LANDLINE MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2007
HEALTH ISSUES
You are in business supporting your family or yourself and that means that you have a huge responsibility not only to yourself, but also to the people around you. However, you are some of the unhealthiest people in the country. I am talking about the truck driver. You happen to be more at risk for health problems than the average American. Obesity is rampant. Many truck drivers do not even bother to wear seat belts because their stomachs get in the way. Many of you have sleep apnea or smoke. This is all contributing to skyrocketing health care and workmen’s compensation costs. Believe me; I know how you guys complain about the above issues.
There is a push by the government for stricter rules for various health problems. And now many companies are trying on their own at improving the health of their drivers. Extremely high blood pressure or severe heart conditions can cause you to lose or prevent you from getting a commercial drivers’ license. They will soon be followed by excess weight or smoking.
Let’s face it, our unhealthy population leads to runaway costs from top to bottom and consequently takes money out of your pocket. As for the individual trucker, your bottom line and family suffers with any health issue.
A word to the wise! A
new IRS national research program (NRT Audit) will soon be started. Taxpayers are randomly selected and face
extensive in-person questioning by the IRS Auditor. Information obtained from these audits is
used to learn about taxpayers’ behaviors and to then target regular audits.
Overnight Rule
To answer your many questions, on the road costs for transportation, meals, and lodging are deductible for business travel. In order to deduct your travel expenses, you, as the taxpayer, must be away from your home residence or tax home longer than what would constitute your ordinary work day. You must be away from your home long enough that you cannot complete the trip without sufficient sleep or rest. The rest period must be long enough to require adequate lodging, such as an overnight stay at a motel or in your truck. A short duration of rest, such as a quick nap at a rest stop, is not sufficient to be able to deduct your travel expenses, as it does not satisfy the overnight rule. However, it is not necessary that you, as the taxpayer, be away for more than twenty-four hours in order to meet the overnight rule.
An example of meeting the overnight rule would be if you were traveling on business during an 18-hour period and you rent a room to sleep or rest during a six-hour layover. An example of not meeting the overnight rule would be if you were traveling several hundred miles and needed to stop to rest for an hour.
If you have no regular place of business and you do not maintain a fixed home you may not deduct any travel expenses. A trucker who lives in his or her truck during the entire course of the year cannot deduct per diem meals.
INCOME TAX PROJECTION
It’s That Time of Year Again
Do you know if you are going to owe money to the IRS on your
2007 tax return? Have you paid all of
your quarterly estimates? Will you owe
even more? These are important questions
that, as a self-employed business person, you need to know the answers to. The reason for this is to enable you to plan
for the next six months to a year. You
may need planning to alleviate any tax problems and for tax strategy or to
purchase a new truck. Though your
records should be looked at by a professional preparer throughout the year, a
tax projection based on your current operations will best indicate what your
tax situation is looking like come next April 15. A tax projection done now may leave enough
time until the end of the year to do proper tax planning or to adjust your
estimated taxes to minimize any potential non- deductible penalties.
This article has been presented by PBS Tax & Bookkeeping
Service, a company that has been providing income tax and bookkeeping
services to the trucking industry for over a quarter century. Contributions to this article were made by
“Everyone’s financial situation is different. This article does not give and is not intended to give specific accounting and/or tax advice. Please consult with your own tax or accounting professional.”