National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, planned like a business
A thank-you week is a line in the budget. Spend it where drivers feel it, and in forms the tax rules don't turn into a surprise.
Written by Gabriel Gonzalez
The week in numbers
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is the American Trucking Associations' yearly thank-you to professional drivers, held each September since 1988. In 2026 it ran September 13 to 19. A small fleet gets the most from it by pairing thanks with what drivers rank first, pay and parking, and by giving in forms the tax rules favor.
I've spent more than 22 years at Simplex, nearly 16 of them as COO, and I look at appreciation the way I look at any spend: it should reach the people it's meant for and hold up at tax time.
Most fleets get the gesture right and the details wrong. A gift card that becomes taxable pay, or a cookout that drivers on the road never see, thanks fewer people than you paid for.
The full briefing, read aloud
8 chapters. Select one to jump to it.
Generated with AI text-to-speech from this article's key insights, in order, rather than reading it word for word. Chapter times come from a transcript of the audio. The article itself was written and reviewed by Gabriel Gonzalez.
Key takeaways
ATA has run the week since 1988
The 2026 week ran Sunday, September 13, to Saturday, September 19. ATA had not posted 2027 dates as of October 20, 2026.
Drivers rank pay and parking first
In ATRI's 2026 survey, truck drivers named fuel prices, truck parking, and driver compensation as their top three concerns.
Cash and gift cards are always wages
For employee drivers, the IRS never treats cash or cash equivalents as a tax-free de minimis benefit, however small.
Safety awards can stay tax-free
Tangible items for safety or length of service, given in a meaningful presentation, up to $400, or $1,600 under a qualified written plan.
Owner-operator gifts cap at $25
For drivers who aren't your employees, you can deduct no more than $25 in business gifts per person each tax year.
In this articleContents
When is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week?
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week runs for one week each September. The American Trucking Associations launched it in 1988, and the 2026 edition ran from Sunday, September 13, to Saturday, September 19.
As of October 20, 2026, ATA had not announced the 2027 dates. Its NTDAW page carries the current year's dates, so check it by early summer and plan September loads around the week.
ATA frames the week with its own figures: 3.6 million professional truck drivers, and more than 80% of U.S. communities that rely exclusively on trucks for freight. ATA invites everyone to join in, and its page lists no sign-up step for carriers.
What do drivers want from appreciation week?
Drivers want the week to touch what shapes the job: pay, parking, and time. In ATRI's 2026 Top Industry Issues survey, released October 18, 2026, truck drivers ranked fuel prices, truck parking, and driver compensation as their top three concerns.
Carriers ranked lawsuit abuse reform, fuel prices, and the driver shortage first. Workforce issues came back into the overall top 10, with the driver shortage at No. 5 and driver retention at No. 10.
So a cap or a cookout works as a thank-you, not as a fix. Pair it with one change drivers can feel:
- Settlements on time. Pay that week on schedule, and use it to review how fast you settle and whether detention reaches the driver. Our guide to truck driver retention strategies covers both.
- Parking planned, not hoped for. Plan where each driver takes the 10-hour break on that week's loads, as our guide to time management for truck drivers explains.
- Home time kept. Honor every promised day off that week, even when a load has to wait.
- A question, answered. Ask each driver for one thing that would make the job easier, then report back on what you changed.
If the answers point to stress or exhaustion, our guide to truck driver burnout covers what a fleet can change in dispatch.
How are driver appreciation gifts taxed?
It depends on what you give and whether the driver is your employee. For employee drivers, IRS Publication 15-B decides what counts as wages; for owner-operators who aren't employees, the business gift limit applies.
| What you give | Taxable wages? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, a gift card, or a gift certificate | Yes, always | Cash and cash equivalents are never de minimis, no matter how small |
| A low-value item, such as a cap or a cooler | No, if the value is low | Non-cash items too small to account for are de minimis; low-value holiday gifts are the IRS example |
| An occasional cookout or party | No | Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests are de minimis |
| A safety or length-of-service award | No, within the limits | Tangible property only: $400 per employee a year, or $1,600 under a qualified plan |
A meal for employees also deducts better than a business meal. IRS Publication 463 exempts recreational and social activities for employees, such as a holiday party or a summer picnic, from the 50% limit on meal expenses.
Safety awards: the rules that keep them tax-free
An achievement award stays out of wages only if it is tangible personal property, given for length of service or safety, in a meaningful presentation, under conditions that don't suggest disguised pay. Gift cards, vacations, meals, lodging, and event tickets don't qualify.
