Tax guides · For owner-operators & lease operators

Owner-operator deductions: the road map

Trucking is the rare self-employment where expenses can rival revenue — which makes complete records the difference between a brutal tax year and a manageable one. Two special rules set truckers apart from every other guide on this site, so we'll start there.

Special rule #1Big rigs use actual costs — not the mileage rate

The standard mileage rate is for cars, vans, and pickups. A tractor-trailer deducts actual costs: fuel, oil, tires, maintenance and repairs, washes, insurance, plates, and depreciation on the truck itself (often the largest line, with Section 179 options in purchase years). Every fuel-stop receipt is literally money.

Special rule #2Per diem — the away-from-home meal deduction

Drivers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules get a special transportation-industry per diem for meals on nights away from home, deductible at a higher percentage than normal business meals. The rate is set federally and updates — verify the current figures — but the mechanics are simple: count your nights away (your logbook is the proof) and the deduction often runs into five figures for full-time OTR.

Schedule C · Lines 10–27aThe operating stack

• Insurance — liability, cargo, bobtail, physical damage.
• Permits, plates, IFTA, heavy-vehicle use tax, tolls, scales.
• ELD subscription, load boards, dispatch fees, factoring fees.
• Truck parking, showers, laundry on the road.
• CB, GPS, tools, chains, straps, tarps, gloves.
• Phone and data plan — business share.
• Medical card exams and CDL renewals.

The structure noteSole prop vs. the alphabet soup

Many owner-operators run as sole proprietors on Schedule C; some incorporate as the numbers grow. The deductions above exist either way — what changes is paperwork and self-employment tax strategy, which is genuinely a sit-down-with-a-CPA decision once revenue is serious.

More guides: Delivery & gig driver deductions · Trades & contractor deductions · All tax guides

This guide is general education, not tax advice. Tax rules change and individual situations differ — confirm current rates and rules at irs.gov or with a tax professional before filing.