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Truck cost per hour calculator

What a service truck costs per year, per mile and per billable hour — from the payment, insurance, fuel and upkeep — so it goes into your rate instead of coming out of your pocket.

Your truck, per hour

Example truck: AAA’s 2026 ½-ton pickup at 15,000 miles a year, fuel at the EIA U.S. average (price for Monday, September 28, 2026). Change any number.

The truck costsExample truck

The truck costs $13.74 per billable hour: $16,719.14 a year, $1.1146 a mile.

$16,719.14 a year ÷ 1,216.8 billable hours

See it drawn to scale
A year of the truckDrawn to scale: one bar, read in dollars a year and per billable hour
The truck's yearly cost for the example truck, drawn to scaleOne bar, drawn to scale: the truck costs $16,719.14 a year — $11,097.00 fixed and $5,622.14 per-mile costs: depreciation $6,248.00, finance charges $1,637.00, insurance $2,134.00, license, registration, taxes $1,078.00, fuel $3,849.14, maintenance, repair, tires $1,773.00. Read per billable hour, that is $13.74. A dashed reference line marks the IRS business mileage figure, $11,400: a tax deduction rate, not the truck's cost.Cost a year$16,719.14Fixed$11,097.00Per mile$5,622.14123456$0$2$4$6$8$10$13.74Per billable hourIRS 76¢/mi × 15,000 mi$11,400Tax deduction rate, not your cost
  1. Depreciation$6,248.00
  2. Finance charges$1,637.00
  3. Insurance$2,134.00
  4. License, registration, taxes$1,078.00
  5. Fuel15,000 mi ÷ 17.4 mpg × $4.465$3,849.14
  6. Maintenance, repair, tires15,000 mi × $0.1182$1,773.00
  7. Cost a year$16,719.14
Per mile
$1.1146all costs
Variable
$0.3748a mile: trip charges
In use
$8.93per hour

$11,097.00 + 15,000 mi × $0.3748 = $16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $13.74

Already showing the example.

The IRS rate is a tax figure, not your truck’s cost. The 2026 business rate is 76¢ a mile from July 1 (72.5¢ before). On 15,000 miles that is $11,400, 68% of this truck’s cost; it can’t be used with five or more vehicles in use at the same time.

Put $16,719.14 a year in the truck line of the labor rate calculator — it spreads it over the billable hours itself — or set that line to 0 if the truck is already in your overhead, so it isn’t counted twice.

What moves the truck’s cost

  • At 20,000 miles a year (depreciation as entered), it costs $15.28 per billable hour, $18,593.18 a year.
  • Every 50¢ on the gallon adds $431.03 a year, $0.35 per billable hour.

Change the numbers

Owning the truck
How you pay for it

What the truck loses in value each year. Example: AAA 2026, ½-ton pickup at 15,000 miles a year.

Finance, insurance, registration$4,849 a year

Interest on the loan. Example: AAA 2026. 0 if paid off or leased.

AAA’s figure is full coverage for personal use; use your commercial policy.

Example: AAA 2026, ½-ton pickup.

Shelving and racks spread over their life, GPS, parking.

Running it
Fuel

EIA U.S. averages, price for Monday, September 28, 2026: regular $4.465, diesel $6.382.

U.S. average from EIA, price for Monday, September 28, 2026. Type today’s price.

17.4 is implied by AAA’s figures for gasoline pickups.

Example: AAA 2026, 11.82¢ a mile.

AAA’s base case is 15,000.

Variable cost$0.3748per mile: fuel $0.2566 + upkeep
Hours1,216.8 h billable

Of the tech who drives it. Example shop: 1,216.8 from the labor rate calculator.

For information only. Example: the tech’s worked hours.

Truck: $13.74 per billable hour · $16,719.14 a year. Back to the result

How the math works

Most of a truck’s cost arrives whether it moves or not; the rest grows with every mile. Add the two for the year, then divide by the billable hours of the tech who drives it — the only hours that can pay for it.

  1. Fixed cost a yeardepreciation (or lease) + finance + insurance + registration + otherExample: $11,097.00. The same categories as AAA’s ownership costs.
  2. Fuel per milefuel price ÷ miles per gallonExample: $4.465 ÷ 17.4 = $0.2566.
  3. Variable cost per milefuel per mile + maintenance, repair and tires per mileExample: $0.3748 — the figure a trip charge should use, since fixed costs are already in the rate.
  4. Cost a yearfixed + variable per mile × miles = $16,719.14AAA computes its “total cost per year” the same way.
  5. Per milecost a year ÷ milesExample: $1.1146.
  6. Per billable hourcost a year ÷ billable hours = $13.74The truck line for the labor rate calculator (example: 1,216.8 h).
  7. Depreciation helper(purchase price − resale value) ÷ years keptStraight line. ($55,000 − $23,760) ÷ 5 = $6,248, chosen to match AAA’s figure; tax depreciation follows other rules.
  8. IRS referencemiles × the IRS business rate72.5¢ to June 30, 2026, 76¢ from July 1: 7,000 + 8,000 miles give $11,155. A tax figure, never an input.

