Year-End Tax Packet for Trucking Businesses

Core items to include

• Annual profit and loss report from your bookkeeping records
• 1099-NEC from each carrier or broker that paid $600 or more
• Carrier settlement statements for the full year
• Fuel card year-end summary or monthly exports
• Form 2290 Schedule 1 for each vehicle in service during the year
• IFTA quarterly return confirmations for all four quarters
• Truck and trailer loan year-end interest statements
• Equipment purchase or sale records
• Estimated tax payment confirmations

Building the income section

Start with 1099-NEC forms — most carriers are required to issue them by January 31. Then add carrier settlement statements for every pay period of the year, whether or not a 1099 arrived. Settlement statements are the underlying source documents; a 1099 is just a summary. If you use a factoring company, request a year-end earnings statement showing total invoices and fees. Cross-check: the sum of settlement deposits in your bank should match the total of settlement statement income. Unexplained gaps between those two numbers are worth investigating before the return is filed.

Building the expense section

Organize expense records by category before sending, not as a pile of unsorted receipts. Group fuel receipts or fuel card exports together; group repair invoices together; keep insurance premium statements together. If you use bookkeeping software, the annual P&L report is the summary — send that plus the underlying records for any category the preparer might want to verify. Categories with unusually high or unusually low totals compared to prior years often get a second look, so being ready to explain them saves a callback.

Equipment and loan section

For any truck or trailer purchased or sold during the year, include: date of purchase or sale, price paid or received, any trade-in value, and how the acquisition was financed. For ongoing loans or leases, include the year-end interest statement from the lender — this shows the interest paid during the year, which is deductible, separate from the principal payments, which are not. Equipment transactions are one of the areas where missing details most often delay a return, because the preparer can't calculate depreciation or gain/loss without the purchase price and date.

Adding notes for unusual items

Include a one-page cover note that lists anything the preparer might not see in the documents: a major insurance claim that settled during the year, a dispute with a carrier over a settlement deduction, a missed quarterly estimated payment, a change in business structure, or a truck that was out of service for an extended period. You don't need to know how these items will be handled on the return — flagging them before the appointment lets the preparer research the treatment in advance rather than discovering them mid-meeting.

Delivery format

Use a folder structure that mirrors your expense categories — Income, Fuel, Repairs, Insurance, Assets, Compliance — rather than sending a pile of files with names like 'scan001.jpg.' If sending digitally, include the year and category in file names: '2025_fuel_card_Jan.csv,' '2025_Form2290_Schedule1.pdf.' Ask your preparer whether they prefer files uploaded to a secure portal, emailed as a ZIP, or mailed on a USB drive.

Helpful Tools

• Year-End Tax Packet Builder

FAQ