I'm going to be starting a linehaul gig within the next 2 weeks, and was wondering if someone could tell me what I could claim for taxes NEXT year?
I wont be home every night, but I also wont gone for more than 2 days at a time. I always understood it as, you have to be an OTR driver in order to claim the meal allowence and all that.
Can someone straighten things out a little bit for me?
I wanna start saving receipts asap, but also, dont wanna save em for no reason.

Thanks in advance.
Jim.

 

Being subject to the HOS....you will be able to take the same deductions. You will have to just be very concise as to the number of 24 hour periods you are away from home. Your logbook will substantiate your daily deductions.

 

You can take the standard deduction for each day you are away or keep track of all your expenses and itemize. Anything you buy in your work is deductible. There are some inexpensive expense diaries you can find at most truck stops. All you need to do is write everything down and throw the receipts in a file. I use a debit or credit card for all road expenses. It helps to keep expenses straight.

 

If I do this, do I actually have to list every single item? Keep all receipts, and can I still e-file? If I can still e-file, do I still have to mail in receipts to the IRS, or only keep them incase of being audited?


Does that include pens & paper, clothes, shampoo, daily food expenses, and toll road in personal vehicle to get to work?

 

Take the standarard deduction when you are away from home, no reciept required. As for the rest, ANYTHING that you buy that is job related still can be written off, dosen't matter if your local or OTR. As for the tolls, run 30, it's free

 

You don't need to list every single item on your taxes, but will need to group them. You will need to keep your receipts. You NEVER mail them your receipts. Keep them in a file for 7 years in case you are audited.

Anything you use while on the road or doing your work is deductible. If you don't want to keep track of all your expenses, you can always take the standard daily deduction. Some people find it easier to just take the standard deduction rather than keeping up with all the receipts.

 

Clothes are borderline for me. I write off socks and pants and shoes. I don't write off shampoo and personal hygiene products. Pens, paper, stamps, paperclips, markers, etc I do write off.

Are you an owner operator or company driver? The difference between the two makes it easier to answer the question.

 

You can only write off clothing that is specific to the job, ie., clothing with company logos on it, special overalls for loading or unloading, etc. Common, everyday clothes cannot be written off, and are inviting an audit.

 

Now you are a tax expert. Clothes are not a big deal. The IRS. doesn't have time to investigate every driver's clothes to see if they have company logos on them. :lol: It would take much more than that to invite an audit.

 

Who is the tax expert? :roll: