Trucking Careers · Nationwide · October 23, 2026

How Trucker Per Diem Works: Rates, Rules and Record Keeping

Per diem is one of the most talked about and least understood parts of a truck driver's pay. The term means "per day," and in trucking it usually refers to a daily amount for meals and small expenses while away from home. How it works depends on whether a driver is a company employee or a self-employed owner operator. This guide covers the IRS rules, current rates and records. It is general information, not tax advice.

What per diem means in trucking

IRS Publication 463 describes a per diem allowance as a fixed amount of daily reimbursement an employer gives for lodging and meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) when an employee is away from home on business.

Many drivers sleep in the truck, so lodging often does not come into it. Publication 463 says an allowance counts as M&IE only when, among other cases, the employer does not reasonably believe the employee had lodging expenses, such as when the driver sleeps in the cab of the truck.

When a driver counts as away from home

Per diem rules apply only to travel away from a driver's tax home, which the IRS generally defines as the regular place of business, not necessarily where the family lives. Publication 463 gives two trucking examples:

• A driver who leaves the terminal and returns the same day, with only an hour off to eat, is not traveling away from home, because the break is not long enough for needed sleep or rest.
• A driver whose family lives in Tucson but who works out of a terminal in Phoenix cannot deduct meals and lodging in Phoenix, because Phoenix is the tax home.

The IRS special rate for transportation workers

Who qualifies

The IRS offers a special standard meal allowance for the transportation industry. Under Publication 463 and Revenue Procedure 2019-48, a worker qualifies when the job directly involves moving people or goods by truck (or by airplane, barge, bus, ship or train) and regularly requires travel away from home that, on a single trip, usually reaches areas with different standard meal rates.

Current rates

• Travel on or after October 1, 2026: IRS Notice 2026-60 sets the special transportation industry M&IE rate at $80 a day for travel in the continental United States and $86 a day for travel outside it.
• October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026: Notice 2025-54 listed the same $80 and $86 rates.
• Calendar year 2025: Publication 463 lists $80 a day, or $86 outside the continental United States.

Both notices also set an incidental-expenses-only rate of $5 a day. Publication 463 says that option can be used only on days with no meal expenses.

Rules for using it

Publication 463 says a taxpayer who uses the special rate for any trip must use it for all trips that year, rather than the regular local rates. The day a trip starts and the day it ends are partial days. One option is to claim three fourths of the daily rate for each of those days; the other is any method applied consistently that follows reasonable business practice.

Company drivers: per diem as part of pay

For company drivers, per diem comes from the employer. Publication 463 explains that reimbursements paid under an accountable plan are not reported as pay on the employee's Form W-2, while amounts paid under a nonaccountable plan are reported as pay. An accountable plan has three rules:

• The expenses must have a business connection.
• The employee must adequately account for the expenses within a reasonable period of time.
• The employee must return any excess reimbursement within a reasonable period of time.

A per diem allowance can serve as proof of the amount spent when the employer limits payments to ordinary and necessary expenses, the allowance is not more than the federal rate, and the driver proves the dates, place and business purpose of travel. Publication 463 says the employer should tell employees which reimbursement method is used and what records they must provide.

Company drivers usually cannot claim a deduction on their own return instead. Publication 463 says most employees may not use Form 2106 because miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2 percent floor are suspended for tax years beginning after 2017. Only a few groups, such as Armed Forces reservists and qualified performing artists, are listed as exceptions. That suspension was first set to end after 2025, but a July 2025 federal law made it permanent, so it still applies for 2026. State tax rules can differ.

To compare job offers, the trucking pay per mile calculator estimates gross pay without per diem, and the guide to truck driver pay by state shows regional wages.

Owner operators: the meal deduction

Self-employed drivers in the transportation industry can use the same special rate to figure their deductible meal expenses, according to Revenue Procedure 2019-48. Publication 463 says sole proprietors report business income and expenses on Schedule C.

The 80 percent rule

Most business meals are limited to a 50 percent deduction. Publication 463 makes an exception for people subject to the Department of Transportation's hours of service limits, a group that includes interstate truck operators and bus drivers under DOT rules. For meals eaten during or incident to a period subject to those limits while away from the tax home, the deductible share is 80 percent.

As simple math using the $80 rate, 80 percent of a full day comes to $64. A partial day at three fourths of the rate is $60, and 80 percent of that is $48. A tax professional can confirm how those figures apply to a specific return.

The limits themselves are explained in the guide to hours of service and ELD rules. For the bigger money picture, see owner operator vs company driver and the truck fuel cost calculator.

Record keeping for per diem

Using a standard rate does not remove the need for records. Publication 463 says drivers using the standard meal allowance must still keep records that prove the time, place and business purpose of travel. For travel, its records table lists:

• Time: the dates of leaving and returning for each trip and the number of days spent on business
• Place: the destination or area of travel, by city, town or other designation
• Business purpose: the business purpose for the expense or the business benefit gained or expected

The IRS says proof can be kept in an account book, diary, log, statement of expense, trip sheets or a similar record, and a record kept on a computer counts as adequate. It also says records supporting a deduction should generally be kept for 3 years from the date the return is filed.

A simple way to keep the daily details in one place is the free printable trip log, which has columns for dates, origin and destination, miles, and meals and per diem notes for each day. More free calculators are on the Tools page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the trucker per diem rate for 2026?

The rate is $80 a day in the continental United States and $86 outside it for all of 2026. Notice 2025-54 covers travel from January 1 through September 30, 2026, and Notice 2026-60 covers travel on or after October 1, 2026, with the same rates.

Can truck drivers deduct 80 percent of meals?

For drivers who can deduct meals, mainly self-employed owner operators, Publication 463 allows 80 percent for meals during periods subject to DOT hours of service limits while away from the tax home, which includes interstate truck operators. Company drivers generally cannot deduct meals themselves.

Can company drivers deduct per diem on their own taxes?

Generally not. Publication 463 says most employees may not use Form 2106 because miscellaneous itemized deductions are suspended for tax years beginning after 2017, and a 2025 federal law made that suspension permanent.

Is per diem pay taxable?

Under Publication 463, reimbursements paid under an accountable plan are not reported as pay on Form W-2, while amounts paid under a nonaccountable plan are reported as pay.

What records are needed for per diem?

The IRS asks for trip dates, days on business, the place of travel and the business purpose, kept in a log, diary, trip sheets or computer record.

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules change and every situation is different, so check with a tax professional before claiming per diem or meal deductions.

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