Trucker pay & cost calculator
Pick how you run: owner-operator cost per mile, 1099 contractor take-home, company driver W-2 pay, or percentage-of-load. Real formulas, deadhead included, no login.
Owner-operator cost per mile
| Fixed costs per month | – |
| Fuel per month | – |
| Maintenance + tires per month | – |
| Tolls, IFTA, scales | – |
| Total monthly cost | – |
| Fixed cost per mile | – |
| Variable cost per mile | – |
| Loaded miles (after deadhead) | – |
| Monthly revenue at your rate | – |
Profit shown is before income and self-employment taxes and before your own pay. Your break-even per loaded mile is the floor — any load priced below it costs you money to haul.
1099 contractor take-home
You drive someone else's truck but get a 1099 — no taxes withheld, you owe self-employment tax.
| Gross 1099 income | – |
| Work expenses | – |
| Self-employment tax (15.3%) | – |
| Federal income tax (est.) | – |
| State income tax (est.) | – |
| Take-home | – |
Set aside 25–30% of every settlement for quarterly estimated taxes. Estimates use 2025 federal rules, the standard deduction, and an approximate state rate. Per-diem and other trucking-specific deductions can lower your bill — talk to a tax pro.
Company driver (W-2) take-home
| Annual gross (miles × rate × weeks) | – |
| Social Security + Medicare (7.65%) | – |
| Federal income tax (est.) | – |
| State income tax (est.) | – |
| Annual take-home | – |
Estimates assume the standard deduction and no pre-tax benefits (401k, health insurance premiums), which would lower taxes. Detention, layover, and accessorial pay aren't included — add them to your effective rate if they're a regular part of your settlement.
Percentage-of-load pay
Common in oil & fuel hauling and lease arrangements. Company drivers on percentage typically get 20–35% of load gross; leased owner-operators keep 65–85% of linehaul.
Fuel surcharge formula: (current diesel − $1.25 baseline) ÷ MPG. Whether the FSC is passed through to you depends on your agreement — leased owner-operators usually receive 100% of FSC; percentage company drivers often don't. Check your lease or pay package.
Owner-operator, 1099, or company driver — what the math says
The headline numbers in trucking hide more than they reveal. An owner-operator grossing $200,000 can take home less than a company driver at 60 CPM once the truck payment, $1,000+ monthly insurance, fuel, and maintenance come out — that's why the cost-per-mile number above matters more than revenue. A "1099 driving someone else's truck" deal shifts 7.65% of payroll tax onto you with none of the ownership upside, so the gross has to be meaningfully higher than a W-2 offer to break even. Run your own numbers in each tab and compare take-home to take-home, never gross to gross.
Don't forget deadhead
Every empty mile burns the same fuel and tires as a loaded one. If you run 10% deadhead, only 90% of your miles produce revenue, so your break-even rate per loaded mile is higher than your cost per total mile. The owner-operator tab does this adjustment for you — it's the difference between a load that looks profitable and one that actually is.
Trucking pay FAQs
What's a good cost per mile for an owner-operator?
Most solo owner-operators land between $1.60 and $2.20 per total mile all-in, with fuel as the biggest swing. Below $1.60 usually means a paid-off truck and cheap insurance; above $2.20 means new equipment, high insurance, or low monthly miles spreading fixed costs thin.
How much should a 1099 driver set aside for taxes?
A common rule is 25–30% of gross into a separate account, paid to the IRS quarterly. The 15.3% self-employment tax applies from the first dollar of profit, before any income tax — which is why 1099 pay that "looks higher" than W-2 often isn't.
Is percentage pay better than mileage pay?
Percentage pay wins when rates are high and loads are short with lots of accessorial revenue; mileage pay wins when you run long, cheap freight at high volume. On percentage, always ask what's in the base: gross including FSC and accessorials, or linehaul only — 25% of one is not 25% of the other.