Real Numbers For The First 5 Months.....

Actually that is just 4 months worth if it is from 1/1 to 5/1. So that makes it even more attractive. Well done!

I would not mind the team thing if it was my brother, but to find another person that is a complete stranger and make it work.... don't think so. I see the benefits of it for sure, but it would take just the right person.

Thanks for sharing!

Guy is one of you primarily the night driver and the other does days or do you find the cycle kind of flipping naturally every 10 days or so?

Scott/Guy:

Could you please explain what you mean by " per diem" and " write off"?

Thanks Wendy

Guy I'm just guessing by the #'s that you are not on per diem and doing the write off way? If so, that's a nice little savings account in Washington you've got there.

I do not do pre diem during the year. I like it at the end of the year to help lower my tax responsibility. Besides if I allowed my company to pay part of my miles in pre diem that lowers their tax liability. Think about it. You get the $59 dollars a day while your away from home. You don't have to do anything to earn it. So allowing a company to pay you in part cpm and part per deim they are paying you part of your wage with money the government already said you get anyway without working for it.

Let's say you make .30 cpm and .10 cpm is per diem. The company is only paying you .20 cpm and making up the rest with money you already have coming to you at the end of the year. I much rather make the company pay the entire .30cpm and then claim the $59 a day at the end of the year.

It works out well. I am paid my entire cpm and the company has to pay more in social security and employment tax. Plus now I get to claim my entire $59 dollars a day instead of only part cause I was paid the biggest part during the rest of the year.

Besides I really don't need the extra money thought out the year. Honestly an extra $150 a week is not going to make or break me so I will wait till the 3rd of the year to claim it.

It works out well. I am paid my entire cpm and the company has to pay more in social security and employment tax. Plus now I get to claim my entire $59 dollars a day instead of only part cause I was paid the biggest part during the rest of the year.

You realize in the end it comes out the same for you, right? It makes no difference when and how your money is distributed throughout the year. In the end you'll pay the taxes you owe based on your income before taxes. So you can pay a lot of taxes during the year and get a lot back for your tax return or you can pay fewer taxes during the year (getting per diem) and get a smaller tax return.

In the end it makes no difference. Whether or not you take per diem affects how and when you get your money. How much you'll make in the end after taxes will be the same either way.

Could you please explain what you mean by " per diem" and " write off"?

Per diem simply means you company will pay you some of your salary tax free. By "write off" we're referring to tax write-offs you get for travelling.

Truck drivers get a lot of tax write offs so companies can pay you some of your salary tax free. That's called getting paid "per diem". That way you get more money in each paycheck but a smaller tax return at the end of the year.

I'm the opposite there Guy. If everything else is equal, I would rather my company have to pay less taxes. After all, I have 2 reasons for being out here. First, to make money for myself. Secondly, to make money for my employer. My employer would probably reverse that order of primacy.

Additionally, all PTL employees are part owners through the ESOP program. Right now that means exactly zilch for myself and the company. 20 years from me that could mean zilch still or 1/2 a million bucks. Anything I can do to sway that number more towards the big one, count me in.

I'm the opposite there Guy. If everything else is equal, I would rather my company have to pay less taxes. After all, I have 2 reasons for being out here. First, to make money for myself. Secondly, to make money for my employer. My employer would probably reverse that order of primacy.

Additionally, all PTL employees are part owners through the ESOP program. Right now that means exactly zilch for myself and the company. 20 years from me that could mean zilch still or 1/2 a million bucks. Anything I can do to sway that number more towards the big one, count me in.

Brett is actually co4rect. It works out in the end to be the same except for one little thing.

If you get paid .30cpm and pre diem is .10 cpm of that your taxable income is only on that .20 cpm. You might say great that only 2/3rds of you income is taxable and I would agree. Let me use an example an see if that makes it clear.....

Let's keep it simple with the numbers and say you made $75,000.i don't know about you but I plan on buying stuff down the road that might require loans. Well since a 1/3 of your income was tax free due to the pre diem rules you can't claim $75000 as your income. You can only claim on loans the amount you made which is taxable. In this case $50,000. That might be enough for your loan but if the loan requires a minimum of $75,000 income then you fall way short in the end.

This might not be a big issue to some but to me I want the ability to buy what I want when I want.

Guyjax is correct. I also believe there is an annual maximum to what you can claim as per diem. It doesn't matter in the beginning of your career but once you hit a certain income it may change the math.

It will also affect what is used in determining your Social Security benefits.

It will also affect what is used in determining your Social Security benefits.

Very true. The less taxable income you have the lower social security that is paid in. While we know S'S is struggling at the best of times it's still a program that has to be taken into account since you still have to pay into it.

With my past jobs and the income I have made in the past right now I would qualify for $1600 a mouth from social security. That's basically a minimum wage job when I retire. Now through in my 401k that I have been actively doing since 18 and that adds in another $1600 a month. I think I can live very well on $3200 a month in retirement.