Tax Deductions for
Professional Truck Drivers

Every year, professional truck drivers search for tax deductions that they can claim when they file their income taxes.

Since Mike Simons drives professionally, he's sharing as a help to you those expenses that he plans to list as deductible when filing his income taxes for the current tax year.

Besides our standard disclaimer, we are providing the following information with the additional disclaimer that

• we are not CPAs, accountants or bookkeepers,
• the rules regarding what qualifies for filing may change from year to year,
• owner operators (drivers who own their trucks or trucking business) may be able to deduct more expenses than company drivers, and
• you will need to double-check all planned tax deductions for yourself.

Also, this page was started in 2010. We will do our best to keep it updated but some information may apply to previous tax years.

According to Wikipedia,

"A tax deduction or a tax-deductible expense affects a taxpayer's income tax. [It] represents an expense incurred by a taxpayer. They are variable amounts that you can subtract, or deduct, from your gross income. It is subtracted from gross income when the taxpayer computes his or her income taxes. As a result, the tax deduction will lower overall taxable income and thus lower the amount of tax paid."(1)

Record Keeping

What We Could Not Deduct in 2010 for Tax Year 2009

• Too old: We had bought in 2008 or earlier a CB radio, an inverter, a camera, an atlas, an ice chest, and cell phones. We will not be deducting cell phone services because most of the usage is personal, not for business purposes.
  
  
• Too young: We did not become OOIDA members until 2010, so we can't deduct that membership until 2011. If we subscribe to any trucking industry trade publications, we can also deduct that cost.

What We Remembered in 2010 for Tax Year 2009

We did not pay for any truck washes out of pocket in 2009, but will remember to keep the receipts for any we do buy for deducting next year.

Truck and Trucking Expenses

Mike's trucking company pays for his DOT medical exams and everything associated with truck and trailer purchases and services.

We can personally deduct things like window cleaner and paper towels that we use for cleaning lights and mirrors, WD-40 , and office supplies that Mike uses in the course of his job.

Up until Mike got a local truck driving job, he wore no company uniforms. His company provided these and the laundering service at their expense. But if Mike purchased any, he would put them on the deduction list.

Mixed Business and Personal Expenses

Our Planned Tax Deductions in 2010 for Tax Year 2009

While we cannot tell you what you can deduct on your taxes, we can say what we planned to deduct on our 2009 income taxes since Mike is a company driver:

• showers paid for out of pocket,
• Mike's new sleeping bag,
• the new portable toilet, and
• our hot pot.

One IRS publication indicated that expenses associated with doing laundry away from home are deductible.

We will have to carefully read the information about meal allowance. Mike can deduct his meals but not Vicki's, even though she rides with him full-time.

Standard Deduction?

Mike says that in the past, he has generally always filed with a standard deduction as we did not have enough to itemize. However, the 2009 tax year will be different, particularly because before we became homeless, we donated a considerable amount of books, household items and clothing to worthy charitable organizations.

Just as the old-time gold prospectors used to proclaim, "There's gold in them thar hills," Mike says that "there is money in those receipts." This refers to the purchases that he makes on the road during the course of a year. Why take a standard deduction if itemizing will allow you to lower your taxable income for income tax purposes? If you could lower your tax bill, wouldn't you?

For our Canadian friends, here's some 2011 advice.

More Information

For more information, click

• this link to search the IRS website for "truck driver" via Google or
• this link to search the IRS website for "truck driver" on their website.

Also, feel free to consult a knowledgeable tax preparer.

Friendly Encouragement (or Warning)

Do not just throw your receipts in an old box or bag to sort through at the end of the year. Trust us, you won't remember where you bought things or what the receipts were for! If you have an accountant, he or she won't have a clue either. Organize as you go for efficiency.

Money saving tip: The more expenses you can deduct from your income as legitimately being job related, the lower your tax burden will be and potentially the more you will get back on your refund. Wikipedia states, "Tax avoidance is the legal utilization of the tax regime to one's own advantage, to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. By contrast, tax evasion is the general term for efforts to not pay taxes by illegal means."(2) Hopefully, you will take all of the tax deductions that you are entitled to, to save as much money as possible on your tax bill.