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View Full Version : THE ACTUAL RULING ON THE PER DIEM RATES


Fkatz
March 29th, 2006, 17:59
04 Special rules for transportation industry. SEE PARAGRAPH 6

(1) In general. This section 4.04 applies to (a) a payor that pays a per diem allowance only for meal and incidental expenses for travel away from home as described in section 4.02 of this revenue procedure to an employee in the transportation industry, or (b) an employee or self-employed individual in the transportation industry who computes the amount allowable as a deduction for meal and incidental expenses for travel away from home in accordance with section 4.03 of this revenue procedure.

(2) Transportation industry defined. For purposes of this section 4.04, an employee or self-employed individual is in the transportation industry only if the employee’s or individual’s work (a) is of the type that directly involves moving people or goods by airplane, barge, bus, ship, train, or truck, and (b) regularly requires travel away from home which, during any single trip away from home, usually involves travel to localities with differing federal M&IE rates. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a payor must determine that an employee or a group of employees is in the transportation industry by using a method that is consistently applied and in accordance with reasonable business practice.

(3) Rates. A taxpayer described in section 4.04(1) of this revenue procedure may treat $52 as the federal M&IE rate for any CONUS locality of travel, and $58 as the federal M&IE rate for any OCONUS locality of travel. A payor that uses either (or both) of these special rates with respect to an employee must use the special rate(s) for all amounts subject to section 4.02 of this revenue procedure paid to that employee for travel away from home within CONUS and/or OCONUS, as the case may be, during the calendar year. Similarly, an employee or self-employed individual that uses either (or both) of these special rates must use the special rate(s) for all amounts computed pursuant to section 4.03 of this revenue procedure for travel away from home within CONUS and/or OCONUS, as the case may be, during the calendar year. See section 4.04(6) of this revenue procedure for transition rules.

(4) Periodic rule. A payor described in section 4.04(1) of this revenue procedure may compute the amount of the employee’s expenses that is deemed substantiated under section 4.02 of this revenue procedure periodically (not less frequently than monthly), rather than daily, by comparing the total per diem allowance paid for the period to the sum of the amounts computed either at the federal M&IE rate(s) for the localities of travel, or at the special rate described in section 4.04(3), for the days (or partial days) the employee is away from home during the period.

(5) Examples.

(a) Example 1. Taxpayer, an employee in the transportation industry, travels away from home on business within CONUS on 17 days (including partial days) during a calendar month and receives a per diem allowance only for meal and incidental expenses from a payor that uses the special rule under section 4.04(3) of this revenue procedure. The amount deemed substantiated under section 4.02 of this revenue procedure is equal to the lesser of the total per diem allowance paid for the month or $884 (17 days at $52 per day).

(b) Example 2. Taxpayer, a truck driver employee in the transportation industry, is paid a “cents-per-mile” allowance that qualifies as an allowance paid under a flat rate or stated schedule as defined in section 3.03 of this revenue procedure. Taxpayer travels away from home on business for 10 days. Based on the number of miles driven by Taxpayer, Taxpayer’s employer pays an allowance of $500 for the 10 days of business travel. Taxpayer actually drives for 8 days, and does not drive for the other 2 days Taxpayer is away from home. Taxpayer is paid under the periodic rule used for transportation industry employers and employees in accordance with section 4.04(4) of this revenue procedure. The amount deemed substantiated and excludable from Taxpayer’s income is the full $500 because that amount does not exceed $520 (ten days away from home at $52 per day).

