# Truck driver tax deductions: records for owner-operators and company drivers

[Home](/) / [Tax document checklists](/checklists/tax-documents) / Truck drivers

By [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul), Founder, DokuTrak. Published 2026-10-29, updated 2026-10-29.

> **In brief:** Tax deductions for truck drivers depend first on how the driver is paid: an owner-operator deducts fuel, the truck, insurance, per diem and road taxes on Schedule C, while a company driver on a W-2 has almost none. This checklist lists the records each one gathers.

## The checklist: Trucker’s tax file: settlements, per diem days and road taxes

**Not advice.** This page is general information, not tax, legal or HR advice. Rules change: check the cited source and ask your own professional before you rely on it. Last reviewed October 25, 2026.

Tick "owner-operator" or "company driver" at the top, then work through the groups that apply. Company drivers need only the first group, plus any state items.

### Company driver (W-2) items

- [ ] Form W-2 from each carrier: Copy B or C for the tax year, one per employer
- [ ] Final pay stub of the year: Shows year-to-date overtime and per diem paid
- [ ] Qualified overtime amount from the carrier: Only FLSA-required overtime counts; from 2026, W-2 box 12 code TT

### Owner-operator income

- [ ] Forms 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC from carriers and brokers: One per payer over that year’s line; list loads with no form
- [ ] Weekly or trip settlement statements and the year-end summary: Gross revenue before fuel advances, escrow and chargebacks
- [ ] Escrow or maintenance reserve account statement: Amounts held back and released by the carrier during the year
- [ ] Lease-on agreement with the carrier: Signed copy showing pay terms and who pays which costs
- [ ] Factoring statements and fees: Monthly statements from the factoring company
- [ ] Business bank statements: Every month of the year, to tie deposits to settlements

### Per diem and travel proof

- [ ] ELD reports or logbooks for the year: Each overnight away from the tax home, by date
- [ ] Day count of nights away and partial days: Your own tally, checked against the logs
- [ ] Truck stop showers, parking and scale tickets: Receipts by date and location

### Truck, fuel and running costs

- [ ] Truck bill of sale, lease or purchase contract: With the date the truck went into service
- [ ] Truck and trailer loan statements: Year-end statement showing interest paid
- [ ] Fuel card statements or fuel receipts: Diesel, DEF and reefer fuel, all months
- [ ] Repair and maintenance invoices: Tires, brakes, oil, washes, towing and road service
- [ ] Insurance declarations and premium invoices: Liability, physical damage, cargo, bobtail, occupational accident
- [ ] ELD, load board, phone and dispatch fees: Monthly invoices or card charges

### Road taxes and permits

- [ ] Form 2290 and the stamped Schedule 1: For the period that runs July 1 to June 30
- [ ] Odometer log for any suspended (category W) truck: Shows it stayed at or under the mileage limit; keep 3 years
- [ ] IFTA quarterly fuel tax returns and payments: All four quarters, with the miles-by-state report
- [ ] Apportioned plate, UCR and state permit fees: State invoices and proof of payment
- [ ] DOT physical, drug test and CDL renewal receipts: Any paid by the driver in the year

### Owner side of the return

- [ ] Health insurance premium statements: Plan bought by the owner-operator, by month, for Form 7206
- [ ] SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) contribution statement: Contributions made for the tax year
- [ ] Quarterly estimated payment confirmations: Federal and state, each date and amount
- [ ] Last year’s return with the truck’s depreciation schedule: Full prior-year copy, including Form 4562

Download: [PDF](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f1-tax-document-checklists/truck-drivers.pdf) · [Word](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f1-tax-document-checklists/truck-drivers.docx) · [Excel tracker](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f1-tax-document-checklists/truck-drivers.xlsx)

## Owner-operator or company driver: two different files

An **owner-operator** is a driver who owns or leases the truck and hauls under contract, so the income and the costs belong to their own business. A company driver is an employee who gets a W-2. The two files share almost nothing, so sort the driver into one group before you ask for a single receipt.

For the company driver, the federal list is short. Meals on the road, gloves or a CPAP for the sleeper are job costs the carrier did not repay, and since 2018 the law allows no deduction for them, with no end date ([26 U.S.C. 67](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/67)). Form 2106 survives only for reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis officials and workers with impairment-related costs, so a driver does not fit ([Form 2106 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2106)). Your state may still allow some of those costs on its own return.

