The Business of Trucking

Per diem questions, answers

Last month I started to explain per diem. Here’s a quick review, followed by answers to some of the more common questions about this topic.

Per diem (per day) is a method used to take a tax deduction for meals when traveling for business away from home. Like any other tax deduction, you could keep your receipts and add them up to get your deduction. However, the IRS made it easy on us by creating a per-day amount that we can use without having receipts.

What if I work 15 hours a day local and return home after each trip, do I get any deduction for per diem?

No. The IRS regulations clearly say that you must be away from home long enough to sleep away from home be-fore the per diem deduction is allowed. Some people believe because they are gone overnight that they qualify for the per diem deduction. This isn’t true; the test is, are you gone away from home long enough to be required to sleep away from home? In this industry that is pretty clear. You need to log sleeper time or on-duty-not-driving time of at least 10 hours away from home before the meal deduction kicks in.

How do I calculate my per diem for partial days?

Partial days are calculated at three-fourths of the per-diem rate. So if you leave on Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. and return Friday at 4 p.m. you would qualify for a total of 4 1/2 days of per diem. Monday and Friday were partial days so you get three-fourths. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are all full days. Your total per diem deduction would be $234—$52 per day for 41⁄2 days.

What if my company pays me per diem?

You may still qualify to take a tax deduction or you may have to claim some of the per diem as income. You need to know how much per diem you qualified for, which is the number of days away from home times the per diem amount. Then you need to know how much per diem you were paid. Compare the two. If you were paid less than you qualified for, you may have a tax deduction coming. If you were paid more, then you have to claim it as income.

Remember, always consult a tax professional for your situation, be safe, be profitable and master the journey.