(6) Transition rules. Under the calendar-year convention provided in section 4.04(3), a taxpayer who used the federal M&IE rates during the first 9 months of calendar year 2005 to substantiate the amount of an individual’s travel expenses under sections 4.02 or 4.03 of Rev. Proc. 2005-10 may not use, for that individual, the special transportation industry rates provided in this section 4.04 until January 1, 2006. Similarly, a taxpayer who used the special transportation industry rates during the first 9 months of calendar year 2005 to substantiate the amount of an individual’s travel expenses may not use, for that individual, the federal M&IE rates until January 1, 2006. .05 Optional method for incidental expenses only deduction. In lieu of using actual expenses in computing the amount allowable as a deduction for ordinary and necessary incidental expenses paid or incurred for travel away from home, employees and self-employed individuals who do not pay or incur meal expenses for a calendar day (or partial day) of travel away from home may use, for each calendar day (or partial day) the employee or self-employed individual is away from home, an amount computed at the rate of $3 per day for any CONUS or OCONUS locality of travel. This amount will be deemed substantiated for purposes of paragraphs (b)(2) and (c) of § 1.274-5, provided the employee or self-employed individual substantiates the elements of time, place, and business purpose of the travel for that day (or partial day) in accordance with those regulations. See section 4.03 of this revenue procedure for a method that may be used by employees or self-employed individuals who pay or incur meal expenses. The method authorized by this section 4.05 may not be used by payors that use section 4.01, 4.02, or 5.01 of this revenue procedure, or by employees or self-employed individuals who use the method described in section 4.03 of this revenue procedure. See section 6.05(4) of this revenue procedure for rules related to the application of the limitation under § 274(n) to amounts determined under this section 4.05.

SINCE THIS IS THE ACTUAL RULING YOU MUST USE THE $41.00 AND $46.00 FOR cANADA FOR THE WHOLE YEAR, YOU CANNOT USE THE NEW RATES. tHE NEW RATES ARE ONLY FOR ANYONE WHO STARTED IN BUSINESS AFTER OCT 1, 2005, OR AFTER

PERIOD

fRANK

David_Reed
March 29th, 2006, 20:59
Frank,

This does clarify some of the other questions.

It does NOT answer or clarify mine.

I work all but ONE (1) day per month on the road.
I go home one (1) day per month for a doctors visit.

For each day on the road, I am available for work and am under the direction of the employer.

However, said employer seems incapable of providing me with "work" for each of those days I am available. Said employer DOES NOT provide a flat rate of perdiem under any circumstance described in this selection of the Code that you posted.

Said employer only pays to the employee (me) $.08 per mile driven.
If no dispatch is offered and I sit for a full 24 hours, available to work, under the direction of the employer, away from home, on the road, am I or am I not legally entitled to claim the IRS flat rate subject to the 70% for each day I have not earned the employer paid $.08 cents per mile?

Again, if the miles provided by the employer are insuffucient to equal or exceed the flat rate of the IRS after the 70% can I not claim the difference under the partial day rules, or, are the partial day rules indeed no longer applicable.
?

I hope that you are able to address these very specific, detailed and important questions.

I am not the only driver that this situation is applicable to, just, probably, one of the few(where's that smiley of a man patting his own back?) that can identify and illustrate the unfairness of the pay structure some of us unwittingly have found ourselves in.

magicman
March 29th, 2006, 22:14
David, you're trying to make it harder than it is. If you're out on the road, working, or not, you fall under the new 75 % of $ 52 per day rule.

Therefore, if you are out 30 days, and you drive 10,000 miles at .08 per mile per diem, your employer is calling $ 800 of your income, per diem.

However, if you take the actual amount allowable: $ 52 X 30=$ 1560 X .75= $ 1170. Your company only used $ 800 of the allowable $ 1170. At tax time you would simply add the $ 800 back onto your wages and then subtract the full $ 1170 allowance.

Pretty easy as I see it.

David_Reed
March 30th, 2006, 00:07
So, if you are right,

i'd like to see the language in the Code to support that.

I am not questioning the morality.

Fkatz
March 30th, 2006, 12:11
Basically there is no code as to what you are requesting, its the DOt Regulations that allows the per diem at the rates quoted

Look at the paragraph # 6 that I put on the site. and you will see what I mean, Actually it would depend on the itemized deductions that you are claiming to see if you can take the deduction at all.

if you out 30 days a month then it should come to over the standard deductions as specified on expediterworld. formum and the deduction is allowed. and the reimbursement must be claimed against the deductions

check it out.

Frank