Your cost per mile is every dollar you spend to run the truck, divided by the miles you actually drove. Most owner-operators who lose money aren't hauling bad freight — they just don't know this number, so they can't tell a good rate from a bad one.
The formula: (Fixed costs + Variable costs) ÷ Miles driven = Cost per mile
Run it monthly. Costs move, and a number from last spring won't help you price a load today.
- Cost per mile — what it costs you to turn the wheels
- Load rate — whether a specific load is worth taking
- Per diem — your meal deduction as an OTR driver
- Annual profit — what actually reaches your pocket
Cost Per Mile Calculator
Enter what you spend. Fixed costs are the bills that arrive whether the truck moves or not. Variable costs only happen when it does.
Fixed costs (monthly)
Variable costs (monthly)
Miles
Deadhead is where the math usually breaks. Costs are spread across every mile you drive, but only loaded miles earn. Two carriers with identical expenses can have very different cost per mile purely on empty percentage.
Load Rate Calculator — Is This Load Worth It?
A rate that looks strong on the load board can still lose money once you count the deadhead to get there. This compares a specific load against the cost per mile you just calculated.
Rate per mile on the loaded portion is what brokers quote. Rate per total mile is what you actually earn. When those two numbers diverge sharply, the deadhead is eating the load.
Per Diem Calculator
If you're subject to DOT hours-of-service rules and you're away from home overnight, the IRS lets you deduct a flat daily amount for meals and incidental expenses instead of saving every receipt.
Current special transportation industry rate: $80 per day inside the continental US, $86 outside it — effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
Transportation-worker per diem is 80% deductible, not 100%. At $80/day that's an effective $64 per day against your taxable income.
Company drivers: W-2 employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed per diem on a federal return under current rules — this applies to owner-operators and self-employed drivers, or to per diem paid through an employer's accountable plan. We file permits and handle compliance; we're not tax advisors. Confirm your situation with a CPA who works with carriers before you file.
Annual Profit Calculator
Revenue isn't income. This is the number that matters — what's left after the truck, the fuel, and the paperwork have taken their share.
This is pre-tax business profit, before self-employment tax and before any per diem deduction. Treat it as your ceiling, not your take-home.
Fixed vs Variable Costs — What Goes Where
Getting this split right is what makes the number usable. Fixed costs don't care whether you drive; variable costs scale with miles. If you lump them together you'll misprice every load you take during a slow month.
| Fixed — owed regardless | Variable — only when moving |
|---|---|
| Truck & trailer payments | Fuel and DEF |
| Liability, cargo & physical damage insurance | Tires |
| IRP plates, UCR, MCS-150, BOC-3 | Preventive maintenance and repairs |
| Drug & alcohol consortium fees | Tolls and scale fees |
| ELD subscription, accounting, phone | Lumpers and driver pay per mile |
| Parking, base plates, office costs | Meals and lodging on the road |
Two that get miscategorized often: maintenance is variable, even though it feels like a surprise bill — it accrues by the mile whether or not you set money aside for it. And your own pay is not a cost if you're an owner-operator taking draws; it's profit distribution. Counting it as a cost double-dips and makes every load look unprofitable.
A Worked Example
Here's the default set of numbers above, run all the way through. These are illustrative figures for a single-truck operation, not industry averages — plug in your own.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs, monthly | $3,980 |
| Variable costs, monthly | $8,200 |
| Total monthly cost | $12,180 |
| Loaded miles | 9,000 |
| Deadhead miles | 1,200 |
| Total miles | 10,200 |
| Cost per total mile | $1.19 |
| Cost per loaded mile | $1.35 |
The gap between those last two lines is the whole point. If you price loads off $1.19, you're pricing off a number you never actually get paid for — because nobody pays you for the 1,200 miles you ran empty. Quote against your loaded-mile cost. At $1.35, a load paying $1.55 per loaded mile leaves you 20 cents a mile, and on an 1,100-mile run that's $220 before you've paid yourself anything.
Notice how sensitive that is. Drop the rate to $1.45 and the same run returns $110. The margin between an acceptable load and a pointless one is often ten cents a mile, which is exactly why guessing doesn't work.
Common Mistakes That Break the Number
Leaving out deadhead. The most common error by a wide margin. A driver running 15% empty who ignores it will underestimate cost per mile by roughly 15%.
Using annual numbers for a monthly decision. Fuel prices, insurance renewals, and freight rates all move. A cost per mile calculated in January is close to useless by summer.
Forgetting the once-a-year bills. IRP renewal, UCR, insurance down payments, and the MCS-150 biennial update don't show up in a normal month — then they land all at once. Divide the annual total by twelve and carry it as a fixed monthly cost.
Ignoring downtime. If the truck sits two weeks for a transmission, the payment and insurance still come due but the miles don't. Cost per mile spikes in exactly the month you can least afford it. This is the main argument for keeping a maintenance reserve rather than treating repairs as surprises.
Questions Drivers Ask
What's a realistic cost per mile for an owner-operator?
It varies too much by equipment, insurance, and lane to give a single figure honestly — a paid-off truck and a new one financed at current rates aren't in the same conversation. Which is exactly why you calculate your own rather than working from a number you read somewhere.
Should I use loaded miles or total miles?
Calculate with total miles, but quote against loaded miles. Your costs are spread over every mile the truck moves; your revenue only comes from the loaded ones. Using total miles to price freight quietly understates what you need to charge.
Does my own pay count as a cost?
Not if you're an owner-operator taking draws — that's profit distribution, not expense. If you employ a driver, their pay absolutely is a variable cost. Mixing these up is why some owner-operators conclude they're losing money on freight that's actually fine.
How often should I recalculate?
Monthly. It takes about ten minutes once your bookkeeping is current, and it's the difference between negotiating from a number and negotiating from a feeling.
Can company drivers claim per diem?
Generally not as an unreimbursed deduction on a federal return under current rules. The per diem deduction here applies to owner-operators and self-employed drivers subject to DOT hours-of-service rules. Some carriers run per diem pay programs through an accountable plan, which works differently. Ask a CPA about your specific setup.
Is per diem worth tracking if I'm only out a few nights a month?
Usually yes, because the record-keeping is light — you need the nights away, not receipts. At $80 per day with 80% deductibility, even 60 nights a year is $3,840 in deductions. The rate applies to nights you're away from your tax home overnight and subject to HOS rules.
What rate per mile do I need to break even?
Your cost per loaded mile is break-even. Anything above it is margin, anything below is a loss you're financing. Use the load calculator above to check a specific rate before you book it — the deadhead to pickup is what most often turns an acceptable rate into a bad one.
Numbers only work if your authority stays active
Lapsed UCR, an overdue MCS-150, or a missed IRP renewal can shut the truck down faster than any rate ever will. We handle permits and compliance filings so the miles keep counting.
See permit packages and pricingCalculators are provided for planning and estimation. Tax figures reflect IRS special transportation industry per diem rates effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 and are subject to change. Truckers Authority LLC files permits and handles compliance; we are not tax advisors or accountants. Confirm deductions with a qualified CPA before filing.