Trucker Per Diem Calculator

Per diem (Latin for “per day”) is a flat daily amount the IRS lets you deduct for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) while you are away from your tax home overnight and need rest. Instead of saving every meal receipt, you claim the standard daily rate for each day on the road. For truckers this is by far the simplest and usually the largest travel-expense deduction.

The key requirement is being away from your tax home long enough to need sleep or rest — not just a long day. Regional and OTR drivers who sleep in the truck almost always qualify; a local driver home every night generally does not.

Ordinary business meals are only 50% deductible. But the IRS gives workers subject to the Department of Transportation's hours-of-service (HOS) rules a higher deductible percentage: 80% of the per-diem total. Long-haul truck drivers fall squarely in this category.

So the calculation is two steps: total your per diem (full days × $80 + partial days × $60), then multiply by 80% to get the amount you actually deduct on Schedule C. On a $23,000 total per diem, that is an $18,400 deduction.

This is the single most important eligibility point. Self-employed owner-operators and lease operators who file Schedule C can deduct per diem as a business expense.

W-2 company drivers cannot. For tax years 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses — including per diem. If you are a company driver, the only way to receive a per diem benefit is through an employer-administered per diem pay program, not on your own return. That is why this calculator is built for owner-operators.