I usually do my own taxes and this year I will be itemizing since I'll be over the standard deduction mark. I am aware of how to calculate the per Diem to use it as a tax write off. My question is, what form do you use to do it. I use turbotax and I do not recall anything leading me down the road for per Diem. Any advice would be appreciative.

Near the end Turbo tax should ask you if you are in the transportation industry. It will then ask you the total money the company should have paid you in per diem, then ask you for the money they did actually pay you in per diem.

I haven't done mine this year... But in previous years it calculated it easily. I'll repost later the week when I get all my paperwork together.

It goes on 2106. Turbo Tax will get you there, something about working in the transportation industry.

What do you guys use to calculate how much you should have received?

I've seen a few websites advertised but this will be my first year doing it.

Thanks!

Federal Taxes...

Deductions & Credit...

Employment Expenses...

Job-Related Expenses...

Under Job Related Expenses Summary, there is an option to "Add an Expense" and click that to create "profile" for your work expenses. I've titled mine simply "Pilot"...

Tell Us More About Your Job, click "You are in the transportation industry"...

Any Other Expenses? "Meal Expenses Covered by DOT Rules" enter what the DOT says you should have received for your overnights . NOT your W-2, Box 12 "L" amount...

Tell Us About Any Reimbursements, click Yes...

Tell Us About Reimbursements "Reimbursements for DOT Meals and Entertainment" enter your W-2, Box 12 "L" amount.

You should be good to go.

Thanks Gents for all the advice!

Does anyone have an idea if the "Special Rate for Transportation Workers" is going up this year. Last year it was $59, but the IRS has not posted Publication 463 yet. I called the IRS today actually, and they had no idea when 463 would be coming out, but they did verify that a 2011 version should be posted at some point.

Pub 463 came out at the end of Feb last year if that tells you anything.

For years I figured my own per diem. It took a LOT of time and aggravation chasing down rates per city, legalities and just adding up the score. I found PRO-DIEM.com a few years ago and willl NEVER do my own again. Easy, $59, guaranteed and they gave me more deductions than I ever could find. No, this is not a paid endorsement nor do I get anything from them.... Just a VERY happy customer.

I second this advice. You will be very happy if you consider taking the plunge. Saturday night, I used their "widget" which automatically downloaded everything they needed from my company's website. That and the Paypal payment took about 3 minutes. 5 minutes after I submitted, they called with a question about a vacation month during which I had not worked just to make sure their data was right. I had my report less than 24 hours later.

For years I calculated my per diem deduction myself. I understood the method well and my company computer system allowed me access to all the information I needed. I used the 3/4 day method for partial days and computed each city layover accurately.

After reading posts like this and hearing guys at work talk up Pro-Diem, I finally decided to try it. I sent them my stuff and still did my own calculations that year. Their calculations were almost $3000 more than mine. The $59 was a drop in the bucket compared to the extra $$ I saved on my taxes.

Just to give you some numbers: This year, I was paid about $8700 in per diem by my company. Pro-diem's report calculated my max allowable at about $16,600. Since I don't waste my time doing my own, I have no idea what I would have calculated - but I know it wouldn't have been that much.

What do they do differently? Don't know.... their method is proprietary. However, it works, is accepted by the IRS and they'll stand by their data if you get audited.

I'm also just a happy customer who has learned the error of his ways. Give it a try.