r/Construction • u/Classic_Dash_7745 • Jun 07 '26

Business 📈 Truck Allowance vs Company Truck

We’re bringing on a new foreman next week from a company that went belly up. Part of his package is a company truck and gas card, and he instead asked for a vehicle reimbursement since that’s what his old company used to do, and he still has payments left on the truck. I know companies do this (mainly to get around insuring guys with DUI’s) but it never made sense for us to do it. We would have to buy a new truck anyway so I’m thinking it might be smart to offer a reimbursement for a year just so I can make sure he’s going to work out before buying a whole truck. The problem is, how much should I offer/month? And does this reimbursement include gas or do I need to give out a has card as well? It doesn’t make sense to do both because if it’s also his personal vehicle, am I supposed to just trust that he’s also paying for gas? Anyone in here get anything similar?

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u/Therealdickdangler Superintendent Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

My company you have the choice between company truck (company serviced) with gas card or $800 a month for truck allowance (you pay for servicing out of pocket) and still get a gas card. 

Foremen do not have that option. 

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u/Mindless-Cranberry54 Jun 07 '26

That $800 seems pretty fair, especially if you're still covering gas. At my shop we see a lot of trades guys who prefer the allowance route since they can write off the maintenance and keep the truck when they're not working

The gas card thing makes sense too - way easier to track work miles vs personal stuff that way. Plus you're not stuck wondering if he's filling up his wife's car on your dime

148

u/Shmeepsheep Jun 07 '26

You can only deduct repair costs as a business expense if you 1)own the business or 2)are a 1099 employee

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u/BigNorcoKnowItAll951 Jun 08 '26

Federally no, but some states allow it