Unreimbursed Miles?

It also depends on the accounting method that is used. If you operate on the accrual method, you would record all income at the point of the agreement to do the job. Therefore, when you don't receive the income you would be entitled for the bad debt expense that he mentioned. Most truck drivers operate on the cash method and therefore do not record income until received. No deduction is then allowed for the lost income.

As far as not being paid for the miles, there is no loss deduction for them. You are paid based on one rate. An expense is allowed for the miles driven for the truck owner.

 

I keep an odometer reading on every single trip and after I am paid for the miles that the broker/ carrier "chooses" to pay me or "cheats" me out of, I immediately send a bill on the invoice/ load for the "unpaid" miles. If unpaid to me in the year I can deduct the unpaid sum as exspenses/ loses. I also file a small claims case against the broker for all unpaid miles before my statue of limitations exspires in a two year period from the date of my billing the first time, plus court costs and interest on the allowable sum here in Alabama of 1% per month. P.S. I charge $3.00 per mile currently.
B. Barber

 

First, we need to compare apples to apples. The cash vs accrual method noted above is the first step in doing this. Deducting IRS allowed miles is in lieu of itemized expenses. You can't do both. Also as already noted, your fuel expense per mile will be higher than the IRS allowed mileage so you'd be crazy to not itemize for real fuel cost and depreciation of the truck plus repairs paid etc. If you are on an accrual accounting method I'd like to know why.

This really isn't rocket science. You add up your gross revenue for the tax year. You subract your expenses. Then you have taxable income. I agree it can seem much more complicated when you start mixing things if you use a Shedule C but the basics are simple for non hobby income.

Getting paid for miles is a contract issue. There is a court case out of Wisconsin in which a judge ruled against organized labor because their contract said they would get paid pro miles. The union argued that this did not apply since the road that was normally taken was closed for repairs forcing the drivers to take a much longer route. The judge said too bad.

If a driver does not have a contract with his employer stating what methodology will be used to set pay then it is logical that hub miles will prevail. I don't know what broker contracts specify but if your contract specifies pro miles then you can go to court all day long and the court will not intervene to give you more money.

 

Also, you agree to the miles that will be paid by taking the load. If you cover more miles than the agreed to number, that is your problem. Taking the load is the basis of a contract.... verbal or written. You can always negotiate, as part of that contract, for more miles. Good luck. We all belly ache about standards such as PC Miler, but it is there for just this reason. An industry standard. Now it is just up to the driver to keep their miles down to a tolerable level even if that means not always getting to run the nice 4 lanes. It's a balancing act. Sometimes the 4 lanes are better due to time and actual decreased fuel use at the risk of more out of route. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and take a side road. Either way, you have a contract to deliver the load at so many miles. How you do it is your business. In a perfect world, we would all have every expense covered comfortably and be able to generate a wonderful income and retire early.