With tax season in full swing and the IRS rolling out more rule changes than a trucking company’s dispatch schedule, owner-operators across the country are throwing up their hands and considering drastic measures. Some have even started hiring “tax navigators” to help them wade through the ever-changing per diem rates, depreciation schedules, and disaster-related extensions.
One trucker in Georgia reportedly placed an ad looking for someone with “a deep understanding of tax law, a background in finance, and preferably some psychic abilities” to predict next year’s IRS surprises before they happen. Another driver said he’s resorting to flipping a coin to decide which deduction rates to apply, stating, “Heads, I go with the October 1st per diem rate. Tails, I throw the whole thing in a drawer and hope the IRS forgets about me.”
Meanwhile, trucking accountants are bracing for an onslaught of confused calls, many of which start with, “So, if I ate my lunch at 11:59 p.m., do I get the full-day per diem, or does that count as a partial day?” Others have suggested simplifying the tax code by replacing all depreciation rules with a single flat deduction called “the stress relief refund” for truckers who survived another year of paperwork.
With bonus depreciation disappearing by 2027, some truckers are already strategizing their next big write-offs. “I’m thinking about depreciating my sanity,” one owner-operator mused. “It’s definitely lost value since tax season started.”
As filing deadlines approach, the trucking community remains hopeful that one day, tax forms will come with a step-by-step video guide… preferably narrated by a former FMCSA official who has since given up and gone off the grid.
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