TraxQClaim The Per Diem You're Owed
Estimate the meal and incidental deduction for nights spent away from home.
How to use the Driver Per Diem calculator
Per diem is a standard daily allowance for meals on nights away from home, claimed instead of keeping receipts, and drivers under hours-of-service rules deduct 80 percent rather than the usual 50 — one of the few tax rules written in trucking's favour. Nights decide whether a trip qualifies, but days are what you claim, and the IRS prorates the first and last day of every trip to three-quarters of the rate. That is why this asks for trips as well as nights: a four-night run is five calendar days worth 4.5 days of per diem, so counting bare nights quietly throws away half a day each time out. The caveat that matters is who can claim: the 2017 tax law suspended unreimbursed employee expenses and the 2025 reconciliation act made that permanent, so most W-2 company drivers cannot deduct it directly, though many carriers run per diem pay programmes instead. Owner-operators filing Schedule C are unaffected.
Driver Per Diem Calculator Questions
The things carriers ask most about this calculation.
What is per diem for truck drivers?
A daily allowance for meals and incidental expenses on nights you are away from home and required to rest. Rather than keeping every receipt, you claim a standard daily rate for each qualifying night.
How much is the per diem rate?
IRS Notice 2025-54 sets it at $80 a day inside the continental US and $86 outside, for travel on or after 1 October 2025 and through 30 September 2026. The IRS resets it each autumn, so check the current figure before filing — this calculator uses whatever rate you enter.
Can company drivers claim per diem?
No. The 2017 tax law suspended unreimbursed employee expenses, and the 2025 reconciliation act made that suspension permanent rather than letting it lapse in 2026, so most W-2 company drivers cannot deduct it directly — though many carriers run a per diem pay programme instead. Owner-operators filing Schedule C are unaffected and can still claim it.
Do I count days or nights?
Both, at different steps. Nights decide whether a trip qualifies at all, because you have to be away long enough to need sleep or rest. Days are what you actually claim, and the first and last day of every trip count at three-quarters of the rate under Rev. Proc. 2019-48. A four-night trip is therefore five calendar days worth 4.5 days of per diem, not four — which is why this calculator asks how many trips you take, not just how many nights you were out.
Why is only 80 percent deductible?
Meals are normally 50 percent deductible, but drivers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules get a higher 80 percent limit. It is one of the few tax rules written specifically in trucking's favour.
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