Trucking & Taxes – July 2025

Every owner-operator truck driver should take advantage of all available tax deductions. Your goal should be to save as much of your income as possible.

You should keep a record of your tax-deductible business expenses throughout the year to claim them on schedule C or other business tax returns.

Here are 15 tax deductions that owner-operator truck drivers can utilize:

Insurance

Most owner-operators spend a lot of money on a variety of insurances, such as liability, property damage, cargo insurance, workers’ compensation and even business-interruption insurance. These premiums can add up to hefty amounts but are all tax deductible. Personal life insurance is not deductible, however.

Cellphones

If you have a cellphone line dedicated to your work, the cost of the plan is deductible. Other potential deductions include the cost of the phone, as well as any tablets or laptops that are for business purposes. If you have a personal cellphone used in business, you can deduct the percentage of time it is used for business purposes.

Vehicle expenses

When you drive a tractor-trailer as a professional owner-operator, the IRS considers it a qualified non-personal-use vehicle. The agency does have rules for just about everything, which means that all the expenses that come with owning, leasing and operating the vehicle can be claimed as a business expense and deducted. This includes depreciation, insurance, loan interest for financed vehicles, registration, tires, parking fees, tolls, cleaning and lease expenses.

Fuel

Fuel is one of the most significant expenses for owner-operators. The IRS considers fuel as ordinary and necessary to operate your business. Save your fuel receipts, or if your fuel costs are deducted from settlement statements, save those.

Truck repairs and maintenance

Trucks are routinely faced with repairs and maintenance expenses. When deducting for taxes, you must consider the tax implications of these expenses. Costs must be capitalized – i.e. treated as assets – to the extent they materially add value, prolong the useful life of the vehicle or trailer or change it to a new or different use. Costs incurred as part of a plan for restoring or improvement must be capitalized. Examples of these costs include rebuilding engines, transmissions, tanks or cabs on tractors and rebuilding trailer beds.

Medical expenses

Department of Transportation medical exams are required as a condition to work. If you pay out of pocket (not through your health insurance coverage) for these required exams, the expense is considered 100% deductible. But medical expenses like doctor’s appointments, hospital visits and medicine are deductible only if you itemize them as deductions on Schedule A. That is a high hurdle to clear.

Office expense or home office

Tax deductible office expenses include rent or even the value of a home office. If you have a home office, you need to follow the IRS rules pertaining to it. Most taxpayers take the safe harbor method. If you rent office space, make sure you track all expenses, including utilities. And don’t forget to deduct the cost of office supplies, such as business cards, stationery, pens, paperclips, printers, laptops, tablets and anything else the IRS considers “ordinary and necessary” for your industry.

License and permit fees

Any license fees, permit fees and other taxes incurred by your trucking business can be deducted as an expense on your taxes. This includes the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax, fuel tax, mileage tax and the fees associated with maintaining your commercial driver’s license.

Personal product deductions

We always say that trucking is unique when it comes to deducting items. Small, necessary purchases used while working on the road might include a small refrigerator, GPS, bedding, cleaning supplies, cooking equipment, work boots and gloves, among others. Don’t forget that even the cost of doing laundry or of showering while working on the road are deductible business expenses.

Tax preparation and bookkeeping services

Contracting out services costs money, and avoiding that cost seems like an obvious choice. But at the end of the day, bookkeeping services can help you save money, plan and run your business. Plus, the fees you pay for bookkeeping and to have someone prepare and file your taxes are tax deductible.

Association dues

Yes, even your OOIDA membership dues are tax deductible. The same goes for dues you have for any other applicable associations.

Education expenses

All the costs of educational courses necessary for your business can be completely deducted as a business expense. This includes training programs, such as the OOIDA Foundation’s Truck To Success seminar. This also applies to attending a trucking school to get or maintain your commercial driver’s license or to secure hazmat certification.

Tools and equipment

The expenses for tools and other equipment to do your job and stay safe on the road are deductible. These expenses are deductible only if they’re needed for your business, however, and can include such things as air tools, compressors, wrenches, chains, tarps, straps, tire irons, tape and the like.

Lodging expenses

Lodging can be a deductible business expense, but there are specific requirements to meet. You must be traveling away from your “tax home.” The lodging must be ordinary and necessary and primarily for business. When you combine business and personal travel, you can deduct only lodging for the business portion of the trip. A trip is considered “primarily for business” only if you spend more days on business activities than personal activities.

Meals or per diem expenses

Over-the-road truck drivers can deduct food costs incurred while on the road. The IRS has established specific rules for those working in the transportation industry to claim the standard meal and incidental expense deduction. You must be employed in the transportation industry, your work must keep you away from home on a regular basis and your work must directly involve moving goods or people by truck, train, bus, ship, airplane or barge. You have a choice to either itemize actual expenses and claim up to 80% of them or to take the per diem rate for meal expenses. The per diem rate is currently $80 for those in the transportation industry, also deductible at 80%. It’s important to note that this rate does not pertain to lodging costs and that local drivers cannot take this deduction.

There are many more deductions you may be able to take; this list just scratches the surface of tax-deductible expenses. To find more, visit TruckerTaxTools.com. LL