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Owner-Operator Earnings Calculator

Project weekly, monthly, and yearly take-home after taxes and expenses.

Revenue

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wk
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Costs & Taxes

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Enter your revenue and costs, then click Calculate

Numbers tight? Let a dispatcher find better loads.

This tool is free. If it shows you are leaving money on the road, Grow Trucking finds loads, negotiates rates and does the paperwork for owner-operators and small fleets.

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How much do owner-operators actually make?

Owner-operator gross revenue and net earnings vary widely by equipment type, lane and how well costs are controlled. Gross revenue per mile is only the starting point. What matters is what is left after fuel, maintenance, insurance, the truck payment and any dispatch or factoring fees, and then after self-employment tax and income tax. Two owner-operators who gross the same per mile can take home very different pay, depending on their costs and how many weeks the truck really runs.

  1. Start from your gross revenue per mile (what you are paid, before any costs).
  2. Subtract your all-in cost per mile, fuel included: fuel, truck payment, insurance, ELD, maintenance, tires, tolls and permits.
  3. Multiply what is left by your miles for the weeks you really work. Most drivers do not run 52 weeks a year.
  4. Take out self-employment tax, federal income tax (after the standard deduction and the 20 percent business deduction) and any state tax.
  5. Divide the take-home by your miles for take-home per mile. Compare it with what a company driver job pays.
Where owner-operator revenue typically goes
Cost categoryWhy it varies so much
FuelDepends on MPG, diesel price and empty-mile percentage
Truck payment and insuranceFixed costs that don't shrink in a slow month
Maintenance and tiresRises with truck age and mileage
Dispatch or factoring feesA percentage of gross, if you use either service

Published average owner-operator income figures vary a great deal across sources, depending on equipment type, region and whether they report gross or net. For context, ATRI's 2026 report found an average cost of $2.336 a mile in 2025 and truckload margins under 1 percent for fleets. The Bureau of Labor Statistics median pay for heavy truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025, but that counts employees only. Use your own numbers from this calculator, since your actual costs set your take-home pay.

Last reviewed October 2026. Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 tax rates, standard deduction and QBI limits; ATRI: Operational Costs of Trucking; Bureau of Labor Statistics: heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.

Frequently Asked Questions - Owner-Operator Earnings Calculator

How much do owner-operators make after expenses?
Your take-home before income tax is your revenue per mile minus your cost per mile, times the miles you drive. For example, $2.60 of revenue and $2.00 of cost per mile over 100,000 miles leaves $0.60 x 100,000 = $60,000. Margins are thin. ATRI's 2026 report puts the average cost of running a truck at $2.336 per mile for 2025, a record. So a few cents per mile is a large share of profit. Enter your weekly miles, rate and costs in the calculator to see your own weekly, monthly and yearly take-home.
What percentage do owner-operators make?
Owner-operators leased to a carrier are often paid a percentage of each load's revenue instead of a set rate. FMCSA's Truck Leasing Task Force findings include an example of 65 percent going to the owner-operator. Some public carriers disclose paying 75 percent when the owner-operator supplies the tractor and trailer. The headline percentage matters less than what comes out after. Check who pays for fuel, insurance, plates and escrow. Enter your real revenue per mile in the calculator so you work from what you actually keep.
What does it cost to run a semi truck per mile?
ATRI's 2026 Operational Costs of Trucking report (2025 data) puts the average at $2.336 per mile in total and $1.854 per mile excluding fuel. Fuel ran about 48 cents per mile, repair and maintenance about 40 cents, and tires about 5 cents. The ATRI figures include driver wages and benefits. An owner-operator pays those to themself rather than to an employee. So use them as a benchmark and put your own numbers into the calculator.
How much do owner-operators pay in taxes?
Owner-operators pay self-employment tax of 15.3 percent on 92.35 percent of net earnings: 12.4 percent Social Security on earnings up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and 2.9 percent Medicare on all of it. On $60,000 of net profit that is about $8,478 of self-employment tax, before federal and state income tax. The calculator estimates weekly self-employment and income tax so you can set money aside; the Quarterly Tax Estimator shows what to pay each quarter.
Is being an owner-operator profitable?
It can be. But it depends on staying above your own cost per mile on every load. ATRI's 2026 report describes rising costs and low profits across trucking. So there is little room for loads that pay below cost or for empty miles. To know, work out your total cost per mile. Set the net per mile you need in the calculator. Then take only freight that clears it.
How many weeks a year should I count?
Count the weeks the truck really runs. Many owner-operators lose weeks to home time, repairs, slow freight and holidays, so 52 weeks is rarely right. The calculator starts at 50. Change it to your own number, since it moves the yearly take-home a lot.
Does the calculator include the 20 percent business income deduction?
Yes, when your taxable income is at or under $201,750 for a single filer or head of household, or $403,500 for a joint return. It lowers your income tax. Above those amounts the tool takes none, because the deduction is then limited by your equipment cost and wages. An accountant may find you more.
Is owner-operator pay better than a company driver job?
Compare take-home per mile and per year after costs, not gross. The Bureau of Labor Statistics median pay for heavy truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025, but that counts employees only and includes no truck costs. An owner-operator takes on the truck payment, insurance, repairs and slow weeks, so the pay has to cover the risk as well.

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Go Further With Owner-Operator Earnings Calculator

Guides, services and reference pages that go with this tool.

Terms explained in the Owner-Operator Earnings Calculator