Per diem for truck drivers: who can deduct it and how much

Per diem lets a driver who travels away from home deduct a flat daily amount for meals and incidental expenses instead of tracking every food receipt. For travel on or after October 1, 2026, the IRS special rate for the transportation industry is $80 a day in the continental US and $86 outside it, and drivers under DOT hours-of-service rules deduct 80% of that amount. The deduction belongs to self-employed drivers; since 2018, company drivers benefit only when their employer pays per diem.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice; check your own situation with a tax professional.

Who can deduct per diem

Self-employed drivers and owner-operators

If you're self-employed, for example an owner-operator filing Schedule C, you can deduct meals and incidental expenses for each day you travel away from your tax home. You can use actual costs backed by receipts, or the standard meal allowance, which is the per diem rate. The rate covers meals and incidentals only. Lodging, such as a motel room, is deducted at what you actually paid.

Company drivers

Before 2018, employees could deduct unreimbursed travel costs, including per diem, as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended that deduction starting with the 2018 tax year, and the 2025 tax law (Public Law 119-21) made the change permanent. IRS Publication 529 states that employees can't claim unreimbursed employee expenses unless they fall into a few narrow groups, such as Armed Forces reservists and qualified performing artists.

Company drivers can still receive per diem from the carrier. When an employer pays an allowance under an accountable plan and it doesn't exceed the federal rate, the allowance generally isn't treated as taxable wages. Ask your payroll office whether your carrier offers a per diem program and how it affects your pay.

The special transportation industry rate

Publication 463 lets you use the special rate if your work directly involves moving people or goods by truck (or by plane, barge, bus, ship or train) and regularly requires travel away from home that, on a single trip, usually crosses areas with different meal allowance rates. Using it means you don't have to look up the local rate for every town where you stop to sleep.

Because the rate didn't change, every day of 2026 uses $80 inside the continental US. Outside the continental US covers places such as Alaska or a run into Canada.

One rule catches drivers who switch methods: if you use the special rate for any trip, Publication 463 says you must use it for every trip you take that year.

The 80% limit

Most taxpayers can deduct only 50% of business meals. Publication 463 makes an exception for individuals subject to the Department of Transportation's hours-of-service limits, who can deduct 80%, and it lists interstate truck operators under DOT regulations among them. The 80% applies to the per diem rate the same way it applies to actual meal costs.

A worked example

The numbers below are an example. Say you leave home Monday morning and get back Friday night, all in the continental US, in November 2026:

• Monday, departure day: 3/4 × $80 = $60
• Tuesday to Thursday, full days: 3 × $80 = $240
• Friday, return day: 3/4 × $80 = $60

That's $360 of standard meal allowance for the trip. At 80%, the deduction is $288.

For a full year, the same math applies. A driver with an example 220 full days and 40 departure or return days would have 220 × $80 + 40 × $60 = $20,000 in allowance and a deduction of $16,000. A deduction lowers taxable income; it isn't a dollar-for-dollar cut in the tax you owe.

Partial days at 75%

The rate is for a full 24-hour day. For the days you depart and return, Publication 463 gives two methods:

1. Claim 3/4 of the daily rate: on the departure day, 3/4 of that day's rate, and on the return day, 3/4 of the previous day's rate. With the special rate, that's $60 a day in the continental US and $64.50 outside it.
2. Prorate with any other method you apply consistently that follows reasonable business practice.

The first method is the simpler one to document.

What counts as a day away from home

Per diem applies only to travel away from your tax home. Publication 463 treats you as traveling away from home when your duties keep you away from the general area of your tax home substantially longer than an ordinary day's work and you need sleep or rest to meet the demands of the job. Local runs where you sleep in your own bed each night don't qualify.

If you have no regular place of business and no home where you regularly live, the IRS considers you an itinerant whose tax home is wherever you work, and an itinerant can't claim travel expenses. Drivers who live in the truck full time should check this with a tax professional before claiming per diem.

Records to keep

The standard meal allowance replaces meal receipts, not records. Publication 463 says you still have to prove when and where you traveled and the business purpose of each trip. In practice, keep:

• The dates you left home and got back for each trip
• Where you stopped for sleep or rest each night, by city and state
• The load or trip number, with shipper and receiver
• Supporting paperwork such as ELD logs, fuel receipts and bills of lading

Generally, keep these records for 3 years from the date you file the return that claims the deduction.

Common mistakes

• Claiming per diem as an itemized deduction while working as a company driver
• Deducting 100% of the allowance instead of 80%
• Counting departure and return days as full days
• Mixing the special rate with local rates in the same year
• Claiming days spent at home or on local runs
• Claiming both per diem and actual meal receipts for the same day

How Fort Route's per diem log helps

Fort Route's per diem log builds the day count while you work. Once you set your Home address, the app logs each day you're 50 or more miles from home, using GPS while the app is open. Departure and return days count at 75%, and the rate is the IRS $80 a day ($86 outside the continental US) from Notice 2026-60.

The 50-mile line is the app's way to flag likely travel days, not an IRS test; the IRS test is whether you were away from your tax home long enough to need sleep or rest. You can mark any day by hand, which covers days the app wasn't running, and export the log as a CSV file for your preparer. Review each day against your logs before it goes on a return. For fuel tax records, see IFTA fuel tax basics.