For 2026 the IRS special per-diem (meals & incidentals) for transportation workers is $80/day in the continental U.S. ($86 outside it), and it's 80% deductible. Here's what that's worth on your taxes — and a calculator to run your own number.
Estimate only — confirm with your accountant. Self-employed owner-operators claim this on Schedule C; company drivers generally cannot deduct unreimbursed per diem post-2018.
TruckMargin Pro logs your nights away from home, tallies your annual per-diem deduction, and exports a clean summary at tax time — $9/mo founding rate.
See Pro →Per diem is a flat daily amount the IRS lets you deduct for meals and incidentals while away from home overnight — no receipts needed, just a log of days. The 2026 rate is $80/day (CONUS). Transportation workers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules get an 80% deduction on it, versus the 50% most taxpayers get. To qualify, the trip must take you far enough from home that you can't reasonably return the same day and you need rest/sleep away from home.
Owner-operators / self-employed: deduct per diem on Schedule C — it directly lowers taxable income. Company drivers (W-2): since the 2018 tax law, unreimbursed employee per diem is generally not deductible; many carriers instead run a per-diem pay program. Always confirm your situation with a tax professional.
The full daily rate is for each full day you're away from home. For your day of departure and day of return, the IRS lets you claim 75% of the rate — that's $60/day at the 2026 $80 CONUS rate ($64.50 at the $86 OCONUS rate). So a 5-day trip is 3 full days + 2 partial days = (3 × $80) + (2 × $60) = $360, not $400. The calculator above works in full-day equivalents, so if you want to be exact, count each partial travel day as 0.75 of a day when you total your "full days on the road."
The per-diem method's biggest advantage is that you don't save meal receipts. What you do need is a reliable record of the days and nights you were away from your tax home overnight. Your ELD and logbook already capture this, so keep those records with your tax file. Only trips that keep you out long enough to need rest away from home qualify — a same-day out-and-back does not count.
$80/day within the continental U.S. and $86/day outside it, for meals and incidental expenses, 80% deductible for DOT-regulated transportation workers.
No — the per-diem method replaces meal receipts. You do need a record of the days/nights you were away from home (your logs/ELD records cover this).
250 days × $80 × 80% = $16,000 deduction. At a 22% marginal rate that's about $3,520 less tax. Run your own numbers above.
Yes, at 75% of the daily rate. Your day of departure and day of return each count at 75% — $60/day at the 2026 $80 CONUS rate. Full days in between get the full $80.
Generally not as an unreimbursed deduction — the 2018 tax law removed the unreimbursed-employee-expense write-off most company drivers had used. Many carriers instead run a per-diem pay program that treats part of your pay as a non-taxable reimbursement. Owner-operators filing Schedule C are unaffected and deduct it directly. Confirm your situation with a tax professional.
Rate from the IRS special per-diem notice for the transportation industry (2025–2026), $80 CONUS / $86 OCONUS effective October 1, 2025; the first and last travel day are claimed at 75% of the rate. 80% meal deductibility per IRC §274(n)(3) for DOT hours-of-service workers. Sources: IRS, GSA per-diem. Last updated July 2026. Built by TruckMargin — cost tools for owner-operators. Not tax advice.