Industries · Transportation
Trucking & Transportation Accounting
Every mile is tracked in your cab, your cost per mile should be tracked just as tightly.
South Florida moves on trucks. Between the seaports, the airports, the produce corridors out of Homestead, and the distribution clusters around Doral and Hialeah, trucking companies here run local drayage, regional lanes, and long-haul routes in every combination. The operating environment is demanding, fuel swings, insurance premiums climbing yearly, driver turnover, and the regulatory paperwork alone can bury a dispatcher-turned-owner who is also trying to keep the books.
Trucking accounting is a specialty for good reason. IFTA returns require fuel and mileage records by jurisdiction every quarter. Form 2290 heavy vehicle use tax comes due each year the trucks run. Driver pay mixes W-2 company drivers, 1099 owner-operators, and per-diem arrangements that each carry different tax treatment and audit risk. Tractors and trailers depreciate on schedules worth tens of thousands in deductions when timed well. And the metric that decides survival, fully loaded cost per mile, never appears in generic bookkeeping.
Integris Accounting handles the whole picture for motor carriers. We keep your books structured around trucks and lanes, prepare you for quarterly IFTA cycles, coordinate driver payroll and settlements, and plan equipment purchases against your tax position all year long. When an IRS or state notice shows up, we respond for you. You keep freight moving; we keep the compliance and the margins under control.
The landscape
25,000+
motor carriers domiciled in Florida
4
IFTA filing deadlines every carrier faces each year
80,000
pounds gross, the loads your depreciation schedule carries
Core services for transportation
The challenges
What makes transportation accounting hard
IFTA and multi-state fuel compliance
Quarterly IFTA filings demand mileage and fuel gallons by jurisdiction, reconciled to receipts and ELD data. Sloppy records mean amended returns, assessments, and audits that can sideline authority you cannot afford to lose.
Driver pay in three different flavors
Company drivers on W-2, leased owner-operators on 1099, and per-diem allowances all in one operation create payroll tax exposure. One misclassified driver can unravel into back taxes across the entire fleet.
Cost per mile nobody actually knows
Fuel, insurance, maintenance, tolls, and driver pay divided by real miles is the number that decides which loads to take. Most carriers negotiate rates without it and discover unprofitable lanes only in hindsight.
Equipment cycles colliding with tax bills
Tractors and trailers are bought, financed, and traded on operational timelines. Without coordinated depreciation planning, a strong year's tax bill and a fleet-renewal decision hit the same quarter unmanaged.
Our approach
How we help
Books built around trucks and lanes
Revenue and operating costs tagged by unit and lane in QuickBooks, producing the per-truck profitability and cost-per-mile reporting that turns rate negotiations into math instead of hope.
IFTA-ready record systems
We structure fuel and mileage recordkeeping to feed quarterly IFTA cycles cleanly, reconcile filings to your ELD and fuel-card data, and keep the audit trail a jurisdiction would expect.
Compliant driver compensation
W-2 payroll through ADP, owner-operator settlements documented properly, and per-diem programs administered within IRS rules, the full pay structure reviewed so classification risk stops compounding.
Fleet depreciation strategy
Section 179, bonus depreciation, and trade timing planned against projected income, so equipment renewal strengthens your tax position instead of ambushing it in a strong year.
Notice and audit defense
When the IRS, IFTA jurisdictions, or the state send letters, we handle the response, the documentation, and the negotiation, keeping your authority and your schedule intact.
FAQ
Transportation accounting, common questions
What records do I need to survive an IFTA audit?
Mileage by jurisdiction for every trip, ideally from ELD or GPS data, matched to fuel purchase receipts showing gallons, location, and date, retained for four years. Auditors test whether reported miles per gallon are plausible and whether fuel tax paid reconciles to miles run in each state. We set up your systems so the quarterly filing and the audit file are generated from the same clean records.
How does per-diem work for my drivers, and is it worth setting up?
A properly administered per-diem plan pays drivers a daily allowance for meals and incidentals on overnight trips, tax-free to them within IRS limits and partially deductible to you. It raises driver take-home pay without raising gross wages, which also trims payroll taxes. The catch is documentation, days away must be substantiated. We design the plan, set the rates, and keep it audit-ready.
Should my drivers be employees or owner-operators?
The structure must match reality. Drivers operating your trucks under your dispatch and control are employees; true owner-operators bring their own equipment, carry their own authority or lease on formally, and bear real economic risk. Trucking is a top misclassification target, and reclassification hits with back payroll taxes and penalties fleet-wide. We review your agreements and operations, then fix the structure before an auditor defines it for you.
When is Form 2290 due and what happens if I miss it?
Heavy highway vehicle use tax is generally due by the end of August for trucks in service in July, or the month after a new truck first hits the road. Miss it and you face penalties and interest, and you cannot renew registrations without a stamped Schedule 1. We calendar it for every unit in your fleet, file electronically, and get your Schedule 1 back fast so tags never hold up a truck.
Where we serve transportation
Talk to a CPA who knows transportation
Know your cost per mile before you quote the next lane, call (305) 497-0552.