US Truck Cost Per Mile Calculator
Cost per mile, IFTA fuel tax, interstate tolls and HOS planning for owner-operators and fleets
1. Pick your truck class
2. Load level
Cost per mile, IFTA fuel tax, interstate tolls and HOS planning for owner-operators and fleets
1. Pick your truck class
We'll prefill the diesel consumption so the cost estimate matches your vehicle.
2. Load level
Adjusts the diesel consumption preset. You can fine-tune the exact value in the vehicle panel below.
About the US Truck Cost Calculator
Most load boards tell you the rate. They don't tell you whether the load actually pays. This free US truck cost calculator works out your true all-in cost per mile for any lane — diesel at real regional prices, DEF, per-state interstate tolls, IFTA fuel tax, state weight-mile taxes, deadhead miles, and the fixed costs owner-operators usually forget: truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires and the Form 2290 HVUT. Enter a US origin and destination and the planner switches automatically to miles, MPG and US dollars, then breaks the trip down state by state.
True cost per mile for owner-operators
Enter your rate per mile and fuel surcharge, then see revenue, all-in cost, net profit and margin on one screen. Fixed costs — truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires and HVUT — are amortized over your annual miles so the cost per mile you see is the number that actually matters at tax time.
IFTA fuel tax estimate by state
Every quarter you owe IFTA on miles driven per jurisdiction. The planner splits your route by state, estimates taxable miles and gallons for each one, applies the state tax rate and totals it up. Export the table to CSV to speed up your quarterly filing.
Interstate tolls and transponders
Truck tolls are priced by axle count, not by car rates. We estimate 5-axle tractor-trailer tolls per state across the interstate and turnpike network, and let you pick your transponder — E-ZPass, SunPass or BestPass — so the estimate reflects what you actually pay at the plaza.
Weight-mile tax and HOS planning
Four states bill distance separately from IFTA: the Oregon Weight-Mile Tax, New York HUT, Kentucky KYU and New Mexico Weight-Distance. All four are calculated and folded into the trip total. Turn on the HOS schedule to see a day-by-day plan with 30-minute breaks, 10-hour resets and a realistic arrival time.
How to work out your real cost per mile
- 1
Enter your pickup and delivery
Type any US city, address or ZIP code. As soon as the route enters the United States the calculator switches to US mode — miles, MPG, dollars per gallon and per-state cost breakdowns.
- 2
Set your truck class and load
Pick your configuration and load level so diesel consumption and toll axle class are realistic. A loaded 80,000 lb Class 8 tractor-trailer burns very differently from a running-empty return leg.
- 3
Add your rate, fixed costs and driver pay
Enter rate per mile and fuel surcharge, then your fixed costs and pay model — driving it yourself, a per-mile driver, or a percentage of linehaul. No numbers handy? Hit "Use defaults" for industry-typical values and refine later.
- 4
Check net profit before you book it
Review all-in cost per mile, net dollars per mile and margin, add deadhead miles before pickup and after delivery, and compare your rate against the market rate for the lane. Then decide whether the load is worth taking.
Frequently Asked Questions — US Truck Costs
Add your variable costs (diesel, DEF, tolls, IFTA and any weight-mile tax) to your fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires and HVUT) amortized over your annual miles, then divide the total by the miles you run — including deadhead. This calculator does all of that for a specific lane, so you get a cost per mile for the actual load rather than a fleet-wide average.
Yes, for planning and estimating. The route is split by state with estimated taxable miles, gallons and tax per jurisdiction, and you can export the table to CSV. Treat it as a preview, not a filing: a real IFTA return must be based on your actual fuel receipts and odometer readings, not modeled fuel consumption.
It does. Truck tolls are estimated per state at 5-axle tractor-trailer rates rather than car rates, which are typically several times lower. You can also select an E-ZPass, SunPass or BestPass transponder so the estimate reflects the discounted rate you actually pay instead of the cash or toll-by-plate price.
Yes. Oregon charges a weight-mile tax instead of a diesel fuel tax, so it is easy to under-budget a lane through Oregon. The calculator handles Oregon plus New York HUT, Kentucky KYU and New Mexico Weight-Distance, and includes them in the trip total. These are quarterly filings separate from IFTA.
Turn on the HOS schedule and you get a day-by-day plan with driving blocks, the required 30-minute break, 10-hour resets and an estimated arrival. Enter your appointment time and it warns you when the ETA overruns, so you can move the departure earlier or split the load before you commit.
Completely free, with no sign-up, no trial and no fleet contract. Nothing you enter — rates, fixed costs, driver pay or routes — is stored on our servers. Your settings stay in your own browser.
Truck Parking Finder
Find HGV parking, truck stops and overnight rest areas near any address
Truck Parking FinderDriving a car or pickup instead?
For personal vehicles, use the US trip cost calculator to work out gas and tolls, and the real cost to drive per mile.
US trip cost calculatorLooking for parking?
Search parking garages, surface lots and street parking across the US for the car — truck parking is a separate search.
US parking finderRunning in Europe instead?
For journeys across Europe, use the European truck route planner with per-country tolls and motorway vignettes.
European truck planner