Trucking is an expense-heavy business, and almost everything you spend to keep trucks on the road is deductible. The list is long. Here is what you should be tracking.

Fuel is typically your largest single expense. Every gallon of diesel is deductible whether you fuel up in the Bronx, on the Turnpike, or at a truck stop in Pennsylvania. Tolls are fully deductible too, and if you run routes through NYC regularly, those bridge and tunnel tolls add up fast. Keep records even if you use E-ZPass because your statements are your documentation.

Truck lease payments are deductible as an operating expense. If you own your trucks, you deduct depreciation instead. Section 179 lets you deduct the full purchase price of a qualifying vehicle in the year you buy it, which can be a significant write-off for a truck that costs six figures. Whichever route you take, this is one of the biggest deductions in your operation.

Repairs and maintenance are deductible in the year you pay for them. Oil changes, brake jobs, transmission work, tires, roadside repairs. Tires alone can run thousands per year per truck. If you have a maintenance shop or pay for fleet maintenance services, all of that counts.

Insurance premiums are fully deductible. Commercial auto, general liability, cargo insurance, workers’ comp if you have drivers on payroll. NYC trucking companies tend to pay higher premiums than operators in other regions, so this deduction carries real weight.

Per diem meals are one of the most commonly missed deductions for owner-operators and companies with drivers on the road. The IRS allows a standard per diem rate for meals when drivers are away from their tax home overnight. For the transportation industry, the rate is $69 per day for travel within the continental US (2024 rate). You can claim this without saving individual meal receipts as long as you track the days you were on the road. That adds up to thousands per driver per year.

Licensing and permits are deductible and trucking has more of them than most industries. IRP registration, IFTA fuel tax filings, DOT registration fees, the New York State Highway Use Tax (HUT), CDL renewals, and USDOT number fees. These are easy to lose track of because they come due at different times throughout the year.

DOT physicals and drug testing are deductible whether you pay for them yourself or reimburse drivers. Same goes for CDL training costs if you’re putting new drivers through a program.

ELD subscriptions and any fleet management or GPS tracking software are deductible as business technology expenses. Dispatch software, load board subscriptions, and factoring fees if you use a factoring company for receivables all count too.

Parking fees are deductible. Truck parking in and around NYC is expensive and limited, so this is a real cost for Bronx-based operators. If you rent yard space for parking trucks overnight, that rent is deductible.

Cell phone expenses are deductible to the extent you use your phone for business. If drivers use personal phones for dispatch and communication, the business-use percentage is deductible. A dedicated business phone line is simpler to document and fully deductible.

Home office deductions apply if you run your operation from home. You can deduct a percentage of rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and internet based on the square footage of your dedicated office space. This is common for smaller freight and logistics operators who handle dispatch and administration from a home office.

The deductions exist. The problem is that most trucking companies don’t track them well enough to take full advantage. Fuel receipts get lost. Per diem days aren’t logged. Permit renewals get paid and forgotten. When tax time arrives, you end up guessing or leaving money on the table.

Set up a system where every expense gets recorded as it happens and coded to the right category. If tracking all of this feels like a second job on top of running your routes, working with Bronx bookkeeping services that understand trucking can take that off your plate and make sure nothing gets missed.