• Learn what is on the tax prep checklist for truck drivers.Truck image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
  
  Professional truck drivers live and work on the road, sometimes for weeks at a time, hauling cargo across the country. Life as a trucker is very different from the typical 8-to-5 five job, and taxes are no exception. Whether drivers are self-employed or working for a trucking company, they must provide a wide variety of documents to prove income and qualify for tax deductions.
  
  

Income Documentation

• If you are an employee of a company, your income documentation should come in the form of a W-2. Check your W-2 against all paycheck stubs for the tax year to make sure it is accurate. If you are an independent or self-employed driver, you report your income on IRS form Schedule C. Most likely, your clients will issue 1099s documenting your income from each company you worked for, which you must use to calculate your total income on Schedule C.
  
  

Truck Related

• The IRS requires documentation in order for you to take tax deductions. Such documentation includes receipts, logbooks and proof of payment for all eligible truck-related expenses. Liability insurance premiums, truck maintenance costs, fuel and registration fall into this category. Actual maintenance and fuel costs may be substituted for a standard mileage rate if you prefer to keep logs of your mileage instead of receipts for your maintenance costs.
  
  

Travel

• Trucking, by nature, is a business of travel. Travel expenses can be deducted if proper records are kept. This includes hotel and motel bills, meals and even laundry costs. The IRS limits lodging deductions to $50 a night but provides two options for meal costs. You can either deduct each meal at 50 percent of the actual total with receipts as proof or take a per diem rate between $34.50 and $53.23, depending upon where you traveled---with proof in a detailed travel log.
  
  

Business

• Any costs typical to the business are tax-deductible with receipts or proof of payment. These include union dues, subscriptions to trade magazines or professional associations, and uniforms if required by your employer. Cell phone service may also be tax-deductible if required by your employer or if it functions as your primary business line if you are self-employed. Finally, operation costs and cargo losses fall under the standard definition of "Profit and Loss" for the self-employed truck driver according to the IRS.