax people! You want someone who specializes in transportation tax law! Now as for tax advice in a forum. Ask but do NOT make it your sole source of information! Yes I've got a "few" years driving and paying taxes and I can give you a great list of things that are tax deductable but someone else will come in and tell you differently! Trust me on this! We have a saying in trucking that you can't get two truckers to agree that the sky is blue and grass is green or the color of that red truck is actually red and not candy apple red! But check with the IRS! I'd call the 800 number and ask where you need to look in the rules and they can guide you to the pages you need. But as a company driver I can fill you in with this list: -Work shoes/boots only if these are OSHA approved No you can't claim loafers, flip flops and tennis shoes! -Uniforms if required by your company that you pay for, but NOT clothing you wear every day sucjh as jeans and T's or Dale Earnhardt sweats! -Electronic equipment used in your work; computer, printer/scanner if you use mapping, routing, company on line paper work, Cell phone if used for company work and for calling home when out of town, broadband card if used to access the internet for company business, software used to route, paper work or log book keeping, CB Radio for use in your work, flashlight for use in your job. -fuel if your company refuses to pay for it, any thing you buy for the truck that it needs to run such as oil, washer fluid, light bulbs, electrical tape, window cleaning supplies, interior cleaning supplies, paper towels, rags, brushes, and other idems that company will not pay for, tools for fixing things on the truck. -any money that you take out of your pocket that the company refuses to pay for such as tolls, scales,repairs, any escrow, -you can NOT claim any tickets or fines! Those are punishments and it's your fault so IRS isn't giving you a break! Follow the rules of the road! -DO NOT FALL FOR THAT PER DIEM SCAM some companies are so wanting to screw you with! That explanation later but here is what you MUST do to claim per diem from ole Uncle Sam...that log book is your friend, yeah I know most of you just took in a big gasp! But that log book is worth about $59 a day this year in a tax break! I do mine this way. I have a 3 ring binder for my loose leaf logs. I keep a month in the book at a time! Yeah I hear you guys screaming that DOT only requires 8 days so big deal! you have 8 in there and whats the other big deal? Those days are correct so do you really think a DOT officer is going back more than 8 and will "find' something? Not if it's correct they won't! Get over it and if it's such a big whiney thing to you then do it your way! I NEVER have had a DOT cop go back more than 5 or 6 days in my books in over 10 years! In the old little ones yeah! ANYWAY I keep each month together and on the last day of the month I go back and start to count my days out. I start with the day I leave home and count them all till I get home or if I had more than 8 hours away from home. I then write on the first day of the month that number like 25 days out and I then put these pages into a big manilla folder that says (year of) 1020 taxable logs on the front and I write the first letter of each month in a column and the number of days out so that at the end of the year I can add all those days up and give them to my accountant on my excel sheet I made that has everything else on it. I actually add the days out at the end of the month as I keep all my records up to date so I don't have to screw with them in February! it's mostly done and ll I have to do is print out my excel sheet and add those pesky state and county taxes to it! Now the explanation on that Per Diem Scam: How many of you actually think these bottom feeder companies are going to do you a favor by figuring out all those miles you drove, remove those "per diem miles" off of your pay then total this stuff up and "give you" something the gooberment gives you for free as a favor or for free? HMMMM? NONE OF THEM! The ONLY reason these BFI's do this is THEY get a HUGE break from not paying taxes on you AND some of these BFI's actually CHARGE YOU for this oh so wonderful scam! Heres where you are getting screwed royally! 1- Say BFI pays you, oh lets be nice. A KCKC company on Craig's List with a NO OPT OUT Per Diem is paying $.29CPM plus a wonderful $.09 Per Diem which say you got a good week of 3500 miles you'll get an extra $315 or 2000x.09=$180. Yes it looks good right now BUT wait a few lines! 2-That charge you oh lets say $.02 cents per mile for the accounting they did! Yeah a few lines on an excel sheet can do this figuring but apparently the company accountant has golden fingers so by using easy calc they charge EVERY driver some stupid money! So say you drove 3500 miles that week you PAID some THEIF $70 dollars! WOW what a nice company (oh multiply that time number of drivers! I want hat kind of cash flow!!)...so far! Look above at that "nice" per diem and the "nice" pay check and deduct this amount from one or the other! Also ask if it's tax deductible? I don't know as of yet! Also wonder if that amount will total up to the $59. a day the IRS gives you? AHH calculator time....NOPE! 3- Because BFI is deducting this Per Diem from your miles BEFORE taxes you actually don't pay as much in but neither do they! It's a "legal" hide the money scam! so the following now happens to YOU! 4-Workers comp pays you in case you're hurt on how much your taxes were so you get hurt on the job and you claim workers comp you get LESS money! Hey that great as you made so much on that per diem. 5- You get fired and go to collect unemployment and actually get it! GREAT! BUT (there's that BUT again!) Unemployment is figured on your income! or your TAXABLE income! HMMM OK you wanted or were forced to take a Per Diem for that extra cash at the end of the week instead of thinking at the end of the year so you're screwed in getting as much unemployment as you can and I'll tell you from experience after making $74,000 in my last good year and the $43,000 my last year driving before this medical problem hit me I was at the top of the scale and it still sucked big time! 6- The final you got it slid in big time is...drum roll... SOCIAL SECURITY! We all have found out that 401's and IRA's pretty much aren't worth the paper they're printed on! But Social Security is still up and running even thought it's not a get rich quick scheme it's there to help you when you can't climb up the side of a truck or dig ditches or even greet people at the doors of that big box store! Now because you oh so took that paltry amount of money now instead of thinking further down the road of life you've screwed yourself out of money you'll really need! Per Diem or as it's known on Capital Hill as The 3 Martini Lunch tax break is your friend! Per Diem the companies way to get out of taxes, way to screw you on unemployment when they fire you or starve you to death if you need workers comp and to screw you in a way that the RICO Act should be looking at when you're charged in a NO OPT OUT Scam! This is your decision but me...oh hello no! I need some of this money later! Whats in my wallet at the end of the week is NOT as important later on down the road is NOT your friend!
