Trucking tax and bookkeeping questions

It depends on your setup and what you need. Book a free 15-minute review and I’ll explain the next step and pricing clearly — no pressure.

Starting clean is easiest. We set up simple bookkeeping and a plan for IFTA and your first quarter, so nothing catches you off guard. The new authority checklist shows every step and deadline.

Bank and card statements for the business account, settlements or rate confirmations for the loads you ran, the fuel-card report, miles by state from your ELD, and photos of any receipts paid in cash. Ten minutes a month on your side.

Yes — everything is handled remotely, wherever you’re based or driving.

English, Russian, and Ukrainian — whichever you’re most comfortable with.

A flat daily deduction for meals on days you are away from home overnight: $80 a day in the continental U.S. ($86 outside it), with 80% deductible for drivers under DOT hours-of-service rules. Departure and return days count at 75%. It is for self-employed drivers — a W-2 company driver cannot deduct it on a federal return, although an employer can pay it as a non-taxable reimbursement. Your ELD log is the proof.

The federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax, owed on trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lb or more. It is $100 plus $22 for each 1,000 lb over 55,000, capped at $550 — what a standard 80,000-lb tractor pays. The tax year runs July 1 to June 30 and the return is due August 31; for a truck first used in another month, by the last day of the following month. You need the stamped Schedule 1 to get or renew your plates.

Every quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. A return is required even for a quarter with no miles, and late filing brings a penalty plus interest. Keep miles by state and every fuel receipt — IFTA records must be kept for four years. The IFTA estimator shows in advance whether the quarter ends with tax owed or a credit.

As a starting point, 25⁠–⁠30% of net profit — what is left after business expenses, not of gross revenue. Self-employed drivers pay income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax, in four estimated payments: April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. Once there are a few months of real numbers, the percentage can be set precisely.

Often, yes. Equipment acquired after January 19, 2025 qualifies for 100% bonus depreciation, and Section 179 is another route. But it is not always the best move: a full write-off can waste deductions in a low-income first year and leave nothing for later years while you are still paying the loan. Note that loan principal is never an expense — depreciation and interest are.

Record each load at the full invoice amount as revenue and the factoring fee as a separate expense. If you only record what lands in the bank, revenue is understated, the fee deduction disappears, and your 1099s won’t match your books. Reserves the factor holds back are not income a second time when they are released.

Tax records — at least three years from filing, and up to six if income was understated; keep purchase papers for a truck or trailer for as long as you own it plus three years. IFTA records — four years. FMCSA wants ELD logs and supporting documents for six months, but keep them with your tax file anyway: they prove your per diem days. Receipts, settlements, rate confirmations and bank statements all count.

Not much on the federal return: unreimbursed employee expenses, including meals on the road, are not deductible for W-2 employees. A few states still allow them on the state return. The practical fix is on the employer’s side — a per diem plan that pays part of your compensation tax-free.

They are not alternatives. An LLC is a legal form; S-corp is a tax election an LLC can make. Start as an LLC. The S-corp election usually begins to pay for itself once net profit is steadily above roughly $60,000⁠–⁠$80,000 a year: you take a reasonable salary through payroll and the rest of the profit avoids the 15.3% self-employment tax. Below that, payroll and an extra tax return cost more than they save.

In both cases you are usually self-employed and get a 1099, so the deductions are the same. The difference is who handles what. Leased on, the carrier typically covers liability and cargo insurance, IFTA and often plates, and deducts costs from your settlement — so your books start from the settlement sheet, recorded gross. With your own authority, every filing in the checklist is yours, and insurance alone runs $15,000⁠–⁠$30,000 a year. See the cost comparison.

Add a month of fixed costs (truck, trailer, insurance, plates, subscriptions) to a month of variable costs (fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls) and divide by all the miles you drove — loaded and empty. Then divide the same total by loaded miles only: that is the lowest rate you can accept. The calculator does both and also checks a load by revenue per day.