CALCULATOR / FREE
Owner-operator take-home pay calculator
Enter your weekly gross and costs, on your own authority or leased on, to see what you take home each week and year before income tax, what that is per mile driven, and roughly how much to set aside for self-employment tax.
How it is calculated
Own authority: take-home = gross − dispatch and factoring fees (a percentage of gross) − fuel − maintenance and tires − fixed costs.
Leased on: take-home = your percentage of gross − fuel − maintenance and tires − carrier chargebacks − escrow held − costs you still pay yourself. If your lease pays by the mile instead, enter your weekly pay as the gross and 100% as your share.
- Fuel = miles a week ÷ miles per gallon × diesel price
- Fixed costs a week = monthly fixed costs × 12 ÷ 52
- Yearly = weekly take-home × weeks worked
- Self-employment tax set-aside = yearly take-home × 92.35% × 15.3%
Escrow is shown as a cost because it leaves your settlement, even though it should come back when the lease ends, less valid charges.
SOURCE: IRS, SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX (SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TAXES), OCT 2026
A worked example
An EXAMPLE dry van owner on their own authority grosses $6,000 a week over 2,500 miles, pays a 5% dispatch fee, gets 6.8 mpg with diesel at $6.38 (the EIA U.S. average for the week of Sep 28, 2026), sets aside 17 cents a mile for maintenance and tires, and has $4,300 a month of fixed costs.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross | $6,000.00 |
| Dispatch fee, 5% | ($300.00) |
| Fuel | ($2,346.00) |
| Maintenance and tires | ($425.00) |
| Truck, insurance, other fixed | ($992.00) |
| NET | $1,937.00 |
SOURCE: U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION, WEEKLY RETAIL DIESEL PRICE, WEEK OF SEP 28, 2026
That is $1,936 a week, 77 cents per mile driven, or about $92,900 over 48 working weeks before income tax. Roughly $13,100 of that should go aside for self-employment tax alone.
What a good or bad result means
Compare the weekly figure with what your household needs, plus a repair fund and tax savings. If it falls short, the levers are, in order: the rate per mile, empty miles, fuel economy and fixed costs. Fuel is the largest cost line now; at the EIA's $3.75 a year earlier, the same week would have left nearly $1,000 more.
If you are leased on, run both modes with your real lease terms. The difference between them is roughly what the carrier's authority, freight and services cost you, which is worth knowing before a lease renews. Plan your quarterly payments with the quarterly estimated tax calculator, and see every cost line explained in owner-operator expenses. Thinking about the truck itself? Try lease-purchase vs own or read about financing a truck.
Our desk works on the first two levers for you; see dispatch for owner-operators or apply.
Calculator questions
Q01What is the average owner-operator take-home pay?
There is no reliable public average, because pay depends on equipment, lanes, miles, your costs and whether you run your own authority or lease on. Our EXAMPLE dry van owner grossing $6,000 a week keeps about $1,936 before tax at late-September 2026 diesel prices. Put in your own numbers for a figure that means something.
Q02How much should an owner-operator set aside for taxes?
At least the self-employment tax: 15.3% of 92.35% of your net earnings, under the Social Security wage base, per the IRS Schedule SE rules. Income tax comes on top and depends on your deductions and filing status. Many owners move a set share of every settlement into a tax account and pay quarterly.
Q03Is take-home higher on my own authority or leased on?
On your own authority you keep the whole rate and pay every cost and fee yourself; leased on, the carrier keeps part of the revenue and provides the authority, freight, insurance or plates in return. Compare both modes in the calculator with your real lease terms and quotes before you decide.
Q04Can I use this as an owner-operator expense calculator?
Yes for the weekly picture: every cost line is editable, and the result shows how each one cuts into the gross. For tracking real expenses through the year, keep receipts and a ledger, and use your take-home number to check whether the year is on plan.
By Daniel
UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
The fastest way to raise take-home is a better rate
Our dispatchers negotiate loads for every equipment type and plan reloads to cut empty miles. Every rate con comes to you to sign or refuse.