Trucking money guides

Practical explanations of the numbers behind the calculators, each with a worked example. Where a guide relies on an official source, such as an IRS publication or IFTA return instructions, it links to it, so you can check the detail yourself.

• How to Calculate Cost Per Mile as an Owner-Operator

  Step-by-step guide to your trucking cost per mile, break-even rate and target rate, with a worked example and the mistakes that make the number wrong.

• Deadhead Miles: How Empty Miles Change What You Earn

  What deadhead miles really cost, how to work out your all-in rate per mile, and the rate per loaded mile you need to ask for.

• IFTA Explained: How the Quarterly Fuel Tax Return Works

  How an IFTA return is worked out: fleet MPG, taxable gallons, credits, the Kentucky and Virginia surcharges, rounding, and the mistakes to avoid.

• Detention Pay for Truckers: How It Works and How to Document It

  How detention pay is calculated, why free time is counted per stop, and what records and timing help you get paid for waiting.

• Trucker Per Diem: The IRS Special Rate and the 80% Rule

  Who can use the IRS special per diem rate for transportation workers, how days are counted, why 80% is deductible, and what to keep on record.

Prefer to run the numbers yourself? See all the trucking calculators.