Owner-operator taxes: per diem, Form 2290, and quarterly payments

Taxes are where a profitable truck can still leave you broke in April. Three things drive most owner-operator tax bills: the per diem deduction, the Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax, and quarterly estimated payments. Get those right and you keep more of what you earn. This is a plain-English rundown – confirm your specifics with a trucking CPA, because this is your money and your compliance, not generic advice.

The per diem deduction

If you are away from home overnight, you can deduct a daily amount for meals and incidentals instead of saving every receipt. The IRS special transportation-industry rate is $80 per day in the continental U.S. ($86 outside it), effective for travel on or after October 1, 2025, under IRS Notice 2025-54. Drivers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules deduct 80% of that amount. Over 250 nights on the road, the per diem is one of the largest deductions you have – track your days out carefully.

Form 2290: the heavy vehicle use tax

If your truck’s taxable gross weight is 55,000 lbs or more, you owe the federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax on Form 2290. It tops out at $550 per year for vehicles 75,000 lbs and over. The 2290 tax year runs July 1 to June 30. For the 2026-2027 HVUT period, trucks first used in July 2026 must file by August 31, 2026; later first-use months are due the last day of the following month. You will need the stamped Schedule 1 to register your plates, so do not let it slip. See the IRS Trucking Tax Center for filing.

Quarterly estimated taxes

As a self-employed operator, nobody withholds taxes for you – you pay the IRS yourself, four times a year, roughly mid-April, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-January. You are estimating both income tax and self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare). Miss them or underpay and you can owe penalties on top of the tax. The simplest discipline: move a fixed percentage of every settlement into a separate tax account the day it hits.

Don’t confuse this with IFTA

The 2290 and your income taxes are federal. IFTA is a separate, quarterly fuel tax reconciliation filed through your base state – different deadlines, different purpose. New operators juggling both for the first time should calendar all of them the day they get their authority.

Deductions worth tracking

• Fuel, maintenance, tires, and repairs
• Insurance, permits, and the 2290 itself
• Per diem (80% for HOS drivers)
• Truck lease payments or depreciation
• ELD subscription, business phone, parking, tolls, and accounting fees

Every dollar you deduct legitimately is a dollar that does not get taxed. But the foundation is knowing your real cost per mile – good books make tax time a formality instead of a fire drill.

The bottom line

Take the per diem, file the 2290 by the first-use deadline, and pay your quarterlies on time. Set aside tax money from every load, keep clean records, and hire a CPA who knows trucking – the fee is almost always cheaper than the mistakes.