Where the example numbers come from

Depreciation
$6,248 a yearAAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026. At 15,000 miles a year
Finance charges
$1,637 a yearAAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026
Insurance
$2,134 a yearAAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026. Full coverage, personal-use vehicle
License, registration, taxes
$1,078 a yearAAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026
Maintenance, repair, tires
11.82¢ a mileAAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026
Fuel
$4.465 regular, $6.382 diesel a gallonU.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (U.S. regular gasoline); price for Monday, September 28, 2026
Miles per gallon
17.4Site arithmetic from AAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup (4.152 ÷ 0.2387), September 2026. Implied by AAA’s figures
Miles a year
15,000AAA Your Driving Costs 2026, ½-ton pickup, September 2026
Billable hours
1,216.8 a yearLabor rate calculator, example shop: 1,872 worked hours × 65% billable (site arithmetic)
IRS business rate
72.5¢ (Jan 1 – Jun 30), 76¢ (Jul 1 – Dec 31) a mileIRS Notice 2026-10; IRS Announcement 2026-11

Before you use the number

  • AAA’s figures are for new consumer vehicles (top-selling models AAA selected), not upfitted work vans. Work trucks carry racks, bins, tools and commercial insurance that are not in them; no source reviewed gives a typical cost for a cargo van or a commercial policy.
  • The IRS rate is a tax figure, not your truck’s cost. On the example truck it covers about 65% of the computed cost ($10,875 at 72.5¢ against $16,719.14), and it can’t be used by anyone operating five or more vehicles at the same time (IRS Topic 510). This tool computes no deduction.
  • Fuel prices move every week. The example is the EIA U.S. average, price for Monday, September 28, 2026; type today’s price.
  • Depreciation depends on miles and on what you paid and will sell for. AAA shows it rising with mileage; the tool keeps depreciation as entered when you change the miles.
  • Don’t count the truck twice. If truck costs are inside the overhead you entered in the labor rate calculator, set its truck line to 0.
  • 2026 has two IRS business rates: 72.5¢ a mile to June 30 and 76¢ from July 1.

Sources

Opened and checked October 4, 2026. The worked example is the site’s own arithmetic on these figures.

  1. Your Driving Costs 2026 (brochure)AAA
  2. AAA: New Vehicle Ownership Costs Hit $12,863 AnnuallyAAA Newsroom
  3. Gasoline and Diesel Fuel UpdateU.S. Energy Information Administration
  4. Standard mileage ratesInternal Revenue Service
  5. Notice 2026-10, 2026 Standard Mileage RatesInternal Revenue Service
  6. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (Announcement 2026-11)Internal Revenue Service
  7. Topic no. 510, Business use of carInternal Revenue Service

  • 1.04In-depth guide

    What Your Service Truck Costs per Billable Hour

    Work out a service truck's cost per mile and per billable hour from ownership and operating costs, using AAA 2026 data, with the IRS rate as a check.

    $16,719.14 ÷ 1,216.8 h = $13.74

    Length
    10 min
    Updated

  • 1.10Guide

    How to Set a Service Call Fee That Covers the Trip

    Build a service-call fee from drive time, truck cost and any included diagnostic time, decide whether to credit it, and know the FTC Cooling-Off Rule.

    (0.8333 h + 0.5 h) × $125.20 = $166.93 → $170

    Length
    6 min
    Updated

  • 1.02In-depth guide

    How to Calculate Your Labor Rate, Step by Step

    Build an hourly labor rate from wage, labor burden, billable hours, overhead, truck cost and profit, with a fully worked three-tech shop example.

    $112.68 ÷ (1 − 0.10) = $125.20

    Length
    11 min
    Updated

Tools for the job

Tool listCross-trade4 itemsSpecs read

As an Amazon Associate, Trade Price Book earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon links are marked “(paid link)”; prices aren’t shown here.

  1. Cordless drill and driver kitsMilwaukee 3697-22

    M18 FUEL 2-Tool Combo Kit

    • M18 FUEL 1/2 in. hammer drill/driver (2904-20) and M18 FUEL 1/4 in. hex impact driver (2953-20).

    Specs: Milwaukee product page, read

    Search on Amazon for Milwaukee 3697-22(paid link)

  2. Cordless drill and driver kitsDEWALT DCK2101QQ2

    20V MAX XR 3-Speed Hammer Drill & Impact 2-Tool Combo Kit

    • DCD1007 1/2 in. 3-speed hammer drill rated at 2,100 in-lb of max torque.

    Specs: DEWALT product page, read

    View on Amazon for DEWALT DCK2101QQ2(paid link)

  3. Job-site and van storageMilwaukee 48-22-8426

    PACKOUT Rolling Tool Box

    • 250 lb weight capacity; IP65 weather seal.

    Specs: Milwaukee product page, read

    View on Amazon for Milwaukee 48-22-8426(paid link)

  4. Job-site and van storageVeto Pro Pac Tech Pac MC

    Tech Pac MC Backpack Tool Bag

    • 16 x 12 x 9 in. backpack; 8 lb empty, 35 lb maximum payload (Veto part VPP10066).

    Specs: Veto Pro Pac product page, read

    Search on Amazon for Veto Pro Pac Tech Pac MC(paid link)

How tools are chosen for gear listsAll 12 cross-trade tools