transportation - june 11

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June, 2011

EDITORIAL FEATURES

American TruckerJuly issue features Managing Parts and Moving & Storage Commercial Carrier JournalJuly issue features Data Retention and Driver

Screening

Driver Health August issue features Prevention FoodBusinessNews June 16 issue features Immune System Support Food Logistics July/August issue features Managing Relationships with 3PL and

Cold Chain Providers

Land Line Aug/Sept issue features Idle Reduction Logistics Management July issue features 22nd Annual State of Logistics Report

and Improving WDC Network Design

Modern Materials Handling July issue features Salary Survey: Original Research Motor Magazine July issue features Ford Misfire Diagnosis and Valve Technology Overdrive July issue features Owner-Operator Pay Trends Transport Topics June 13 issue features Tech Tools for Revenue Management Truckers Connection July issue features Heroes of the Highway Truckers News August issue features Great American Trucking Family and

Keeping a Budget

LAYOFFS

Aramark Aviation Services, which operates at Memphis International Airport, is

eliminating more than 100 positions when its contract with Delta Air Lines expires onMay 17. Another two dozen layoffs are expected when its contract with Deltasubsidiary Mesaba Airlines expires on June 15. Total layoffs are expected to number

130. The jobs include supervisory and hourly positions, but about 30 of the displacedworkers have accepted jobs with new provider Air Serv and the company is workingto help place others, Aramark human resources assistant Jamiemarie Reyes said.

Memphis Commercial Appeal

Gulf Air, Bahrains state-owned carrier, fired 200 employees and reported a 25%drop in bookings in the first five months of the year because of unrest in the Middle

East. Bloomberg

City of Houston is laying off employees at Bush Intercontinental Airport. More than100 people were recently given pink slips. Employees are receiving pink slips at the

airport, having had no prior knowledge they were about to lose their jobs. The

layoffs are expected to save the city about $3 million but aren't related to thebudget-related layoffs happening across the city.ABC News

Missouri Department of Transportation plans to cut staff by 1,200 positions,close 135 facilities and sell more than 740 pieces of equipment. The department

believes the $512 million saved can be used for road and bridge projects. Under the

plan, MoDOT would close its district offices in Macon, Joplin and Willow Springs, butwill continue to maintain a presence in those cities. KSDK

Transportation Update


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CONFERENCES

Using National Household Travel Survey Data for Transportation Decision

Making: A Workshop

June 6-7Washington, DC

Combined 13th Annual Harbor Safety Committees and Area Maritime

Security Committees ConferenceJune 7-9

Houston, TX

6th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver

Assessment, Training, and Vehicle DesignJune 27-30

Lake Tahoe, CA

TRB Joint Summer MeetingJuly 10-13

Boston, MA

10th International Conference on Low-Volume RoadsJuly 24-27

Lake Buena Vista, FL

Geophysical Exploration, Non-Destructive Evaluation and Monitoring

Techniques for Landslides, Rockfalls, and Other GeohazardsJuly 25

Lexington, KY

TRENDS

Tax Time Never Ends

As a self-employed driver, most expenses related to running your business are taxdeductible. Most people think about taxes in April, but as an owner-operator, youshould be thinking about your taxes every month.

Your tax obligations include federal and state income taxes. As an owner-operator,youll be required to pay estimated taxes each quarter, and you are responsible for

setting aside funds for taxes. We see almost every day a new owner-operator whohasnt set up automatic withholding, and all of a sudden at tax time they owe

[thousands], and they dont have it, says Dennis Bridges, a CPA and tax preparer.

Youre also responsible for self-employment tax based on net earnings. If you have asecond truck and employ a driver, youre responsible for employee payroll taxes for

federal and the state where youre based, says Perry Wiseman, owner of TruckersAccounting Service.

Using Form 2290, you must pay the annual Heavy Road Use Tax. The $550 fee

covers trucks weighing more than 55,000 pounds and is due by August 1 for the July

1-June 30 period.


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Especially important are expenses you incur running your business. If its workrelated, chances are its deductible according to the Internal Revenue Service.

We tell our clients to supply us with everything except restaurant and grocery storereceipts, says David Blair, owner of Blair Tax Consulting. Everything they do on the

road is deductible.

Keep every receipt or bill for tolls, cell phone use, showers, truck supplies and so on.

If the receipt doesnt specify the expense, write the details on the receipt. If youdont get a receipt, write it down and note the date and place it in a notebook that

you keep for the year. Keep your settlement statements and handwritten logbooks,

not only for current taxes but for potential IRS audits.

Blair says the IRS wants to see expense categories rather than itemized deduction.

He organizes his owner-operator client expenses into three categories: Truckexpenses, such as fuel, maintenance and insurance; office supplies, such as cellphone bills and computer; and truck equipment, such as tools and work gloves.

There are some expense exceptions. Clothing generally isnt deductible unless you

have your name and company name applied to your cap or shirts or if you needsteel-toed boots to load and unload your flat bed or if youre a Florida trucker who

needs long-johns to run in the north in winter. Food and motel expenses are coveredunder a per diem for transportation workers, which is $59 a day and 80 percent

deductible.

The IRS audited a woman driver who had about $10,000 in per diem, Wisemansays. The IRS asked for [proof]. She didnt keep her logbooks, and it disallowed the

deduction. The IRS can audit back three years. Typically, I tell people to keep them

for five years.

Youll also want to keep track of expenses back home. If you or your spouse makes

work-related trips such as driving to a repair shop for tires, the mileage isdeductible, Bridges says. If you maintain a home office, its expenses, supplies andrelated costs, such as a computer and printer, are deductible.

Bridges advises using an accounting professional who knows the trucking industry.Contact that individual when youre planning a major business transaction like

disposing of your truck. If youre selling it outright, your proceeds are going to be

taxable, he says. If you traded it in on another tractor, theres no taxable event,and you avoid a taxable gain.

Dont overlook these common deductible expenses:Air freshener

Alarm clock

BatteriesBedding

Cab curtainsCameraCoffee maker

Coveralls

Duct tapeFacemaskFirst-aid supplies

Floor mats

GPS device

Hard hatIce scraper

KeysLawn chairsLogbook

Luggage

Map lampPower cordRefrigerator

Seat covers

Sunglasses

Tire gaugesTrash bags

Truck magazinesVacuum cleaner

transportation - june 11

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