Tax Deduction Worksheets Etc. For Trucking

I assume this is for owner operator or lease? If you work as a driver for a company (employee) then can you still deduct some expenses?

Yes but not on the schedule C for businesses. It's on your deductions and only amounts over a threshold actually don't get taxed, but keep track of them. Refrigerator, supplies, tools, cell phone, navigation, etc. Anything that you pay for that's required to do your job.

Just remember that claiming these deductions are usually only a one time thing (because you only buy it once, until it's replaced), and that it will make you have to fill out an itemized tax return. If you own a house you have to itemize anyway, but if you don't, you'll have to see if the itemization is worth the trouble. My recommendation is to save all your receipts and take it to your local tax office (like H&R Block or even online with TurboTax) and see which scenario will actually benefit you more. Sometimes itemizing doesn't exactly give you all that much back and might not be worth the time. This is a pretty quick and easy to read article on tax deduction: To Itemize or Not To Itemize

Software like turbo tax can do just as good if not better of a job than hr block. I have been doing my own taxes for the past 6-7 years and everytime it has gotten me a bigger return than hr block ever got me and it didn't cost me anything. Turbo tax makes it so stupidly simple to do your own taxes... you fill in info about yourself, you answer yes or no questions (did you buy a house, did you buy a car, did you *own* a business, did you work, etc) then it will ask you to enter stuff about each category you answered yes to, starting with w2's from work, then deductions and it will tell you the types of things that can or can't be deducted, then you get credits and so fourth. As long as you have the same info you'll need to provide hr block you can do it on your own. Maybe I can start a side job while trucking doing trucker taxes and makes some extra dough haha. hr block talks about getting you the most... I call bs on that claim because they have yet to get me more or even the same as when I do my own taxes and then they advertise audit protection... any kind of protection that will help you costs extra and your chances of being audited are pretty slim anyways. As long as you answered and filled everything out honestly or to the best of your knowledge you'll be fine if you do get audited, you just need to prove why the things you said in you return are true, as long as you keep your records you're safe. I have not been audited yet but if I was, no worries.

I completely agree. Turbotax is incredibly friendly. The one year I was lazy and had H&R prepare my taxes - they screwed them up. I'd go into detail, but basically my taxes were held for weeks due to an error they made.

I'll be continuing to use Turbotax, though I am curious... Phox, you are figuring out your quarterly payments with Turbotax?

I completely agree. Turbotax is incredibly friendly. The one year I was lazy and had H&R prepare my taxes - they screwed them up. I'd go into detail, but basically my taxes were held for weeks due to an error they made.

I'll be continuing to use Turbotax, though I am curious... Phox, you are figuring out your quarterly payments with Turbotax?

I'm not nor have I ever been or plan to be a lease op or o/o. not worried about that cause except in special situations as a company driver you are not an independent contractor, thus you get a w2 and taxes are taken out of weekly checks. If you're someone who needs to figure out your 1/4 taxes or however you choose to pay them (between jan - apr of the following year or every 3 months, etc) I'm sure there are plenty of tax calculators to help you figure it out if turbo tax doesn't have something already.

from my understanding you gotta pay 15.6% for SE tax (self employment) which covers the medicare and SS taxes, then you pay the % for the tax bracket you fall under. you could easily find that online, then add the two together and break out a calc, take your adjusted gross income (AGI) and multiply it by the % converted to decimal (ie 25% = .25, 39.6% = .396) and then press = and it will give you the amount you gotta pay in taxes. so if you make 30k a year, and lets say that's a 25% tax bracket (I believe it's 15-20% but not 100% sure) then you take the 25%, add 15.6% giving you 40.6% in taxes (ouch, I know). so now we take the 30k in AGI and multiply it by .406 which gives us 12180. that's how much you would have to pay for a year, so for quarterly payments that would be $3045.00.... Now you can see why deductions are so important to self employed... get that income lowered to at least the next lower tax bracket and it could save you 4-5k in taxes a year easily. and of course if you over pay you'll get a refund. All pretty simple math once you know what numbers to use.

I like the way you broke that down. I know the first couple of times I itemize and file quarterly that I'm going to be stumbling, but it doesn't seem terribly difficult.

( IF I lease :] )

Buddy drives 30+ years for UPS he deducts everything, down to laundry his wife does on uniforms!! hahaha

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought all otr drivers had to itemize in order to claim the per diem? I have yet to figure out if I'm going to do my taxes myself this year or outsource it to someone but I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out lol

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought all otr drivers had to itemize in order to claim the per diem? I have yet to figure out if I'm going to do my taxes myself this year or outsource it to someone but I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out lol

No no no, the whole point of per diem is so that you DON'T have to itemize.

Now whether that only applies to meals, or to literally every expense throughout the year, I don't know.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought all otr drivers had to itemize in order to claim the per diem? I have yet to figure out if I'm going to do my taxes myself this year or outsource it to someone but I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out lol

No no no, the whole point of per diem is so that you DON'T have to itemize.

Now whether that only applies to meals, or to literally every expense throughout the year, I don't know.

Oh boy it looks like I need to do more research. I thought you could only use the per diem if you itemized. If that's the case then I might actually be able to them myself.

Per diem is for meals, lodging, etc. - when AWAY from home.

You DO have to keep your logs, to prove days away - and you do have to HAVE A HOME that you go to (regardless of how little you spend there), and prove that you maintain one (as per diem is for away from home expenses).

Keep in mind also that, many companies PAY PER DIEM (or at least offer it as an option), as it is not taxable (and they don't have to match your witholding on these amounts, saves them $$).

Figure if you spend 300 days a year OTR @ $50 per day per diem allowance (for example), then $15K of your income becomes non-taxable income. So, you would not have to pay federal taxes on that income (and your W-2 from the company, would reflect that).

Other non-reimbursed expenses are deductible (safety gear, etc.) .

From OOIDA 's website:

Q. I am a company driver. What is deductible when I’m on the road?

A. While self-employed individuals can generally deduct any expenses incurred to earn their income, company drivers are limited to non-reimbursed expenses required by their employer. You are entitled to per diem for overnights and motel expenses. A good rule to follow for deductions would be any expenses incurred that are necessary or required in the performance of your job and/or operation of the truck but are not reimbursed by your company, such as uniforms, gloves, logbooks, maps, cell phone, CB, tools, Windex, paper towels, showers, etc. Remember, as a company driver, these deductions are only available if you itemize and are not available if you take the standard deduction.

As with anything - KEEP YOUR DOCUMENTATION STRAIGHT, and for at least 7 years (current and 6 previous) as that's how far back IRS can go.

Lease drivers, should consider forming a Sub-S Corp, and running EVERYTHING through the business.

My current business (IT) pays for pretty much EVERYTHING - I let my accountant figure out how much for K-1/Schedule E over to the personal side (usually very little).

Rick