Taxes for Truck Drivers?

Question

This is my husbands first year as a truck driver. He works for Werner and recieves per-diem pay. I asked the IRS about per diem, and they said that since the additonal reimbursemt won't show up on our W-2's it isn't counted as income. What things are write-offs? Cell phone? We live in Indiana if that helps.

Answer 1

Kasey;

I would suggest that for this tax year at least you find a good tax preparer to assist you in filing his return. Any expense he incurs because of his employment is deductible Such as: Motels, Food, Gloves, Safety shoes, Tolls, "Lumper" fees, Map books, DOT physical exam, C B Radio, etc. Anything that Werner does not reimburse him for. There are so many things you should really get professional help this time.

As for the "Per Diem" its been so long ago I"m not sure. I think it was not included as income, but then i could not deduct food & lodgeing as an expense. Not sure on that one . Most recently I was domociled in California and sometimes transported HM so the cell phone was a definate "Yes". (required by California law)

Hope this helps some. Good luck. Keep all his log books (proof of travel).

Answer 2

Does he receive a W-2? I assume so. He will list his expenses on Form 2106, Unreimbursed Employee Expenses. For every day he was on the road, he gets a standard per diem he can deduct. The per diem paid by the employer needs to be subtracted from the IRS approved per diem deduction.

The net expenses are transferred to Schedule A and are deductible to the the extent they exceed 2% of the adjusted gross income.

This only matters if you itemize using Schedule A. If you don't itemize, and the per diem is less than the IRS-approved per diem, then there is no deduction and no tax owed on the per diem.

Answer 3

fuels, hotel,food,