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Taxes & money · Updated Oct 2026

How CPM pay and settlements work

Most company drivers are paid by the mile, and many leased owner-operators are paid a percentage of the load. Here’s how to read the numbers, plus the settlement protections in the federal truth-in-leasing rules (49 CFR 376.12).

Gross pay from cents per mileExample. 2,400 paid miles times $0.60 per mile equals $1,440 gross pay before deductions.EXAMPLE2,400Paid milesOne week×$0.60Rate per mile=$1,440Gross payBefore deductions
That's gross before deductions. Anything extra depends on your agreement. Source: 49 CFR 376.12.

Cents per mile, in practice

  • Gross pay = rate × paid miles. A 2,400-mile week at $0.60 is $1,440 before deductions.
  • Ask how paid miles are counted, for example by a routing or mileage program or by actual odometer miles, and compare paid miles with the miles you actually drive.
  • Ask how detention, layovers, stop pay and breakdowns are paid, since they can move weekly pay as much as the rate.
Paid miles versus miles actually drivenTwo routes between the same pickup and delivery: a straight line for paid miles and a longer winding line for the miles actually driven.Paid milesCounted by a routing or mileage programMiles you actually driveOdometer milesDriven, not paid
Your paid miles can come in under what you drove. Check every settlement.

Leased owner-operators: your settlement rights

  • The lease must state your compensation clearly, whether a percentage of gross revenue, a flat rate per mile or another method.
  • If you are paid a percentage of revenue, the carrier must give you a copy of the rated freight bill (or a computer statement with the same information) before or at settlement.
  • The carrier must pay within 15 days after you submit the delivery documents and other paperwork the lease requires.
  • All chargebacks must be listed in the lease, with how each is computed, and you must be given copies of the documents needed to check each charge.
  • Escrow: the lease must state the amount, what it can be applied to and how it is accounted for. The carrier pays interest on it and must return it within 45 days after the lease ends.
Settlement timing under a leaseYou submit delivery documents, receive a rated freight bill copy if paid a percentage, are paid within 15 days, and escrow is returned within 45 days after the lease ends.Submit deliverypaperworkThe documents your leaserequiresRated freight billIf paid a percentage ofrevenuePaid within 15 daysAfter you submit thepaperworkEscrow returnedWithin 45 days after thelease ends
Your carrier has 15 days to pay once your paperwork is in. Source: 49 CFR 376.12.

Sources

  1. 49 CFR 376.12: Lease requirements  (opens in a new tab)
  2. FMCSA: Truth in Leasing  (opens in a new tab)