Established in 2000 by the Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an organization whose goal is to reduce the number of vehicle-related fatalities and injuries in the U.S. Its members, over-the-road trucking companies, transportation services and other carrier services, are issued a unique number Federal Motor Carrier Number that recognizes them as being a part of the FMCSA. If you decide to no longer be a part of the FMCSA, you can cancel your Federal Motor Carrier Number by contacting the organization.

Instructions

1

Call (866) 637-0635 — the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration customer service number.
2

Speak to a FMCSA clerk and request a Form OCE-46, Request for Revocation of Registration.
3

Give the clerk your name, address and Federal Motor Carrier Number. He will process your request and mail you the form.
4

Complete the form and have it notarized.
5

Mail the form to FMCSA, Commercial Enforcement Division at 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, W63-105, Washington, D.C. 20590.

As a traditional employee, a company truck driver doesn’t usually get to claim losses on her federal tax return, as an independent contractor or self-employed worker is able to do. The driver can still claim unreimbursed expenses directly related to her work requirements, provided the truck driver has sufficient deductions to meet the IRS’ requirements for miscellaneous business expenses.

Miscellaneous Deduction Rules
Traditional employees, including company truck drivers, must itemize eligible business expenses to claim these deductions on their federal tax returns. The IRS requires a taxpayer to claim these deductions using Schedule A of Form 1040. These deductions must exceed 2 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income before the IRS will allow any itemized deductions on Schedule A. The IRS will only allow deduction amounts exceeding this 2 percent requirement. For example, a company truck driver earning $30,000 annually must have at least $600 in business expenses to qualify.

Unreimbursed Employer Expenses
A truck driver may have to fuel up her vehicle while making delivery runs throughout the day. An employer may choose to compensate the driver for the cost of refueling the vehicle or may require the driver to pay for the fuel. The truck driver may take a miscellaneous tax deduction using Schedule A of IRS Form 1040 for any unreimbursed costs of working, including paying for fuel for the delivery truck. The driver should save all receipts for unreimbursed fuel costs to make it easier to total the deduction amount at the end of the year.

Continuing Education Requirements
Earning additional certifications to operate commercial grade vehicles may be a requirement for a truck driver’s career and a condition of employment. A driver may deduct the unreimbursed cost of attending required continuing education classes, including tuition and material costs, from his federal tax return. Attending classes from an accredited college, university or technical school may also qualify the truck driver for education tax credits, including the Hope Credit and American Opportunity Credit. A taxpayer does not need to itemize deductions to claim these education credits but should still itemize to directly claim the unreimbursed work expenses.

Working Away From Home
A company truck driver usually has a regular delivery route or a defined area where she makes deliveries for her employer. A driver required to work away from her tax home the geographic location where she regularly does business — may deduct the cost of travel from her federal return. To qualify, the work must be a temporary assignment and require the driver to stay away from home overnight. Eligible travel deductions including the whole cost of hotel stays and up to 50 percent of meals consumed.

Truck drivers fall into a variety of different categories when it comes to calculating eligible tax deductions. Much depends on whether the truck driver is self-employed or works for someone else and whether a vehicle is owned in an individual’s name or a company name. Travel that takes place in the course of performing work-related duties generally has the greatest number of eligible deductions, while travel in a personal truck to and from a work site has the least.

Self-Employed Truck Driver
A self-employed truck driver who contracts his services to others is typically entitled to a variety of tax deductions. Costs associated with ownership and maintenance of the truck can be deducted or depreciated, including lease or loan fees, general maintenance and upkeep and insurance. A truck driver can also deduct the cost of gas, either by taking a standard mileage deduction or saving and tallying gas receipts and counting actual expenses.

Company-Employed Truck Driver
A truck driver employed by a company and driving a company-owned truck typically has no eligible deductions because no personal funds are being invested in the cost, maintenance or operation of the vehicle. Even if a truck driver drives a personal vehicle to his place of business, the costs related to the vehicle ownership, maintenance and operation are not deductible as a business expense. An exception can be made with a business-only vehicle leased in the name of a business. For example, a general contractor who drives a vehicle leased under his company name back and forth to work sites and appointments may deduct the costs associated with this expenditure.

