The Owner-Operator's 1099 Tax Guide

Your per diem rate is $80. Most guides still say $69.

That difference costs you $8.80 for every day you were away - over two thousand dollars in a normal year. And it is only the first of the numbers owner-operators are still using from a schedule that expired.

What you'll learn

• Per diem, in full — $80 a day at 80% (not 50%), $64 for a full day and $48 for a partial one, with no meal receipts required. Your ELD already proves the days
• Why expensing the whole truck in year one is often wrong — the advice everyone gives, and the arithmetic that shows when it wastes your deduction
• How to read a settlement statement as a tax document — report the gross, deduct what the carrier took, and never deduct escrow
• Form 2290 and IFTA — the filings nobody warns you about, what they cost, and the nine dates that run your year
• Every other deduction — tolls, scales, parking, showers, laundry, the DOT physical, load securement, factoring fees
• Quarterly taxes without the April surprise — how much to set aside, and why it is a share of profit, not of settlements
• Lease-purchase, honestly — what to check before signing, and why the tax treatment is the smallest of its problems

New for 2026

• Per diem $80/day, 80% deductible — and the rate year runs October to September, so one tax year holds two rates
• Section 179 at $2,560,000 and 100% bonus depreciation — both available, and both often better used sparingly
• Form 2290 — $100 at 55,000 lbs, rising to a $550 maximum, due 31 August
• 1099-NEC threshold now $2,000 — up from $600, so more of your income arrives with no form
• Mileage on your personal vehicle — 72.5 cents through June, 76 cents from July 1

Who this guide is for

• Owner-operators leased to a carrier or running their own authority
• Company drivers weighing the move, and wanting to know what changes
• Anyone in or considering a lease-purchase
• Drivers whose first year ended with a bill they did not see coming

Why this one is different

It gives current figures and says which ones changed. It shows a full year end to end - $196,000 grossed, $152,104 deducted, taxed on $43,896 - and every deduction in it is one you already paid for.

Use it as an educational companion throughout the year, then bring your organized records and specific questions to a qualified tax professional when your situation calls for personalized advice.

Read on this subject

Free articles on the questions this guide covers, each one checked against IRS sources.

• Section 179 cannot take you below zero. Bonus depreciation can. It is capped at business income. Bonus depreciation is not.
• Your meals are 80% deductible, not 50% — and Form 2290 is not tied to your registration Hours-of-service drivers get 80% on meals. And Form 2290 follows first use, not registration.