Help! First Truck Driver Return

[Beth]

Working on a client return, client based in MN. Two question:

1. On W-2 there is a wide variance on the federal and state wages. Is there a valid reason for this? Client claims to be resident of the state.

2. For meal allowance (he travels all over the country) will use $52 per day, with 75% the day he leaves and the day he returns. How are day trip days counted when he leaves the area but gets back at night?

Thanks!

[Joe Btfsplk]

Fed vs state wages

If the Federal wages are larger than his state wages, part of his income may be ascribed to some state (like TX or FL) that have no income tax.
I'm not sure if that would be appropriate unless he works for several employers in various states.

[Beth]

Help! First Truck Driver Return

Worked for only one employerm and while in some tax free states, many would have been states with taxes.

Does a truck driver usually get a state tax for any states he drives through, destination states... just does not seem right but I have not done one of these.

[Gretel]

I have never seen a truck driver's W-2 with state tax income other than his home state state.

If truck driver is not away overnight, he is not eligible for per diem allowances on these days. Why would you only give him 75% on days he leaves and returns? Doesn't he leave early in mornings and returns late at night?

[thomtax]

75% reason

I have never seen a truck driver's W-2 with state tax income other than his home state state.

If truck driver is not away overnight, he is not eligible for per diem allowances on these days. Why would you only give him 75% on days he leaves and returns? Doesn't he leave early in mornings and returns late at night?

I think the reason she is giving the 75% is because that is the percentage that the transportation industry gets if they are able to claim per diem. You enter the total amount and then show the amount of DOT per diem, so that the 75% is given. Non qualifying individuals only get 50%. However, you must be out overnight to get the per diem.

Ordinarily, if the driver is based out of one terminal, unless there is some state that has special rules, all of his income would be taxable to that state. However, I have seen some real oddities with trucking companies.

LT

[DaveO]

Is he LTL or OTR?

An LTL driver (less than truck load) may be picking up from terminals in other states and delivering within that state. Also a route driver such as someone working for a grocery outfit might have W-2 wages from several states.

An OTR (over the road) trucker should only have wages from his tax home.

The departure day and return day, assuming an overnight stay is counted as 3/4 day. (TTB 8-13) or any other method that is consistent. Railroaders like to use quarter of day. He might also have un-reimbursed cleanout and lumper fees as well as tolls and scales.

[dsi]

Awesome! Must be cocktail time.

[JON]

Income follows residency

always. If subject to taxes in other states, I doubt, then you get a credit for those taxes on the state your a resident in. You may have to apportion business income between states, ie trucking company, but not W-2. I would call or have the client call the payroll department and get an explanation. It would be a strange state that would have regulations that would have that, but let us know...

[Larmil]

An LTL driver (less than truck load) may be picking up from terminals in other states and delivering within that state. Also a route driver such as someone working for a grocery outfit might have W-2 wages from several states.

An OTR (over the road) trucker should only have wages from his tax home.

The departure day and return day, assuming an overnight stay is counted as 3/4 day. (TTB 8-13) or any other method that is consistent. Railroaders like to use quarter of day. He might also have un-reimbursed cleanout and lumper fees as well as tolls and scales.

If memory serves me the OTR driver (subject to DOT rules) falls under a law that Congess passed some time back. It was not in the IRC but in the railroad section of the law. ONLY the home state can tax the OTR driver.

[hoosieradvisor]

$52 meal allowance

My son drove a truck for 5 months last year (leaves every Sunday, back home every Friday).

I read a post earlier that mentioned $52/day meal allowance.

I'm doing my son's return with TurboTax but it doesn't cover the meal allowance in the "interview mode."

Where is that deduction taken?

Thanking you in advance..........

[Edsel]

Let's All Together

I'm doing my son's return with TurboTax but it doesn't cover the meal allowance in the "interview mode."

This guy takes the cake. Comes to our forum one time to get help because TurboTax can't do his thinking for him. Let's all together help him on the count of three: A-one-and-a-two-and-a
[with apologies to Lawrence Welk]

Beth I'm so sorry this guy used your thread to post his question. Naturally, no one responded to him (and justifiably so), so that ended your discussion on truck drivers.

Answer to "hoosieradvisor" -- Call "box" for help.

[Beth]

$52

..the post was an old one from last year...

[Edsel]

Sorry

Sorry Beth - I'm posting from Alabama - things move real slow down here.

We can't even get the Grand Ole Opry until Monday night or Tuesday. Until a month ago we thought the innernet was something women wore on their heads under a hairdryer.

I guess in reality the "hoosieradvisor" was looking around for help and kept digging for truck per diem until he found yours from last February.

[hoosieradvisor]

You are exactly right.

You are exactly right. It's called Google, and it brought me here. I regret that you got all stirred up. I won't use this forum anymore.

[Oxtrainer]

First Truck Driver Return

You came to this board looking for help and I feel you should get some as a
matter of courtesy.
1st You should scrap what you are trying to do and hire a professional. You will
probably overlook enough on that truck drivers return to pay for doing that.
2nd You could possibly end up down the road sending a daily logs for every day
of the year to the IRS and I have seen that happen just this year.
Truck drivers returns run from very simple to very very complicated.
That is all I can give you, best of luck whatever your decision is.
Beth ... this message should have been directed to Hoosieradviser, my apologies. Oxtrainer