Mileage Depreciation and Other Deductions
The standard mileage rate as of the date of publication is 50 cents per mile. If you choose to use the standard rate you must count it the first year the vehicle is used for business purposes; in subsequent years you may opt for standard mileage deduction or actual expense deductions. You must use standard deductions for leased vehicles during the entirety of the lease. First year depreciation limits on trucks as of the date of publication is $11,160, and if self-employed, you may deduct interest paid on a truck loan. Other costs that may be eligible for deduction include road tolls and parking fees.

Tracking Eligible Deductions
Keep written records of deductible travel-related expenses, such as a mileage log and receipts, and separate costs where necessary. For example, if you are self-employed and use a company-owned vehicle for personal use 10 percent of the time, you can only count 90 percent of the eligible deduction for the vehicle as work-related.

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When you operate your own truck-driving business, regardless of whether
you are a sole proprietor or employ thousands of drivers, the IRS allows you to claim deductions for all operating expenses. There is no exhaustive list of deductible expenses. Instead, the IRS evaluates whether each expense is ordinary and necessary for your business. However, truck drivers commonly claim a number of expenses on their tax returns.[/box]

[box type=”shadow”]Truck Driver Salaries

If you ever need help with your trucking business and hire an employee or independent contractor, the IRS allows you to deduct the entire cost of his services. The IRS will not scrutinize your decision to pay one driver more than you pay another; however, the amount of compensation you provide employees and contractors must be reasonable in light of their skill sets. For example, paying a contractor who possesses a commercial truck-driving license and 20 years of experience $500 per day to drive one of your trucks from New York to California may be high, but it’s not unreasonable. However, if you pay the contractor $5,000 per day instead, it’s likely the IRS will question whether the expense includes payment for something other than compensation for his services.[/box]

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Truck-Related Expenses

Whether you operate one truck or a large fleet, the expenses related to acquiring and operating the trucks will likely be substantial. As long as you use the trucks solely for business, the IRS allows you to deduct all costs of acquiring, maintaining and operating them. This includes money for gasoline, oil, repairs and maintenance, parking fees, tolls, insurance and any lease payments you make on the trucks. However, if you purchase rather than lease the truck, you can claim depreciation deductions for part of the purchase price each year until you recover the entire cost.[/box]

[box type=”shadow”]Hotels and Food

If your business ever requires you or your employees to take long-distance road trips, you can deduct the cost of lodging and 50 percent of your food purchases if it’s necessary for you to stop for rest along the way. For example, if you drive your truck on the New York to California route, you will need to stop for rest a few times before returning home. But if you move a customer’s furniture from one home to another in the same neighborhood, regardless of how many hours you drive the truck during the day, it’s not necessary for you to stay in a hotel overnight to rest.[/box]

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Advertising Expenses

Most self-employed truck drivers will need to advertise their services at one point or another to grow their business. Any expense you incur for ads in local newspapers, on the radio or even to purchase television airtime is fully deductible as a business expense on your tax return.[/box]

As the owner-operator of your own rig, you are an independent business owner. Congress has written a number of provisions into the tax law to enable you to more accurately assess your income so that you can be assessed a fair income tax. If you operate as a sole proprietor, you will deduct your business expenses on Schedule C of your personal income tax return. If you are taxed as an S-corporation, then you will account for expenses on your Form 1120S.

Section 179

Section 179 of the U.S. tax code allows businesses and individuals who put large dollar amounts of capital equipment, machinery or vehicles into service in a profit-making enterprise to take a first year tax deduction of up to $500,000. Certain limits and conditions apply for smaller passenger vehicles. However, large log trucks will generally qualify for the full deduction.