Overtime is the one new item, and it needs care. The deduction covers only overtime the Fair Labor Standards Act requires, and the IRS lists certain employees of motor carriers among the workers exempt from that rule ([IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf)). If your carrier treats you as exempt under that rule, your overtime premium does not qualify, even when the carrier pays one.

| Item | Owner-operator (Schedule C) | Company driver (W-2) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Meals on the road | Per diem or actual cost, at 80% under DOT hours-of-service rules ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)) | Not deductible federally ([26 U.S.C. 67](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/67)) |
| Truck, fuel, repairs | Deductible business costs, the truck through depreciation | The carrier pays them; nothing to deduct |
| Form 2290 heavy vehicle tax | Deductible if the tax is paid in the driver’s name | Paid by the carrier |
| Overtime pay | Not wages, so no overtime deduction | Only overtime required by FLSA section 7; many motor-carrier drivers are exempt from it ([IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf)). Up to $12,500, or $25,000 joint, reduced above $150,000 of MAGI, or $300,000 joint ([IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf)) |

## Settlements and the forms that report your pay

An owner-operator’s income starts with the carrier’s weekly or trip settlement statements. Each one shows the gross revenue, then the fuel advances, escrow, chargebacks and lease costs taken out. Ask for every settlement, plus the carrier’s year-end summary, because the gross figure on the return is the amount before those deductions.

The carrier you are leased to, or each broker that pays you directly, sends a Form 1099-NEC once its payments for the year reach the line. A broker that paid you $1,500 for loads in 2025 had to send one; the same $1,500 paid in 2026 is under the new $2,000 line ([Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions, 2025](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i1099mec--2025.pdf)) ([Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions (rev. 12/2026)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec)). The 1099 contractor checklist covers each form and year. Every load is income either way, so the settlements carry more weight than the forms.

Factoring changes the picture. If a factor buys your invoices, keep the factoring statements too, since the fees are a cost and the gross load pay is still your income. An escrow or maintenance reserve the carrier holds back is also worth a year-end statement, since it shows what was withheld and what came back.

## Per diem: the rate and the days that prove it

Drivers in the transportation industry can use a special meal and incidental rate instead of looking up each town where they stop ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)). The **special M&IE rate** is that flat daily amount: $80 for travel in the continental United States and $86 outside it, from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 ([IRS Notice 2025-54](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-54.pdf)). The IRS kept the same $80 and $86 for travel from October 1, 2026 ([IRS Notice 2026-60](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-26-60.pdf)).

You can deduct 80% of meal costs during periods under the Department of Transportation hours-of-service limits, rather than the usual 50% ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)). If you use the special rate for one trip, you must use it for every trip that year ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)). On the day you leave and the day you return, the rate is prorated ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)).

The rate only works with proof of the days. You must be away from your **tax home**, which is your regular place of business, regardless of where your family lives ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)). A driver with no regular base and no home they keep up is an itinerant and cannot deduct travel at all ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)).

- ELD logs or paper logbooks that show each overnight away from home.
- Fuel receipts by date and place, which back up the route.
- A day count for the year, with the trips that started or ended mid-day marked.

## Road taxes, permits and compliance costs

Form 2290 is the heavy highway vehicle use tax return. You file it for a highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more ([IRS, About Form 2290](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2290)). The tax period runs July 1 to June 30, and you file by the last day of the month after the month of first use ([IRS Trucking Tax Center](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/trucking-tax-center)). Keep the stamped Schedule 1, since states ask for it as proof of payment when you register the truck ([Form 2290 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2290)).

A truck expected to run 5,000 miles or less in the period can be listed as suspended, in category W, with no tax due ([Form 2290 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2290)). The mileage records behind that claim must be kept at least 3 years after the period ends ([Form 2290 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2290)). So a light-use truck needs its own odometer log, apart from the ELD.

The **International Fuel Tax Agreement** is the deal among states that lets an interstate carrier file one fuel tax return, called the IFTA return, for all the places it drove. In Texas, for example, IFTA returns are due on the last day of the month after each calendar quarter ([Texas Comptroller, IFTA](https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/fuels/ifta.php)). Keep each quarterly return, the payments and the miles-by-state report behind it. Costs such as plate fees, UCR fees, permits, scale tickets, DOT physicals and CDL renewals go in the same folder.

## The truck and what it costs to run

A tractor is not a “car” for the standard mileage rate, which covers a car, van, pickup or panel truck ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)). So an owner-operator deducts actual costs: fuel, DEF, tires, repairs, washes, tolls and parking. Fuel card statements are easier to check than loose receipts, as long as they match the settlements.

