Truck driver per diem, FY2026

A driver subject to the Department of Transportation's hours-of-service rules claims a flat meals and incidental expenses rate of $80 per day anywhere in the continental United States, and deducts 80% of it. That is a different figure from the city and state rates published elsewhere in this section, and it does not change with where the truck happens to be. The rate below covers October 2025 through September 2026.

Why the city tables are not the ones to use

The rest of this section lists the General Services Administration's per-diem rates by locality, which is what a federal traveler is reimbursed in a given city, from the standard rate of $68 M&IE upward. Those rates vary by destination and by month.

The special transportation-industry rate exists because that arrangement makes no sense for someone who sleeps in a different state every night. Instead of tracking which locality the truck stopped in, a driver under hours-of-service rules uses one rate for every day away from their tax home in the lower 48. That is the $80 figure, and it is why a driver does not need the city pages at all.

Days away, and the three-quarter rule

The rate applies to each full day away from your tax home. The day you leave and the day you return are partial days and count at 75% of the rate, whether you left at dawn or at four in the afternoon.

A trip of five nights is therefore six travel days: two at three quarters and four in full. The calculator below does that arithmetic.

All of it depends on being away overnight. The deduction is for travel that takes you away from your tax home long enough to need sleep or rest — a driver who runs a long day and sleeps at home has no M&IE to claim for it, however many miles it was. The calculator answers nothing for a trip of no nights because there is nothing to answer.

The 80% limit, and who gets it

Most business meal deductions are limited to 50%. Workers subject to the DOT hours-of-service limits are the exception and deduct 80% of the per-diem amount, which is the difference between $40 and $64 of deductible expense on a full day away.

Who can take it has changed. Owner-operators deduct M&IE for each day away from their tax home, partial days at 75%, as a business expense. Company drivers have only been able to benefit through an employer per-diem plan since the 2018 tax changes, and what those plans pay and how they treat it varies from carrier to carrier. If you are paid per diem by your employer, the number on your settlement statement is the one that matters, not this one.

Per-diem calculator

Where these numbers come from

The $80 figure is the IRS special transportation-industry meals and incidental expenses rate for fiscal year 2026. The 80% limit applies to individuals subject to the hours-of-service limits in 49 CFR part 395. The locality rates used elsewhere in this section are the General Services Administration's, public domain, refreshed daily here.

This page describes published rates and the rules that set them. It is not tax advice, and an employer's per-diem plan may treat any of it differently. Check your own circumstances with someone qualified to advise on them.

Last updated 2026-09-14. Data sources are listed on each page; see About for methodology.