Why per deim here but not per deim there?

I get a charge out of people that say a company is giving them the shaft by paying them per diem as it lowers the future SSN benefits. Let me ask you, would you rather manage your own money or let the government do it?

 

again...it depends on your situation. the company wins regardless because of lower payroll taxes. and i have yet to see a company that does not charge a "maintenance fee" of x cpm to give you the per diem.

so, a single person with no mortgage payment benefits from per diem. he will not be able to match the standard deduction by itemizing, so he makes out by paying 2 cpm to get 7 cpm of non taxed income (except for the ss thing...he does get less benefit in the future).

but the married person with 2 kids DOES screw himself by taking per diem, unless the household income is over 55k per year. has nothing to do with w4s, or how much you see today vs the end of the year. has to do with your taxable income at the end of the year, and what tax you owe on that amount. any tax refund you ever get from the government means one thing and one thing alone...you gave the government a no interest loan.

 

If you live in a small world, they aren't screwing you.

If you live in the real, much bigger world, the way these companies pay per diem, screws you.

If you get hurt on the job and on workmans comp, you're payment will be LOWER than it would be if the company did not figure per diem as a part of a your wage.
If you are the primary or only breadwinner in your family, per diem does not count as income if you attempt to get a loan for house.

Per Diem, the way if should be paid, (Additional pay to cover travel expenses ON TOP of a normal pay amount) is fine. Most trucking companies DO NOT pay per diem this way, they take a percentage of what would be a normal trucking CPM wage, and call it 'per diem'.
This is not a true 'per diem'.

If your company pays you per diem, you can't deduct your road expenses on your income taxes, unless you can establish you spent more than they paid you in the fake 'per diem'.

I did work for one company that paid a flat rate per diem, per day, on top of a very good CPM wage.
That is how it SHOULD be...not this crap these companies try to convince you is a good thing for you.

THEY get the tax advantages, not you.

Happy with having per diem deducted from what should be your normal wage? That's fine.
Maybe you will be happy with paying rent on the sleeper you're stuck sleeping in for weeks at a time, also?

 

...apparently some carriers are able to find more than enough drivers seeking to do just that. They prefer to call it "lease/purchase" to make it sound a little better, but it's the same thing.

 

Uh, it's child support. Ya know, supposed to be to take care of YOUR kids. Why would any father that actually loves his kids not want to provide for them?

 

So basically, don't let your company pay you per-diem. Just claim your allowable expense rate when you do your taxes and you'll come out ahead, right?

 

Might anyone have an idea of what percentage of a wage is considered a viable per deim rate?

I believe Roehl allows 9 cents of the cpm rate to be tax free per diem..... which is not exactly fair across the cpm spectrum. The lower cpm rate benfits more than a greater cpm rate. USA Truck has no per deim offerrings. I am confused with the company to company differences.

I am just trying to figure out any potential decisions about it.

 

So if I am looking to purchase a home, am I better off taking per diem or not taking per diem?

 

well, I'd rather take the gamble that I will get SS and by paid my full rate than pay the company an admin fee to not fully pay into my SS fund. OR Medicare. I can stand to lose some weight anyway.

 

I think you are better off asking someone who is qualified to give financial advice based on your goals.