Truck cost per mile calculator

Fixed costs and running costs behave differently

Fixed costs happen whether the truck moves or not: the payment or lease, insurance, registration, and the portion of value it loses simply by getting older. Park it for a month and you still pay all of it.

Running costs scale with miles: fuel, tyres, brakes, servicing, and the wear that turns into a repair bill later.

The distinction matters because cost per mile falls as you drive more — the fixed portion spreads further. A truck doing 8,000 miles a year is expensive per mile and may be the wrong asset for the work.

Depreciation is a real cost, not an accounting entry

The truck is worth less every year and one day you replace it. Spreading the difference between what you paid and what you will get for it across the years you will keep it turns that into a per-year number that belongs in this calculation, whatever the tax depreciation schedule happens to say.

Owners who leave it out systematically understate what the fleet costs, price accordingly, and then find the replacement has to be financed because nothing was ever set aside for it.

What to do with the number

Put it into your job costing. A job forty miles away costs more than the identical job six miles away and most contractors charge the same for both, which is a quiet subsidy to your furthest customers.

It also decides service area. Once you know cost per mile, the question "should we take work in that county" has an arithmetic answer instead of a feeling.

Finally it settles the mileage-versus-actual question at tax time. Knowing your real cost per mile tells you which method is likely to be better for a given vehicle — though the rules on switching methods are specific, so confirm it with your CPA before you choose.