- It isn't a safety award if, earlier in the tax year, more than 10% of your eligible employees already received safety awards.
- Safety awards to managers, administrators, clerical employees, or other professional employees don't qualify, so they work for drivers, not the office.
- Length-of-service awards don't qualify in an employee's first 5 years, or if the employee got one that year or in the prior 4 years.
- The limit is $400 per employee per year, or $1,600 when the award is part of a written plan that doesn't favor highly compensated employees and whose awards average $400 or less.
Gifts to leased owner-operators
If a leased owner-operator is an independent contractor rather than your employee, a thank-you gift is a business gift. You can deduct no more than $25 in business gifts per person each tax year.
Incidental costs such as engraving, packaging, and shipping generally don't count toward the $25. Items costing $4 or less with your company name permanently imprinted, handed out widely, such as pens, aren't counted as gifts at all.
A cash bonus is pay, not a gift. Under 49 CFR 376.12(d), what you pay for the owner-operator's equipment and services must be stated in the lease or an attached addendum, so run any bonus through the settlement on terms the lease covers.
How to plan National Truck Driver Appreciation Week
Six steps turn the week from a gesture into a plan with a budget, an owner, and records.
Step 1: Set the date and the budget by early summer
Check ATA's page for the dates, then set a budget per driver. Split it between employees and owner-operators, because their tax rules differ.
Step 2: Choose the form with the tax rules in hand
Non-cash items and a meal for employees stay out of wages; cash and gift cards don't. If you want to give money, pay it as a bonus through payroll or the settlement, not as a gift.
Step 3: Reach the drivers who are on the road
Many drivers spend the week away from the terminal. Ship gifts home or hold them for the next terminal stop, and hold the meal on more than one day so it isn't only for local drivers.
Step 4: Base safety awards on records you already keep
Use records such as clean roadside inspections or months without a preventable crash, write the criteria down, and present the award in person. The presentation is one of the conditions for keeping it tax-free.
Step 5: Announce one change drivers asked for
Pick it from what drivers told you: settlement timing, detention, parking, or home time. That is the part of the week that lasts after it ends.
Step 6: Keep the records
Log who received what, its cost, and the date, and keep the written award plan. Those records support the $25, $400, and $1,600 limits at tax time, and our trucking tax preparation team can work from them.
How Simplex helps you thank drivers all year
Appreciation lands when pay is on time, records are clean, and the tax side is handled.
The tax side, prepared
Our trucking tax preparation team prepares and files taxes for carriers and owner-operators. Bring your gift and award records at tax time.
Settlements on schedule
Through our partner OTR Solutions, our factoring service turns delivered loads into cash instead of waiting out payment terms.
Safety records worth rewarding
Our compliance programs include CSA monitoring and driver qualification file management, the records behind a fair safety award.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week 2027?+
Who started National Truck Driver Appreciation Week?+
Are gift cards for truck drivers taxable?+
How much can I deduct for gifts to owner-operators?+
Is a safe-driving award taxable for an employee driver?+
Where this information comes from
The dates come from the American Trucking Associations and the tax rules from the IRS and the Internal Revenue Code, checked on October 20, 2026.
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1
American Trucking Associations — National Truck Driver Appreciation Week
Launched in 1988, the 2026 dates (September 13–19), and ATA's driver and community figures.
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2
IRS — Publication 15-B (2026)
De minimis benefits, the cash and gift card rule, and achievement award limits.
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3
IRS — Publication 463
The $25 business gift limit, its exceptions, and employee parties outside the 50% meal limit.
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4
26 U.S.C. 274 (govinfo)
The 10% safety award rule, excluded employees, and length-of-service conditions.
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5
eCFR — 49 CFR 376.12
Owner-operator compensation must be stated in the lease or an attached addendum.
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6
ATRI — 2026 Top Industry Issues
Drivers' and carriers' top concerns, and the 2026 workforce rankings.
Written by
Gabriel Gonzalez
Chief Revenue Officer, Simplex Group
Chief Revenue Officer at Simplex Group, with more than 22 years at the company, including nearly 16 years as Chief Operating Officer. His background combines revenue strategy with deep operational experience, giving him a strong perspective on how compliance, risk, permits, cash flow, and operational readiness affect a carrier's ability to grow profitably.
Published · Updated
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Make the week's thanks outlast the week
A cap and a cookout say thank you. On-time pay, planned parking, and kept home time say it every week after.
If you want help with the tax side of gifts and awards, or the records behind a safety award, talk to our team.