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The IRS announced last week that the Per Diem rate for all of the 2022 tax year will be $69 for each full day you’re away from home as a driver (owner-operator) and a ride-along that assists in business functions. Additionally, 2022 will be the last year the IRS will allow a 100% deduction on Per Diem rather than the normal 80%. This means you can deduct the full amount of $69 for each full day and $51.75 for each partial day.
In order to qualify for these deductions, IRS publication 463 states that you are traveling from home if:
- Your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work, AND
- You need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.
It further states that taking a nap does not satisfy the requirement. However, “you do not need to be away from home for a whole day, as long as your relief from duty is long enough to get necessary sleep or rest.
What does this mean to a driver? If you are an owner-operator, the rule is simple, you get to claim the tax deduction for each day that you are away from your “tax home”. On the days that you depart and the days that you arrive at home, you must claim a partial day allowance instead of a full day allowance. That is ¾ of the standard allowance.
