Industry focus
Trucking Accountant for Owner-Operators
Owner-operators, fleet companies, freight brokers, courier services, and logistics providers: we handle IFTA, per diem, Sec. 179 depreciation, and 1099 driver compliance, keeping your operation road-ready and audit-proof.
How we work with this industry
Owner operators and small fleets have a recordkeeping problem disguised as a tax problem. Fuel, tolls, repairs, per diem and equipment all have to be substantiated, and settlement statements from a carrier are not the same thing as a set of books. We build the record so the deductions hold, handle the entity and payroll questions as the fleet grows, and keep the filings on schedule.
Most of the trouble starts with the settlement statement. A carrier or a factoring company deducts fuel advances, insurance, escrow and cargo claims before the money reaches your account, so the deposit is never the revenue. We record the gross settlement and each deduction on its own line, then tie the whole thing back to the bank. That is what lets you read cost per mile instead of guessing at it from a bank balance.
The rest is payroll and the road. Whether a driver is on a W-2 or a 1099-NEC changes what you owe and what you file, and running in several states raises registration questions that follow the truck rather than the office. We keep mileage and fuel records by jurisdiction so the quarterly IFTA return rests on real data, run the pay and the federal filings on schedule, and file Form 2290 when it comes due.
What We Do
What We Handle for Trucking and Transportation
The recurring work behind a carrier's books, built around settlements, equipment and miles rather than a generic chart of accounts.
Settlement and Factoring Detail
Gross settlement, fuel advances, insurance, escrow and claim deductions recorded on separate lines, then reconciled to the deposit that actually cleared the bank.
Fuel, Toll and Per Diem Records
The trip log, fuel receipts and toll statements that stand behind the deduction, captured as they happen instead of reassembled from a folder of paper at filing time.
Equipment, Financing and Depreciation
Tractor and trailer purchases recorded at their full cost basis, with the note kept separate so each payment splits into principal and interest rather than landing in expenses, and the capitalize or deduct decision made deliberately rather than defaulted into.
Driver Pay and Contractor Reporting
Pay runs, Form 941, Form 940 and Florida reemployment tax on schedule, plus clean W-2 and 1099-NEC reporting so classification is a decision you made and can defend.
IFTA Records and Form 2290
Miles and fuel tracked by jurisdiction so the quarterly IFTA return is a calculation and not a reconstruction, with the heavy vehicle use tax handled alongside it.
Catch-Up and QuickBooks Cleanup
Months of unentered settlements brought current in QuickBooks, reconciled against the bank and the fuel card, then put on a cadence that holds once we hand the file back.
Common Problems
Where Trucking Books Go Wrong
Four failures that show up again and again on owner operator and small fleet files.
The Deposit Treated as Revenue
Booking the net settlement hides the advances, insurance and claims taken out upstream. Revenue looks small, the costs look invisible, and cost per mile turns into a number you feel rather than one you know.
Per Diem With No Trip Behind It
The deduction rests on the record of nights away, not on the figure claimed at the end of the year. For an owner operator it is a deduction; for a driver on a W-2 it only reaches you through the carrier's reimbursement plan. Without dated trip logs it is the first thing to fall when a return is examined.
The Truck Note Expensed in Full
A loan payment is principal plus interest, and only part of it belongs in expenses. Coding the whole payment as a cost misstates the year and buries the basis you depreciate the equipment from.
Drivers Classified by Habit
Employee or contractor turns on how much right you have to control the way the work is done, not on which is easier to run through the bank, and not on what the agreement is titled. Leaving that right in the contract and simply not using it does not settle the question. The correction is far cheaper handled deliberately than found in an examination, and the relief provisions that keep it affordable stay open only to employers who have been consistent and have filed the information returns.
Services we offer in this industry
The services most often used by businesses in this industry. Each one is led by an Enrolled Agent.
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Related guides
100% Bonus Depreciation Is Permanent: 2026 Section 179 Cap $2,560,000
Public Law 119-21 made the 100% first year deduction permanent for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025, and set the 2026 Section 179 cap at $2,560,000 with the phase down starting at $4,090,000.
S-Corp Reasonable Compensation: 7 Court Cases the IRS Cites
S-corp shareholder-employees who perform more than minor services must be paid a reasonable salary subject to FICA, FUTA, and income tax withholding. Here is the IRS rule, the Watson standard, and the seven decisions the agency cites.
Common questions
Questions we hear in this industry
Straight answers, from an Enrolled Agent.
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