Loan Interest

If you are carrying a note on your truck or on any other business-related equipment, the interest is a tax-deductible expense. This can be a significant line item for truckers operating large rigs. You can also deduct interest on a personal home loan, on loans up to $1,000,000 secured by your primary residence, or on home equity loans of up to $100,000 secured by your primary residence.

Communications Expenses

You can deduct the costs of a dedicated cell phone and the costs of all business-related transmissions. You can also deduct the costs of a CB radio you use for business purposes, Internet fees, global positioning system fees and satellite phones.

Lodging and Meals

You can deduct any lodging costs you incur on the road. You can also deduct a standard meal allowance, or per diem, for any days you spend on the road away from home. For most areas, you can deduct up to $46 per day for meals. Some higher expense areas allow for higher deductions. You should keep your drivers log books for up to three years, however, to document your travels, in case you are audited.

Semi-truck drivers work long hours hauling cargo across cities, states and even the country to ensure people have groceries, office supplies and other necessities. Semi-truck drivers may be owner-operators of the semi or rig while others work for major retailers and chains to deliver product to each location. In Arizona, semi-truck drivers earn an average salary just above the national average.

Arizona Average Salary
As of May 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded a total of 22,030 semi-truck drivers working in the state of Arizona. They earned an average salary of $39,780 per year or $19.13 per hour. The median, or 50th percentile salary, was lower at $39,100 per year or $18.80 per hour.

In-State Salary Variance
Mean salaries vary by market and Arizona is no exception. A vast majority of semi-truck drivers in Arizona reside in the combined Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area, making up about 75 percent of the state’s semi driver population. In Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, the average salary in 2009 was $40,910 per year or $19.67 per hour, 2.8 percent higher than the state average. In Flagstaff, the mean salary was lower at $39,980 annually or $19.22 hourly. Yuma reported 520 semi truck drivers operating from the city with an average salary of $34,460 a year or $16.57 an hour.

State Average Comparisons
Market salary variance is not only by city but state as well. For example, Iowa paid their semi-truck drivers an average $37,780, 5.9 percent less than Arizona. Connecticut, on the other hand, paid more at $43,960 annually, 9.6 percent more than Arizona’s mean. Alaska paid more than any other state with an average salary of $49,480, 24.4 percent more than an Arizona semi-truck driver’s average of $39,780 per year.

National Average Comparison
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the national mean salary for truck drivers in the United States was $39,260 per year. Arizona’s average semi truck driver salary of $39,780 places it only a few hundred dollars higher than the national average and in the 50th to 75th percentile pay grade nationally. This means Arizona is one of the higher paying states in the U.S. for semi-truck drivers though some states still pay more.

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When you ride a motorcycle, you’re already more engaged in the experience of driving than those who are in automobiles. When you add snow to the mix, you have to be ever more careful and cautious with just about every move you make. Here are some tips to help you survive–and enjoy–the experience.

Determine the severity of the weather and road conditions on your route of travel. Do this as best you can before you start out. Ask friends or colleagues, or anyone who has recently driven the route to give you an idea of what you’ll be facing.

Drive with care and caution as you always do. Assume that you are invisible to all other drivers on the road. This is true in the summer, but especially so in the winter months, as almost no one is expecting to see a motorcycle rider in the snow. If they don’t expect to see you, that often translates into not seeing you at all. Be ready to react by keeping plenty of distance between you and other vehicles.

Drive slowly. Enjoy the day at slower than normal speeds. The road may be dry in front of you, but ride on a bit further and you may run into ice patches, water or other slick surfaces that can come at you by surprise.

Ride up on the gas tank more often. Clutching your thighs tightly to the gas tank when slipping and sliding on the snow can give you more steering control and will make it less likely that the bike will slide out from under you in a fishtail motion. Again, if there’s snow, you probably shouldn’t be there, but if you are, ride more tightly.

Use tire chains if you must ride. The going will be slower, and you still have the danger of ice causing your tire to slide out from under you at any moment, but at least you have a bit more traction.
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