Guides
Plain explanations with worked examples. Each one goes with a calculator.
Before you take the load
- Is This Load Worth It? How to Work Out a Load's Real ProfitCheck a load's profit after deadhead, tolls, and your cost per mile, with three loads compared step by step.
- How to Calculate Your Break-Even Rate Per MileTurn your cost per mile into the lowest rate per loaded mile you can accept after deadhead, with and without a profit margin.
- Deadhead Miles: How to Work Out What Empty Miles Cost YouWork out your deadhead percentage, the cost of empty miles, and what a load really pays per mile once they're counted.
- How to Estimate Fuel Cost for a Trucking TripWork out gallons and fuel cost for a run, reefer included, with a worked example using real EIA diesel prices.
- How to Calculate a Trucking Fuel SurchargeThe per-mile fuel surcharge formula, where the weekly EIA diesel price comes from, and worked examples with real prices.
- Hours of Service Rules: 11-Hour, 14-Hour, 30-Minute Break, and 70-Hour LimitsThe federal hours of service rules for truck drivers in plain words, with a recap example and a worked 7/3 sleeper berth split.
- The Federal Bridge Formula Explained, With Worked ExamplesHow the bridge formula limits weight on every axle group, FHWA's 5-axle and straight-truck examples, the 36-foot tandem exception, and how rounding works.
- Rate Confirmation Checklist: What to Check Before You SignThe terms every trucking rate con should have, the clauses to read twice, and a worked example with rate per mile and detention.
- 70 Hour Rule: DOT 60/70-Hour Limits and the 34-Hour RestartThe 70 hour rule explained: the 60/70-hour limits, how hours roll off over 8 days, the 34-hour restart, and a worked week of logs you can check.
Know your numbers
- How to Calculate Your Trucking Cost Per MileThe formula, how to split fixed and variable costs, and a worked example with real numbers.
- How Semi Truck Financing Works: Payments, Interest, and Lease vs BuyHow a semi truck loan payment is calculated, what it costs in interest, and how to compare leasing and buying over the same term.
- How to Budget for Truck Maintenance Per MileTurn every future repair into a cost per mile, add an allowance for breakdowns, and set aside a monthly maintenance reserve.
- How to Calculate Truck Tire Cost Per MileWork out tire cost per mile for steers, drives, and trailer tires, including retreads, with a worked example and the federal tread depth rule.
- How Much Does It Cost to Start a Trucking Company?The official FMCSA, UCR, and Form 2290 fees, the federal insurance minimums, and a worked startup budget for one truck.
- How to Get an MC Number and DOT Number in 2026How to get an MC number and USDOT number: who needs each, the $300 FMCSA fee, the 10-day protest period, insurance and BOC-3 filings, and the Motus change.
- How Does Lease Purchase Trucking Work? (With Example)How lease purchase trucking works: the weekly truck payment, balloon, and settlement deductions, with a worked example and the 49 CFR 376.12 lease rules.
- What Is an Owner-Operator in Trucking? How It Works and PaysWhat is an owner-operator in trucking: leased-on vs your own authority, how the money works, and the per-mile math that shows what you make, with an example.
Get paid
- How to Invoice a Trucking LoadWhat to put on a freight invoice, how to bill accessorials so they get paid, and a worked example with real numbers.
- How to Calculate and Bill Detention PayWork out billable detention time from your time in and out, free time, rounding, and caps, and what to put on the invoice.
- How Much Does Freight Factoring Really Cost?How factoring fees, tiers, flat fees, and advances add up, and how to compare offers by monthly and annualized cost.
- What Goes on a Bill of LadingThe items federal rules require on a bill of lading, how to check one at pickup and delivery, and a worked example of the totals.
- Lumper Fees: Who Pays and How to Get ReimbursedWhat federal law says about who pays for unloading, what a lumper receipt needs, and how to put it on your invoice.
- How to Check a Lease-On Settlement StatementRecompute your pay, spot a percentage taken on the wrong number, and know what 49 CFR 376.12 says your lease must cover.
Taxes and compliance
- How to Calculate IFTA Fuel TaxThe four-step IFTA formula, how Kentucky and Virginia surcharges work, and a full worked example with 3rd quarter 2026 rates.
- Truck Driver Per Diem: How to Calculate Your DeductionThe IRS transportation per diem rate, the 3/4 rule for travel days, the 80% limit, and a worked example with 2026 numbers.
- Owner-Operator Quarterly Taxes: How Much to Pay and WhenHow self-employment tax and income tax add up for an owner-operator, the 2026 due dates, and a worked example with real numbers.
- Form 2290 Heavy Vehicle Use Tax: How Much You Owe and WhenHow to find your 2290 weight category, read the IRS tax tables for July 2026–June 2027, and file on time, with worked examples.
- UCR Registration Fees for 2026 and 2027: Who Pays and How MuchThe 2026 and 2027 Unified Carrier Registration fee brackets, what counts as a vehicle, when to pay, and a worked example.
- How to Fill Out a Trip Sheet for IFTAWhat IFTA requires in your mileage and fuel records, how to log state line crossings, and a worked example with an odometer check.
- How to Make a Profit and Loss Statement for Your TruckWhat goes on an owner-operator P&L, how to handle truck payments and depreciation, and a worked quarterly example.
- How to File IFTA Quarterly: Step by Step, With Due DatesHow to file IFTA quarterly, step by step: records you need, what goes on the return, due dates, the late penalty, and a worked Q3 2026 example.
- Truck Driver Tax Deductions for 2026 (With Worked Example)Truck driver tax deductions for owner-operators: the $80 per diem at 80%, fuel, repairs, depreciation, insurance, 2290, SE tax and QBI, with a 2026 example.