Money

Per diem: $80 a day, no receipts

If you are in the transportation industry and your work regularly takes you away from home overnight, the IRS special rate is $80 a day inside the lower 48 and $86 a day outside it (Alaska, Hawaii, Canada). It covers meals and incidentals, not lodging. Because you drive under DOT hours-of-service rules you deduct 80% of it instead of the normal 50%, so a full day is worth $64. The day you leave and the day you get home count as partial days at 75% of the rate.

Who can take it: owner-operators, lease-operators and 1099 drivers, on Schedule C. Who cannot: W-2 company drivers, on a federal return. If your company pays per diem through an accountable plan, that money is tax-free to you, which is the same benefit a different way. Ask your carrier if they offer a per diem pay plan.

Keep your logs. Your ELD record is your proof of nights away. The rate held at $80 for the year starting October 1, 2026.

Source: IRS Notice 2026-60, Special per diem rates and IRS Publication 463, Travel expenses

Deductions owner-operators miss

The rule is simple: if it is an ordinary and necessary cost of running your truck, it goes on Schedule C and lowers both your income tax and your self-employment tax. The usual list:

• Fuel, DEF, oil, tires, repairs, washes, preventive maintenance.
• Truck insurance (liability, physical damage, cargo, bobtail, occupational accident).
• Truck loan interest (not the principal), or lease payments if you lease.
• The truck itself through depreciation. For 2026, Section 179 lets you expense up to about $2.5 million of equipment (sources quote $2.5M and $2.56M; your CPA will have the final inflation figure), and 100% bonus depreciation is back for equipment bought after January 19, 2025. A tractor over 14,000 lb GVWR is not limited by the passenger-car caps. Section 179 cannot exceed your business income for the year; bonus depreciation can.
• Permits, plates and filings: IRP, IFTA, UCR, the Form 2290 heavy vehicle tax (up to $550 a year), state permits, tolls, scales, parking.
• DOT physicals, drug and alcohol testing, ELD subscription, load boards, factoring fees, dispatch fees.
• Phone and internet at the business-use share, satellite radio, CB, GPS, dash cam.
• Showers, laundry, lumper fees, truck-stop supplies.
• Health insurance premiums for you and your family, as an adjustment to income, if you are not eligible for a plan through a spouse.
• The 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction on your profit. It is permanent now, with a $400 minimum starting in 2026 if you have at least $1,000 of qualified income, and extra limits above $201,750 of taxable income ($403,500 married filing jointly).

Half of your self-employment tax is also deductible. Keep every receipt or your fuel-card statements; a shoebox beats nothing, an app beats the shoebox.

Source: IRS, Deducting business expenses, IRS Publication 946, depreciation, IRS, QBI deduction

Quarterly taxes without the penalty

Nobody withholds taxes from a settlement. As a 1099 driver you owe income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax (12.4% Social Security on the first $184,500 for 2026, plus 2.9% Medicare) on 92.35% of your profit. The IRS wants it four times a year, not once.

2026 due dates: April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, 2027. The 2026 return itself is due April 15, 2027.

The safe harbor: pay at least 90% of this year's tax, or 100% of last year's (110% if last year's adjusted gross income was over $150,000), in equal quarterly pieces, and there is no underpayment penalty even if you owe more in April. The penalty rate runs around 7% a year, charged quarter by quarter, so skipping payments costs real money.

A working rule most owner-operators use: move 25% to 30% of every settlement into a separate account the day it lands, and pay the quarterly from that account. Use IRS Direct Pay (free) and Form 1040-ES to figure the amount.

Source: IRS, Estimated taxes and IRS Direct Pay

Retirement when nobody is matching

A company driver usually has a 401(k) with some match; take the full match, it is free money. An owner-operator has to build the plan himself, and the limits are bigger than most drivers think.

• Roth IRA or traditional IRA: $7,500 for 2026, $8,600 at 50 and up. Anyone with earned income. Roth money comes out tax-free in retirement.
• SEP IRA: up to 25% of compensation (about 20% of net profit for a Schedule C filer) to a max of $72,000 for 2026. Simple to open, no catch-up contributions, can be funded up to your filing deadline.
• Solo 401(k): you contribute as employee ($24,500 for 2026, plus $8,000 catch-up at 50, or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63) and as employer (25% of compensation), combined up to $72,000, or $80,000 and $83,250 with the catch-ups. Roth option available. Must be opened by December 31. Best when you want to put away a lot on a moderate income.

These are the tax-advantaged accounts. A cash-value life policy (an IUL) is a different tool: it is life insurance first, with living benefits if you get sick or hurt, and a cash side that grows with a floor. It is not a replacement for a 401(k) or IRA, and anybody who tells you it is should not be selling it. If you want to see how it fits next to the accounts above, that is the conversation I do for a living. The number is in the footer.

Source: IRS, Retirement plans for self-employed people and IRS 2026 limits

Starting your own authority, in order

If you are going from company driver to your own authority, the filings have an order, and doing them out of order costs weeks. Government fees are small; the truck, the insurance and the plates are the real money.

1. LLC and EIN. The EIN is free from the IRS. The LLC is filed with your state.
2. USDOT number and MC authority through FMCSA's Motus system (it replaced the old URS portal in May 2026). $300 per authority type, not refundable.
3. Insurance on file. Your insurer files the BMC-91 or 91X with FMCSA. Expect $11,000 to $18,000 a year for a first-year single tractor, more with no history.
4. BOC-3 process agent filing.
5. Wait out the 10-day protest period; authority shows ACTIVE.
6. UCR (ucr.gov): $55 for 2027 at 0 to 2 trucks, due by December 31 each year.
7. IRP apportioned plates and IFTA license from your base state, before the first trip across a state line.
8. Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax with the IRS for any truck 55,000 lb and up, due the last day of the month after first use. Up to $550 a year.
9. Drug and alcohol consortium, Clearinghouse registration as an owner-operator, driver qualification file, and an ELD before the first load.

Do the government filings yourself where you can. A service that charges $200 to type a $300 FMCSA form is charging you $200 for typing.

Source: FMCSA Registration, UCR, IRS Form 2290, IFTA, Inc. (your base state's IFTA office)

The yearly calendar

• January 15: 4th-quarter estimated tax for the prior year.
• January 31: carriers must send you your 1099-NEC.
• April 15: return due, 1st-quarter estimate due, IRA and SEP contributions for the prior year due.
• June 15 and September 15: 2nd and 3rd quarter estimates.
• July 1 to August 31: Form 2290 window for trucks on the road in July.
• October 1 to December 31: UCR registration for next year.
• Every year, before it expires: your medical card (see Health). There is no grace period.
• Quarterly: IFTA fuel tax return to your base state (last day of April, July, October, January).