Owner-operator annual income estimator

How the estimate works

This tool projects annual income from three inputs: how many miles you drive, how much those miles pay, and what it costs to run the truck per mile.

Loaded miles percentage

Not all miles are revenue-producing. The loaded miles percentage is the portion of your total weekly miles that haul paying freight. If you drive 2,500 miles per week and 2,000 of those are loaded, your loaded percentage is 80%. The remaining 20% are deadhead or empty repositioning miles — they still cost money (fuel, wear) but generate no revenue. The rate per mile applies only to loaded miles; the cost per mile applies to all miles.

Cost per mile

CPM should include all fixed and variable expenses: truck payment, trailer payment, fuel, insurance, maintenance, tires, permits, ELD subscription, and any other regular operating cost. If you have not calculated your CPM, use the cost per mile calculator first. The accuracy of this estimate depends directly on how accurately CPM reflects your actual costs.

What this estimate does not include

This tool estimates net income before income tax and self-employment tax. Owner-operators owe self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base) plus federal and state income tax on net profit. A common planning rule is to reserve 25–30% of net income for tax obligations. The estimate also does not account for non-cash deductions (depreciation), per diem deductions, health insurance deductions, or retirement contributions that may reduce taxable net income — a tax professional familiar with trucking can identify all available deductions for your specific situation.