Trucker per diem is a flat-rate meal allowance that long-haul drivers can deduct on their taxes without keeping receipts. In 2026 the IRS standard meal allowance for transportation workers is $69 per day inside the continental US, and the CRA simplified method in Canada is $23 per meal up to 3 meals per day. Both jurisdictions cap deductibility at 80% for long-haul drivers — and TruckerPro's free per-diem calculator does the math in seconds.
TL;DR
- US (IRS): $69/day standard meal allowance (transportation industry), 80% deductible = $55.20/day net for self-employed drivers in 2026.
- Canada (CRA simplified method): $23/meal × 3 meals = $69/day, 80% long-haul rule = $55.20/day deductible.
- Eligibility: must be subject to HOS rules and away from your tax home overnight — local drivers don't qualify.
- No receipts required for either the IRS standard meal allowance or the CRA simplified method.
- Free calculator:
/tools/per-diem-calculatorreturns gross + 80%-deductible totals in seconds.
What is trucker per diem?
Trucker per diem (also called the meal allowance for long-haul drivers in Canada) is a flat-rate daily amount that tax authorities let drivers deduct in lieu of tracking every meal receipt. The term "per diem" is Latin for "per day" — and the structure is exactly that: a single number per day on the road, multiplied by the number of qualifying days, then run through the long-haul deductibility cap.
Why it exists: it would be administratively impossible for a driver to keep receipts for every coffee, breakfast, and truck-stop dinner across 250 days a year on the road. Tax authorities use the flat-rate method to give drivers a fair deduction without imposing receipt-management overhead that would dwarf the deduction itself.
The deduction is meaningful. A US owner-operator running 220 long-haul days per year claims $69 × 220 = $15,180 gross meal allowance, of which $12,144 is deductible at the 80% long-haul rate. At a 22% marginal tax rate that's $2,672 in real tax savings — money that stays in the driver's pocket because the paperwork cost was zero.
Who qualifies for trucker per diem?
Two conditions must both be true:
-
Subject to hours-of-service rules. This is the threshold that separates commercial drivers from everyone else. A driver operating under FMCSA HOS (US) or Transport Canada HOS (Canada) qualifies; an office worker who occasionally drives a pickup does not.
-
Away from your tax home long enough to require sleep or rest. Same-day local drivers who return home each night do not qualify. The IRS uses the "sleep or rest" test — if your work requires you to rest somewhere other than home before you can resume duty, you are away. In practice that means OTR drivers, regional drivers running multi-day trips, and team drivers all qualify; local P&D drivers running daily home-back routes do not.
The CRA's test in Canada is similar but uses different language: "long-haul truck driver" is defined by Income Tax Act §67.1(5) as a driver whose principal duty is transporting goods, on a trip of at least 24 hours' duration, to a destination at least 160 km from the employer's establishment.
A practical interpretation: if you sleep in your truck at least once on a typical work trip, you qualify. If you go home every night, you don't.
How much is per diem in 2026 (US vs Canada)?
| Jurisdiction | 2026 rate | Long-haul rule | Net deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
| US — IRS standard meal allowance, transportation industry, CONUS | $69/day | 80% deductible | $55.20/day |
| US — Outside CONUS (Alaska, Hawaii, foreign) | $74/day | 80% deductible | $59.20/day |
| Canada — CRA simplified method | $23/meal × 3 = $69/day | 80% deductible | $55.20/day |
| Canada — CRA detailed method | actual receipts | 80% deductible | varies |
A few notes on this table:
- The US rates above apply for the federal fiscal year that runs October to September; the figures are typically updated each October. Always confirm the latest IRS Notice (the IRS publishes a per-diem revenue procedure annually) at filing time.
- The CRA's $23/meal rate is the "simplified method" and has been at $23 since 2023 (raised from $17). It's a flat amount that doesn't change daily.
- The CRA detailed method requires receipts but has no per-meal cap — useful if you genuinely spend more than $23/meal regularly. Most long-haul drivers use the simplified method because the bookkeeping savings exceed any extra deduction the detailed method would yield.
For a deeper take on which Canadian deductions to claim, see the owner-operator tax deductions guide.
How do I calculate per diem for taxes?
The math is straightforward once you have the inputs:
- Count your qualifying days. A "day" for per-diem purposes is any 24-hour period (or fraction thereof) you were away from your tax home and subject to HOS. For partial days at the start and end of a trip, both the IRS and CRA use a 75% rate (so $51.75/day on those days for US drivers).
- Multiply by the daily rate — $69 (US CONUS), $74 (US OCONUS), or $69 ($23 × 3, Canada simplified).
- Apply the 80% long-haul rule by multiplying by 0.80.
- Use the result as your meal-expense deduction on the appropriate tax form: Schedule C for US self-employed, T1 with form TL2 for Canadian employees, T2125 for Canadian self-employed.
A worked example: a US owner-operator on the road 230 days in 2026, with 12 of those being partial-day starts/ends:
- Full days: 218 × $69 = $15,042
- Partial days: 12 × $51.75 = $621
- Gross meal allowance: $15,663
- 80% deductible: $12,530
That's the number that goes on Schedule C. At a 22% federal marginal rate, federal tax savings are about $2,757 (state/provincial savings are on top).
The free per-diem calculator does this same math, including handling cross-border splits if you ran loads in both the US and Canada.
Per diem vs reimbursement: what's the difference?
