Per Diem: 2026 Rates and Rate History for Truck Drivers
One of the perks of being an OTR truck driver is per diem. But what is trucking per diem, and how can it make your life on the road a bit easier and more lucrative? Per diem is actually written into the IRS tax code, and it isn’t just for truck drivers. It provides a huge benefit for OTR drivers because we spend the majority of our time away from home.
The Benefits of Trucking Per Diem
Per diem is a Latin term meaning “per day.” In the trucking industry, it refers to a daily allowance for meals and incidental expenses while you’re on the road, which self-employed drivers can deduct from their taxable income.
Tax Advantages
The biggest perk of per diem is the tax advantage. Because per diem covers business expenses, claiming it lowers your taxable income. That means you keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket instead of handing it over to Uncle Sam. Better still, most workers can only deduct 50% of their meal costs, but DOT-regulated truck drivers get to deduct 80%.
Simplified Record-Keeping
Another benefit is simplified record-keeping. Instead of saving every single meal receipt, you can rely on the standard truck driver per diem rate. Your ELD logs or a simple daily log of days away from home are enough to back it up. That makes managing your finances easier and cuts down the paperwork come tax season.
Owner-Operator versus Company Driver
For owner-operators and 1099 contractors, per diem is straightforward. You track your full and partial days on the road, then take the deduction on your Schedule C. A tax professional can help you track and apply it correctly.
Company drivers are a different story. Since the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, W-2 company drivers can no longer claim unreimbursed per diem on their personal returns. That’s a big reason experienced drivers move to 1099. We cover the full comparison in our 1099 vs. W-2 guide.
What is the Per Diem Rate?
For the 2026 tax year (per IRS Notice 2025-54), the special transportation-industry per diem rates are:
- $80 per full day for travel within the continental U.S. (CONUS, meaning the lower 48 states), deductible at 80% = $64
- $86 per full day for travel in Canada, deductible at 80% = $68.80
Partial days (the day you leave and the day you get home) are 75% of the full-day rate for that period, and the same deductible percentage applies.
- U.S. partial day: $60, deductible at 80% = $48
- Canada partial day: $64.50, deductible at 80% = $51.60
A note on where M2GT runs: Because we operate exclusively for FedEx Custom Critical, our drivers run the U.S. and Canada only. Most of your miles will fall under the CONUS rate. Canada runs are available for drivers who want them, but they take a little extra effort up front. You’ll need to be individually authorized to cross the border. If Canada interests you, it’s worth getting set up, since those runs use the higher per diem rate.
Per Diem Rates by Year (2015–2026)
Filing late or amending an old return? You’re not alone — and you need the rate for the year you’re claiming, not this year’s. The IRS reviews the transportation industry per diem rate each October 1st, so here’s every rate period going back more than a decade, straight from the IRS notices. And if you’re sorting out more than just per diem, our tax guide for 1099 truck drivers walks through the whole picture — quarterly payments, self-employment tax, and the deductions drivers miss.
| Effective Period | U.S. Full Day | Canada Full Day | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2024 – Sep 30, 2026 (current) | $80 | $86 | 80% |
| Oct 1, 2023 – Sep 30, 2024 | $69 | $74 | 80% |
| Oct 1, 2022 – Sep 30, 2023 | $69 | $74 | 80% / 100%* |
| Oct 1, 2021 – Sep 30, 2022 | $69 | $74 | 100%* |
| Oct 1, 2018 – Sep 30, 2021 | $66 | $71 | 80% |
| Oct 1, 2015 – Sep 30, 2018 | $63 | $68 | 80% |
*The 100% window nobody tells you about: for calendar years 2021 and 2022, the meal portion of per diem was 100% deductible under the temporary restaurant-meals provision. The 80% limit came back in January 2023. If you’re still filing or amending a 2021 or 2022 return, you get the full deduction — don’t let anyone shortchange you to 80%.
Watch the calendar: the IRS changes these rates on October 1st, not January 1st. That means a single tax year can use two different rates. Example: for tax year 2024, days on the road January through September use $69, and days from October through December use $80.
