Guide · Owner-operator costs

How much does it cost to be an owner-operator?

By Jordan Sanders, leased owner-operator · About

Short answer: It depends mostly on the truck. Leased to a carrier, you need a truck (cash, financing or lease-purchase), the insurance your lease requires, an escrow deposit the carrier builds from your settlements, plates and registration, and the federal heavy vehicle use tax ($550 a year for a truck over 75,000 pounds). After that, running costs in our made-up example come to about $11,000 a month at 10,000 miles, before taxes. Your lease spells out which of these the carrier handles and deducts.

Startup costs for a leased owner-operator

Leased on, you run under the carrier's operating authority, so you skip the costs of your own authority (more on that below). What you still need:

• The truck. The biggest number by far: a down payment if you finance, the full price if you pay cash, or a lease-purchase agreement. Your monthly truck payment drives your break-even more than anything else.
• Insurance your lease requires. Leased owner-operators commonly carry their own physical damage coverage and non-trucking (bobtail) liability, while the carrier's policy covers loads under its dispatch. Your lease says exactly which; many carriers offer a program and take the premium out of settlements.
• Escrow. Many leases have the carrier hold back a set amount from each settlement until a target balance is reached. It's still your money, but it's cash you don't have in the meantime. (How escrow works.)
• Plates and registration. Apportioned plates cost depends on your state, the truck's weight and where you run. Some carriers provide plates and deduct the cost from settlements.
• Heavy vehicle use tax (Form 2290). For the July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 period: $100 for a truck at 55,000 pounds taxable gross weight, plus $22 for each 1,000 pounds over that, up to $550 for anything over 75,000 pounds. It's filed by the person the truck is registered to, by the end of the month after the month it's first used on the road in the period.
• ELD, phone and the small stuff. An ELD (often billed by the carrier), a phone plan, tools, chains, straps and the like.
• A cash cushion. Settlements arrive after the work is done, escrow comes out of the first ones, and the first repair doesn't wait. Plan for weeks of costs before money comes in.

Monthly costs: a worked example

Made-up numbers, not a real driver.

Against $13,500 of gross settlement pay, that leaves $2,500 for the month, about $0.25 a mile, before income and self-employment taxes. Change one line and the answer moves fast. Run your own numbers in the cost per mile calculator, and see how much owner-operators make after expenses for the full picture.

What changes with your own authority

Running under your own authority instead of a carrier's adds costs a leased driver doesn't carry: your own USDOT number and operating authority, primary liability and cargo insurance in your name, annual registrations, and either finding your own freight or paying a dispatcher or broker. You invoice shippers or brokers instead of getting a settlement sheet, and many owner-operators with their own authority use factoring to get paid faster, for a fee. That's why many drivers start leased and move to their own authority later.

How to know if it's working

1. Know your cost per mile every month, not just at tax time.
2. Keep escrow, the truck loan principal and owner draws separate from expenses, so profit and cash both read true.
3. Reconcile every account monthly. One missed week or one doubled card payment throws every number off.

Track it yourself with the free owner-operator expense spreadsheet, or have it done: Monthly Books is $89 a month.

Sources: IRS Form 2290 (Rev. July 2026), tax computation table, and Instructions for Form 2290 (tax period, who must file, due date). Example numbers are made up and describe no real driver. Checked October 30, 2026.