Can a self-employed truck driver deduct 80% of meals?

Yes, for food and drink during an eligible travel period: at least 24 hours in a row away from the municipality you live in, driving a long-haul truck that carries goods to or from somewhere at least 160 km away. Other meals stay at 50%.

Do I have to give T4A slips to the owner-operators I pay?

If you're a trucking business and you pay a Canadian-controlled private corporation in trucking more than $500 in fees in a year, report it in box 048 of a T4A. From the 2025 tax year, the CRA charges penalties to trucking businesses that don't.

How much of the GST/HST on road meals can I claim?

For a long-haul driver's meals during an eligible travel period, 80%. On other meals and entertainment, 50%.

Is a new truck an expense?

No. A tractor or trailer is an asset. Your accountant claims capital cost allowance on it over several years. The interest on the loan is an expense.

Bookkeeping for truckers in Canada

Fuel, repairs and insurance are most of the spending, and the truck itself is an asset, not an expense. Two rules are particular to trucking: long-haul meals are 80% deductible, not 50%, and from 2025 the CRA penalises trucking businesses that don't report what they pay other trucking corporations.

Where the money goes in your books

What a trucking business usually spends on, and the account in a Canadian chart of accounts it belongs in. The numbers are the account codes in Spark’s starting chart.

Typical costs and the account each goes to
What you pay for	Account
Diesel and DEF for the trucks	7200 Vehicle expenses
Truck and trailer repairs, tires, oil changes	7200 Vehicle expenses
A tractor or trailer you buy	1520 VehiclesAn asset. Your accountant claims it over several years.
Interest on the truck loan	6300 Interest
Cargo and liability insurance	6200 Insurance
Meals on the road	6100 Meals and entertainment
Hotels and showers on the road	6900 Travel
Other carriers and owner-operators you pay per load	5100 Subcontractors
ELD, dispatch and load-board subscriptions	6520 Software and subscriptions

How a chart of accounts works · The whole chart, as a template

The tax rules that are different for you

Each one is from the CRA, checked in October 2026. The link goes to the page it came from.

Long-haul meals are 80% deductible

Most business meals are 50% deductible. A long-haul truck driver's meals are 80% deductible during an eligible travel period: at least 24 hours in a row away from the municipality where the driver lives, driving a long-haul truck carrying goods to or from somewhere at least 160 km away. A local run home the same day doesn't count.

CRA: line 8523, meals and entertainment

The GST/HST on those meals: you keep 80%, not 50%

On ordinary meals, you claim the GST/HST and then pay back half of it. On a long-haul driver's meals during an eligible travel period, the amount you pay back is 20%, so you keep 80% of the input tax credit.

CRA: GST/HST Memorandum 8-2

T4A slips for trucking corporations you pay

If you run a trucking business and pay a Canadian-controlled private corporation in trucking more than $500 in fees in a calendar year, report it in box 048 of a T4A slip. For 2025 and later years, the CRA assesses penalties on trucking businesses that don't.

CRA: payments of fees for services

Drivers on your payroll claim their own meals

An employed driver claims meals and lodging on their own tax return with Form TL2, not through your books. Under the simplified method, that's $23 a meal, up to three a day.

CRA: transportation employees

Records to keep

Logs or ELD records showing when each trip left and returned, and where it went. They're what proves a 24-hour, 160 km trip for the 80% meal rate.
Fuel receipts with the unit number on them, if you run more than one truck.
Settlement statements from every broker and shipper, matched to your deposits.
For every carrier you pay: legal name, address and business number, collected before the first payment.
The bill of sale and loan papers for each tractor and trailer.

Common mistakes

Putting a new tractor through as an expense. It's an asset, and claiming it all in one year gets reversed.
Booking the factor's advance as the sale. The load's full invoice is the sale; the factoring fee is a cost.
Claiming 80% on meals from day runs that never stayed out 24 hours.
Personal fuel and groceries on the company card, with no note of which was which.

How Spark Books handles it

Fits, with limits

Fits an owner-operator or small fleet. The 80% meals and T4A slips stay with your accountant.

What it does

Sorts fuel, repairs, insurance and broker settlements from your statements, with the GST/HST split out.
Reads a photo of a fuel receipt and attaches it to the card charge it paid for.
Sends invoices for loads and marks them paid when the deposit lands.
A 13-week cash forecast, so you can see weekly fuel against settlements that pay in 30 to 60 days.

What it doesn’t

It books meals at the general 50% rule. Tell your accountant which meals were on long-haul trips so they can claim 80%.
It doesn't produce T4A slips. It does keep the payments to each carrier together, which is the total you need.
No payroll: if you employ drivers, you need a payroll service.
No live bank feed: you upload statements. Not available in Quebec yet.

Free, with no card. If you’d rather not do it yourself, a Spark bookkeeper keeps your books for $350 a month. How Spark Books works

Questions

Can a self-employed truck driver deduct 80% of meals?: Yes, for food and drink during an eligible travel period: at least 24 hours in a row away from the municipality you live in, driving a long-haul truck that carries goods to or from somewhere at least 160 km away. Other meals stay at 50%.
Do I have to give T4A slips to the owner-operators I pay?: If you're a trucking business and you pay a Canadian-controlled private corporation in trucking more than $500 in fees in a year, report it in box 048 of a T4A. From the 2025 tax year, the CRA charges penalties to trucking businesses that don't.
How much of the GST/HST on road meals can I claim?: For a long-haul driver's meals during an eligible travel period, 80%. On other meals and entertainment, 50%.
Is a new truck an expense?: No. A tractor or trailer is an asset. Your accountant claims capital cost allowance on it over several years. The interest on the loan is an expense.

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