How Do Truck Drivers Qualify for Per Diem?
Qualifying for per diem is relatively straightforward. You generally need to be away from your tax home overnight, or long enough to require rest under DOT Hours of Service rules:
The same-day rule, plainly: if you start and finish a trip at home within the same DOT Hours of Service work day, you can’t claim per diem for that day — no matter how long the day was. Long local days don’t count. You need rest away from home.
What counts as a “tax home”? The IRS wants to see at least two of these three: you do part of your business from your home area, you’re duplicating living expenses because the road keeps you away from that home, and you haven’t abandoned the area — family still lives there, or you regularly stay there. For full-time OTR teams, this is the one to watch. If you’ve given up your home base entirely and live in the truck, the IRS may consider you an “itinerant” with no tax home — and no per diem. Keep a real home base, and keep proof of it. One more habit worth building: hang on to your per diem records (ELD logs work) for at least three years.
Keep your own records just in case. Your ELD data, trip logs, or a simple mileage log all work as proof.
What About a Rider?
Here’s one most drivers have never heard: per diem isn’t limited to the person holding the CDL. If your spouse or partner rides along and handles real business duties — bookkeeping, trip planning, helping with loading and unloading — they may qualify for their own deduction at 50% of the standard rate. That works out to $40 per full day in the U.S. and $43 per day on Canada runs.
For husband-and-wife teams where one of you is still working toward a CDL, that’s real money most tax preparers never even ask about. As always, document what your rider actually does on the road, and confirm the details with a tax professional who knows trucking.
The Bigger Picture
Per diem is just one piece of the tax puzzle for self-employed drivers. It pairs with a whole range of other deductions, from mileage to depreciation to the Qualified Business Income deduction. For the complete rundown, see our trucker tax deductions guide.
Per Diem Questions and Answers:
For the 2026 tax year, the transportation-industry per diem rate is $80 per full day in the continental U.S. and $86 per day in Canada, deductible at 80% ($64 and $68.80 respectively). Partial days — the day you leave and the day you return home — are 75% of the full rate.
Not on their own taxes. Since the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, W-2 company drivers cannot deduct unreimbursed per diem on their personal returns. However, some carriers offer a per diem pay program, where a portion of the driver’s pay is classified as a non-taxable per diem reimbursement rather than taxable wages — the tax benefit flows through the employer’s plan instead of a personal deduction. Self-employed drivers — owner-operators and 1099 contractors — claim the deduction themselves on Schedule C.
Possibly. If your rider performs real business duties — bookkeeping, trip planning, helping with loading — they may qualify for their own deduction at 50% of the standard rate, about $40 per full day in the U.S. Document what they actually do and confirm with a tax professional who knows trucking.
No. That’s the point of the standard rate — instead of tracking receipts, you track full and partial days away from home. ELD logs or a simple daily log are sufficient proof. Keep those records for at least three years.
The IRS updates transportation per diem rates on October 1st, not January 1st, so one tax year can span two rates. For example, tax year 2024 used $69 per day through September and $80 per day from October on.
The IRS reviews transportation per diem rates each October 1st. The current $80/day U.S. rate ($86 Canada) took effect October 1, 2024. Before that: $69/day from October 2021 through September 2024, $66/day from October 2018 through September 2021, and $63/day from October 2015 through September 2018. Note that for calendar years 2021 and 2022, the meal portion was 100% deductible instead of the usual 80% under the temporary restaurant-meals provision — if you’re amending a return from those years, claim the full deduction. See the complete rate history table above for every period.
Conclusion
Per diem can be a game-changer for truck drivers, offering both financial and practical benefits. By understanding how it works and making the most of it, you can enjoy a more comfortable and financially stable life on the road. So next time you’re heading out on a long haul, remember the power of per diem and how it can work for you.
If you’re looking for a carrier that values compliance and treats its drivers right, schedule a call with M2GT and let’s talk about what we can offer you. You can also visit our Owner Operator page for more information.
If you enjoyed this article, please check out our other stories from the road and our Trucking 411 articles. Keep the Shiny Side Up!