Per diem is a deduction you claim on your own taxes. Reimbursement is money your employer pays you for meals.
If you're an owner-operator, only per diem applies — you are your own employer.
If you're a company driver, the question is whether your employer:
- Pays you a per-diem allowance (some carriers fold this into the pay package, e.g., $0.10/mile non-taxable per diem). In this case the per diem is already accounted for in your paycheck and reported on your T4 or W-2. You generally cannot also deduct it.
- Reimburses meals (rarely seen in trucking — more common in white-collar work). Same logic: if reimbursed, no deduction.
- Does not reimburse anything, leaving you to absorb meal costs out of regular wages. In this case Canadian drivers can claim the deduction via TL2 and US drivers historically claimed via Schedule A (suspended for tax years 2018-2025 — confirm current treatment with a tax professional).
The structural piece carriers and drivers should both understand: a non-taxable per-diem allowance lowers the driver's gross taxable income, which lowers payroll tax for both sides. It's why "per diem pay programs" became common in larger fleets — they're a tax-efficient way to package compensation.
How to track per diem days
The IRS and CRA both want documentation that you were on the road on the days you claim. They do not want receipts for the meals — that's the whole point of the simplified method — but they do want proof you were eligible.
What works:
- ELD records — your ELD timestamps duty status. A printout or export showing on-duty days outside your home base is the cleanest evidence.
- Logbooks (paper) — for legacy carriers still on paper logs, the logbook itself documents trip days.
- Trip sheets / dispatch records — load assignments with pickup/delivery dates and locations show days away.
- Fuel receipts and BOL timestamps — secondary corroboration tying you to specific dates and locations.
- A simple per-diem worksheet — many drivers keep a spreadsheet with date, route, and a checkmark for "on road overnight." Especially useful if you bounce between teams and solo runs.
You don't need all five — pick one primary (ELD or trip sheet) and one secondary (fuel receipts) and you're audit-ready.
How does TruckerPro's free per-diem calculator work?
The per-diem calculator takes your number of qualifying days, splits them between US and Canada if needed, and applies the 2026 IRS and CRA rates with the 80% long-haul deductibility automatically. Output is a single dollar amount you can transfer to Schedule C, T2125, or your tax preparer's worksheet.
It's free, browser-based (one-time email verification, no account), and it covers the simplified method for both jurisdictions. It does not cover the CRA detailed method — if you're tracking actual meal receipts, you don't need a calculator anyway, you need bookkeeping software.
For carriers running cross-border CUSMA freight where drivers pick up days in both countries, the calculator handles the split — enter US days and Canadian days separately and it sums correctly.
Common mistakes drivers make
A short list of recurring per-diem errors:
- Claiming local-driving days. A driver who runs P&D 4 days a week and goes OTR on weekends only claims for the OTR days. The local days do not qualify, period.
- Forgetting partial-day rates. First and last day of a trip are at 75%, not 100%. Most calculators handle this; manual claims often don't.
- Double-claiming when employer pays per diem. If your paycheck includes a non-taxable per-diem component, that's already your deduction — claiming it again on your return is double-dipping.
- Using the wrong rate. The transportation industry rate ($69) is higher than the standard CONUS rate (~$59). Drivers who use generic per-diem calculators meant for business travel undercount.
- Missing the 80% rule. Drivers who deduct the full gross amount (not 80%) are over-claiming. The CRA and IRS both audit this when meal deductions look unusually large relative to income.
The per-trip profitability calculator and trucking bookkeeping guide cover the broader expense-tracking workflow these mistakes usually live inside.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is trucker per diem in 2026?
In the US, the IRS standard meal allowance for transportation industry workers is $69 per day inside the continental US and $74 outside (Alaska, Hawaii, foreign). 80% of that is tax-deductible for self-employed drivers. In Canada, the CRA simplified method is $23 per meal — up to 3 meals per day — and is also subject to the 80% long-haul rule.
Who qualifies for trucker per diem?
You must be subject to hours-of-service rules and away from your tax home long enough to require sleep or rest before resuming duty. Local drivers who return home each night do not qualify. Long-haul drivers — typically OTR with overnight rests — qualify for every day they are away.
Do I need receipts for the simplified per diem method?
No. Both the IRS standard meal allowance and the CRA simplified method are flat-rate methods that do not require meal receipts. You still need to document the days you were away from home (logbook, ELD, or trip records work). The detailed method, by contrast, requires every meal receipt.
Can company drivers claim per diem?
It depends on whether your employer reimburses meals. If your employer pays a per diem allowance and reports it on your T4 or W-2, you typically cannot also deduct it. If you pay out of pocket and are not reimbursed, you can claim the unreimbursed portion — Canadian drivers use form TL2; US drivers historically used Schedule A but the unreimbursed-employee deduction was suspended for tax years 2018–2025 and may or may not return depending on legislation.
What does the 80% long-haul rule mean?
Both the IRS and CRA cap the deductible portion of meal expenses at 80% for long-haul truck drivers (vs 50% for most other workers). So a US driver who claims $69/day actually deducts $55.20/day. A Canadian driver claiming $69/day ($23 × 3 meals) deducts $55.20/day.
How does the free per-diem calculator help?
It takes your number of long-haul days and the jurisdiction (US, Canada, both) and runs the IRS or CRA math automatically. It outputs the gross meal allowance and the 80% deductible amount, so you have a clean number for your tax preparer or self-filing software.