Per diem
Per diem in trucking refers to the deduction or allowance for meals and incidental expenses incurred while away from home overnight on business travel.
Last reviewed · by the Fleetchart team
Drivers subject to hours-of-service rules have historically been able to claim a standard daily amount rather than itemizing individual meal receipts, subject to limits on the deductible percentage.
The rules differ substantially between owner-operators and company drivers, and they have changed more than once. What is deductible depends on your structure and current law.
Records of nights away from home are what substantiate it, which makes trip records worth keeping even when receipts are not.
This is general information, not tax advice.
For example, say a driver is on the road 220 days in a year. Each of those days away may count toward the deduction, so the trip records showing where the truck was are what back it up. If the records only prove 180 of those days, the other 220 − 180 = 40 days may not count, even though the driver really was away.
Per diem matters to an owner's money because it can lower taxable profit without spending any extra cash. Your ELD and trip records already hold most of the proof, so keep them for as long as your tax professional tells you to.