If you drive for a carrier that puts you on a W-2, this article is not for you. This is for owner-operators and leased-on drivers paid as independent contractors.
Most tax advice for self-employed people transfers to trucking with small adjustments. Two things do not, and both are in your favour if you know them.
The short answer
| General rule | If you are under DOT hours-of-service limits | |
|---|---|---|
| Meals while away from your tax home | 50% | 80% |
And Form 2290's deadline follows the month you first used the truck on a public highway — not the month you registered it.
The 80% meal rule
Publication 463 puts it directly:
"You can deduct a higher percentage of your meal expenses while traveling away from your tax home if the meals take place during or incident to any period subject to the Department of Transportation's 'hours of service' limits. The percentage is 80%."
On a year with $9,000 of qualifying meal expense, the difference between 50% and 80% is $2,700 of deduction. That is not a rounding item.
It is not only truckers
The list in the publication is wider than most people assume:
- "Interstate truck operators and bus drivers who are under Department of Transportation regulations."
- "Certain air transportation workers (such as pilots, crew, dispatchers, mechanics, and control tower operators) who are under Federal Aviation Administration regulations."
- "Certain railroad employees (such as engineers, conductors, train crews, dispatchers, and control operations personnel) who are under Federal Railroad Administration regulations."
- "Certain merchant mariners who are under Coast Guard regulations."
If you are in one of those groups and have been applying 50%, that is worth raising with your preparer.
The two conditions people drop
The rule has boundaries, and both matter.
Away from your tax home. The meal has to be a travel meal in the first place. Lunch at home between local runs is not.
During or incident to a period subject to the limits. The higher percentage is tied to the hours-of-service period, not to your job title.
Form 2290, and the deadline that is not where you think
Who files: anyone who has registered, or is required to register, a heavy highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more.
The period: the filing season runs July 1 through June 30. It is a tax year of its own, unrelated to your income tax year.
The deadline:
| First used on a public highway | File by |
|---|---|
| July | between July 1 and August 31 |
| Any other month | the last day of the month following first use |
And the part that catches people, stated plainly by the IRS: the filing deadline is not tied to the vehicle registration date. It follows the month of first highway use.
So a truck registered in March but not put on the road until May is a May vehicle for this purpose, due by the end of June. Working from the registration paperwork produces the wrong date, and the paperwork is the thing sitting in front of you — which is exactly why this one goes wrong.
Why the standard mileage rate is usually not an option
Owner-operators sometimes ask whether they can simplify with cents per mile. In practice the disqualifiers settle it before any question about vehicle type arises.
Publication 463 says you cannot use the standard mileage rate for a vehicle where you:
- claimed a section 179 deduction on it;
- claimed the special depreciation allowance on it; or
- used MACRS depreciation.
Buy a tractor and depreciate it in any of the usual ways and the standard mileage rate is off the table for that vehicle — permanently, not just for that year. Actual expenses are the method: fuel, repairs, tyres, insurance, permits, parking, tolls, depreciation.
That is more recordkeeping, and for a truck it is also nearly always the larger number.
The settlement statement is not a 1099
One more piece of paper worth separating in your mind.
Your settlement statements show gross pay less deductions — fuel advances, escrow, insurance, trailer rent, cargo claims. The annual 1099-NEC from a carrier reports what it paid. Those two will often differ, and the difference is made of items that are usually business expenses in their own right.
Keep the settlements. They are the record that explains the form, and they are the only place the deductions are itemised.
And if no form arrives: for tax years beginning after 2025 the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000, so a small broker who paid you less than that sends nothing. The income is still yours to report.
What to keep
- Meal receipts with the date and the run, so each one can be tied to a period away from your tax home under hours-of-service limits.
- Your logs. They are the evidence that a period was subject to those limits.
- The date of first highway use for every vehicle, recorded when it happens — that is your Form 2290 clock, and registration papers will mislead you.
- Every settlement statement, itemised, to reconcile against the carrier's 1099.
- All actual vehicle costs, because the simplified route is generally closed to you once the truck is depreciated.
Two rules, specific to this work, both worth money. Neither one is in a general guide.
Track it now. Thank yourself in April.
Common questions
Can truck drivers deduct more than 50% of meals?
Who counts as subject to hours-of-service limits?
Does the 80% apply to every meal I buy?
Who has to file Form 2290?
When is Form 2290 due?
Is the Form 2290 deadline based on when I registered the truck?
Can I use the standard mileage rate for my tractor?
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation.