Truck Driver Pay Calculator (Cents Per Mile)
Company driver pay is quoted in cents per mile, which tells you nothing until you know the miles. Enter your rate, a typical week of paid miles and the weeks you run a year to see weekly and annual gross pay and the hourly equivalent. Add detention and stop pay, and per diem if your carrier pays it, and compare what each extra nickel a mile is worth.
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Haulforge: Owner Operator IFTA
Utilities/Misc.HaulForge logs GPS state miles, truck parking and your trucking books offline, so your real weekly miles are on record before you compare the settlement to the offer.
Read the how-to guide
How it works
- Mileage pay = cents per mile ÷ 100 × paid miles
- Weekly gross = mileage pay + accessorial pay
- Annual gross = weekly gross × weeks worked
- Hourly equivalent = weekly gross ÷ hours worked, so you can compare with local or hourly jobs
- Per diem = daily rate × days out, shown separately because it is a reimbursement, not wages
Two things change the real number. Paid miles are usually practical or household-goods (HHG) routing miles rather than the odometer, and some carriers do not pay empty miles, so 2,500 dispatched miles can be fewer paid ones. And per diem, a daily allowance for meals while away from home, is tax-free under most carrier plans but is usually carved out of the mileage rate, which lowers the taxable wages on your W-2 along with the Social Security credits and the income a lender sees. Neither good nor bad, just worth knowing before you compare offers.
Worked example
60¢ a mile on 2,500 paid miles is $1,500 a week, $72,000 over 48 weeks, or $6,000 a month. At 60 on-duty hours a week that is $25.00 an hour. Each extra 5¢ a mile is worth $125 a week and $6,000 a year at those miles.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cents-per-mile rate?
It depends on the freight, the region and your experience, and the rate alone is not enough: miles, accessorials and home time decide the paycheck. Compare offers on annual gross at realistic miles, and ask for the average weekly miles of drivers already on the account.
Practical miles or HHG miles?
HHG (household goods) miles use the shortest route between zip codes and often come out a few percent short of what you drive. Practical miles follow the roads a truck would really take and are closer to the odometer. Ask which one your carrier pays and whether out-of-route miles are covered.
Is per diem taxed?
Not under a qualifying accountable plan, which is why carriers offer it. Because it is not wages, it does not count for Social Security, workers' compensation or most loan applications, and if it is carved out of your mileage rate your W-2 wages are lower. Taxes on the rest of your pay still apply.
Does this include taxes?
No. Everything here is gross pay. Use the take-home pay calculator with your state for the net paycheck, and the trucking cost per mile calculator if you are weighing an owner-operator lease instead.
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This calculator gives an estimate for planning and is not tax, legal or engineering advice. Confirm code-related results against the code edition adopted in your jurisdiction and with your authority having jurisdiction, and follow the manufacturer's instructions.