Trucking expenses list: every cost to track, with the 2026 figures

Why the list matters more than the deduction

Most owner-operators think of expenses at tax time. The better reason to track them is every week: the same list is your cost per mile, and your cost per mile is the floor under every rate you accept. A cost you forget to track is a cost you forget to charge for. Put this list into a monthly budget and the trucking cost per mile calculator turns it into the number you take to brokers.

The interactive checklist

Tick each category you already track. The envelope shows what's still missing from your books. It is saved on your device only.

The trucking expenses, group by group

Truck and trailer

• Loan interest. The interest part of truck and trailer loans. The principal isn't deducted directly; the equipment is recovered through depreciation.
• Depreciation. For 2026, the Section 179 expensing limit is $2,560,000, phasing out above $4,090,000 of equipment placed in service (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), and 100% bonus depreciation applies to qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025. Most one-truck carriers never get near the limit; the question is which method fits your year.
• Repairs and maintenance, tires, washes, tools and shop supplies. Keep invoices with the unit number and odometer reading.

Source: IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments), section 179 limits · checked Oct 2026

Fuel and the road

• Fuel and DEF. The biggest running cost. Keep every receipt or card statement: they are also the backbone of your IFTA return.
• Tolls, scale fees and parking. Small per trip, real per year. Toll transponder statements count as records.
• Lumper fees that the broker doesn't reimburse. If a broker does reimburse a lumper, it isn't your expense; record the reimbursement too.

Insurance, permits and taxes

• Truck insurance: liability, cargo, physical damage, bobtail or non-trucking liability.
• IFTA license and decals, IRP apportioned plates, UCR and state permits.
• Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax. For the July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 period, the tax tops out at $550 a year for trucks at 75,000 lb or more taxable gross weight, and starts at 55,000 lb.
• Drug and alcohol testing program if you drive a CDL truck under your own authority.

Source: IRS, Instructions for Form 2290 (Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax) · checked Oct 2026

Office and services

• Dispatch fees and factoring fees, matched to the loads they belong to.
• ELD subscription, phone and data, load board subscriptions.
• Accounting, bookkeeping and tax preparation.

Life on the road

• Meals, using per diem. For travel from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the IRS special meal rate for the transportation industry is $80 a day in the continental U.S. and $86 outside it (Notice 2026-60), the same as the prior period. Workers under DOT hours-of-service rules can generally deduct 80% of it. A partial travel day counts at 75%.
• Showers, laundry and lodging when you sleep away from the truck on the road.
• Safety gear and PPE the job requires.

Source: IRS, Notice 2026-60, 2026-2027 special per diem rates · checked Oct 2026

One month, on a receipt

Mistakes that cost owner-operators money

1. Mixing personal and business. One account and one card for the truck, nothing else. It is the single habit that makes every other line easier to prove.
2. Missing fuel receipts. They cost you twice: once as a lost expense record, again on the IFTA return.
3. Claiming meals and per diem for the same day. Use one method for meals, consistently, and keep the logs that show you were away from home overnight.
4. Forgetting yearly bills. Plates, permits and Form 2290 are paid once but belong in every month's cost per mile.
5. Using the car mileage rate for a tractor. The IRS standard mileage rate (72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1) is meant for cars, vans, pickups and panel trucks. Owner-operators of tractors generally track actual expenses instead.

Source: IRS, Standard mileage rates · checked Oct 2026

For how these lines roll up into quarterly estimates and the yearly return, read trucking taxes. To set up the categories in software, see trucking accounting software and the wider accounting for trucking companies guide. For what each cost typically adds per mile, see trucking costs.

General information, not tax advice. Rules and rates change every year and depend on your situation: confirm with a tax professional before you file. We are not a tax preparer or accountant.

Expenses are half the picture; revenue is the other half. Our truck dispatch service books loads above your cost per mile and sends a weekly report your bookkeeper can use as is.