Fuel and distance by jurisdiction
If you run under IFTA, your quarterly return depends on the distance you drove and the fuel you bought in each jurisdiction. Fuel receipts that are matched and filed by trip make that return much easier to prepare.
Bookkeeping for truckers and owner-operators
You’re on the road; your receipts are in the cab. I keep trucking books organized, from fuel and trip records to the quarterly IFTA dates and the long-haul meal rules, so tax time isn’t a shoebox emergency. Earlier in my career, I did accounts payable and receivable for a large trailer dealer in southern Alberta.
Where trucking books get tricky
Owner-operator books are mostly fuel, repairs and payments from carriers or shippers, but the details carry real money.
Meals on long-haul trips
Long-haul drivers can deduct a higher share of meal costs than most businesses, and there’s a simplified per-meal method that needs a trip log instead of receipts. The simplified method relies on that trip log, so I keep it with your books.
Trucks and trailers
A truck or trailer isn’t an expense in the year you buy it; it’s written off over time. I record each purchase, its cost and the date it went into service, so your tax preparer can treat it correctly.
Repairs, permits and settlements
Repair bills, permits and carrier settlements arrive from everywhere. Reconciled monthly, they tell you what each truck actually costs to run.
Rules worth knowing
Dates and rules from Alberta and the CRA. Confirm the details for your own situation with your tax preparer.
- IFTA (Alberta)
- quarterly returns are due the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. A return is required even for a quarter with no travel, and IFTA credentials expire December 31.
- Long-haul meals
- for the 2025 tax year, long-haul truck drivers could deduct 80% of eligible meal costs (most businesses get 50%). The trip has to be at least 24 continuous hours away from home, hauling goods to or from a place at least 160 km away.
- Simplified meal method
- the CRA allows $23 per meal, up to three meals a day, with no meal receipts, as long as you keep a trip log.
- GST on those meals
- 20% of the GST on long-haul meals can’t be claimed as an input tax credit.
- Records
- keep business records for six years after the end of the tax year they relate to.
How I help truckers
- Monthly bookkeepingFuel, repairs and settlements reconciled every month, with receipts matched.
- Catch-up & cleanup bookkeepingMonths of receipts in the cab? I’ll sort them and bring the books current.
- GST filingGST on your revenue and fuel reconciled and filed on time.
- Payroll servicesIf you hire drivers, pay runs and remittances handled properly.
- Year-end bookkeepingEquipment, loans and trip records packaged for your tax preparer.
On the Highway 4 corridor
Lethbridge sits an hour north of Coutts, a 24-hour commercial crossing on the Canada–US border, where between 800 and 1,200 commercial trucks cross every day. Highway 4, the CANAMEX route, runs 103 km from the border to Highway 3 in Lethbridge.
The transport and warehousing cluster along that corridor counts more than 200 firms and about 3,000 employees. If you’re an owner-operator or a small fleet working it, your books follow you: I work remotely, so receipts and statements can come in from wherever you are.
Questions truckers ask
When are IFTA returns due in Alberta?
Quarterly, on the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Alberta requires a return even for a quarter with no travel.
Can I claim meals on long-haul trips?
Long-haul truck drivers on eligible trips could deduct 80% of meal costs for the 2025 tax year, compared with 50% for most businesses. The CRA also has a simplified method of $23 per meal, up to three a day, with a trip log instead of receipts. Your tax preparer decides how it’s claimed; I make sure the records are there.
Do I need to keep every fuel receipt?
Yes, keep them. Fuel receipts support your expenses and the GST you claim back, and if you’re under IFTA your fuel purchases by jurisdiction feed the quarterly return. Matched to your books each month, they’re easy to find.
How do you record a truck purchase?
As an asset, with its cost, the date it went into service and any loan or lease details. It’s written off over time, and the exact treatment is decided by whoever prepares your tax return.
Let’s get your books level.
Tell me where things stand, even if it’s messy, and I’ll tell you honestly what it’ll take to catch up and keep it that way. Every quote is confirmed after a free review of your books.
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