The truck itself is recovered through depreciation. For property acquired after January 19, 2025, a 100% first-year depreciation is now permanent ([IRS, 2025 law for businesses](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/working-families-tax-cuts-businesses)). Keep the bill of sale or lease, the loan statement for interest, and the date the truck went into service. A trailer bought on its own needs its own papers.

Insurance is often the second-biggest bill. Ask for the declarations page and premium invoices for primary liability, physical damage, cargo, bobtail and occupational accident cover.

## Health cover, retirement and quarterly payments

A few items sit on the owner’s side of the return. Health insurance an owner-operator buys for the family can be deducted on Form 7206, but not for months when the driver or a spouse could join an employer’s subsidized plan ([Form 7206 instructions (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i7206)). Money put into a retirement plan for the owner, such as a SEP-IRA, also needs its year-end statement.

No one withholds tax from settlements, so most owner-operators pay quarterly. The self-employed checklist gives the due dates for each tax year and how last year’s return sets the safe harbor. Last year’s return also holds the truck’s depreciation history, which a new preparer would otherwise rebuild from the bill of sale.

## Questions people ask

### Can a W-2 company driver deduct per diem or meals?

Not on the federal return. Meals a carrier does not repay are miscellaneous itemized deductions, which the law disallows for every year after 2017 ([26 U.S.C. 67](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/67)). A per diem the carrier pays under an accountable plan is a different matter. Check the state return too.

### Can truck drivers deduct overtime?

Only W-2 drivers paid overtime that the Fair Labor Standards Act requires, and certain motor carrier employees are exempt from that rule ([IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf)). From 2026, qualifying overtime is shown in box 12 of the W-2 with code TT ([IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf)).

### What is the per diem rate for truck drivers?

The special transportation rate is $80 a day in the continental United States and $86 outside it, for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 ([IRS Notice 2025-54](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-54.pdf)). Owner-operators under DOT hours-of-service rules deduct 80% of it ([IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)).

### Who must file Form 2290?

Anyone who registers, or must register, a highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more in their name ([IRS Trucking Tax Center](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/trucking-tax-center)). File by the last day of the month after the month of first use, and keep the stamped Schedule 1 ([IRS Trucking Tax Center](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/trucking-tax-center)).

## Sources

- [IRS Publication 463 (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463): Special meal rate for transportation workers, the 80% limit under hours-of-service rules, the tax home test and the vehicles covered by the standard mileage rate.
- [IRS Notice 2025-54](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-54.pdf): Special transportation industry M&IE rates of $80 (CONUS) and $86 (OCONUS) for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
- [IRS Notice 2026-60](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-26-60.pdf): Special transportation industry M&IE rates of $80 (CONUS) and $86 (OCONUS) for travel on or after October 1, 2026.
- [26 U.S.C. 67](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/67): No miscellaneous itemized deduction is allowed for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017.
- [Form 2106 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2106): Form 2106 may be used only by Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis officials and employees with impairment-related work expenses.
- [IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13](https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2026-13.pdf): Only overtime required by FLSA section 7 qualifies; certain motor carrier employees are exempt; up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint), reduced above $150,000 ($300,000 joint) of MAGI; W-2 box 12 code TT from 2026.
- [Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions (rev. 12/2026)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec): For tax years beginning after 2025, the Form 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000.
- [Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions, 2025](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/i1099mec--2025.pdf): For 2025, Form 1099-NEC reported payments of $600 or more.
- [IRS, About Form 2290](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2290): Form 2290 is used to figure and pay the tax on highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more.
- [IRS Trucking Tax Center](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/trucking-tax-center): The Form 2290 period runs July 1 to June 30, and the return is due by the last day of the month after the month of first use.
- [Form 2290 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i2290): The stamped Schedule 1 is proof of payment; vehicles expected to run 5,000 miles or less are suspended (category W), with records kept at least 3 years after the period.
- [Texas Comptroller, IFTA](https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/fuels/ifta.php): IFTA returns are due quarterly, on the last day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter.
- [IRS, 2025 law for businesses](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/working-families-tax-cuts-businesses): A permanent 100% first-year depreciation applies to qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025.
- [Form 7206 instructions (2025)](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i7206): No self-employed health insurance deduction for any month you were eligible for a subsidized plan of your or your spouse’s employer.

## More on this topic

- [Form W-2](/documents/w-2)
- [Form 1099-NEC](/documents/1099-nec)
- [Small business tax documents checklist](/checklists/tax-documents/small-business)

## About the author

Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul).

How this page was made (methodology): it is built from the primary sources listed under Sources, and every rule and figure on it links to the source it comes from. Last updated October 25, 2026. Spotted an error or a rule that changed? [Contact us](/contact).

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