How to read your settlement sheet: a line-by-line guide for NC owner-operators

The short version

If you're leased on to a carrier, your weekly settlement sheet shows what you earned and what the carrier took back out. Federal courts describe it as a pay stub that lists pay and chargebacks together. [3][4]

The federal lease rule, 49 CFR 376.12, doesn't dictate what goes on the sheet. It requires the lease to spell out your pay, every chargeback and how each one is figured, and it gives you the right to see the papers behind them. [1]

So the job is simple to describe: hold each line on the sheet up against your lease and its addendums. Anything that doesn't trace back to the lease is worth a question. [1][3]

This guide uses the rule as it read on Oct. 1, 2026, plus three federal appeals court opinions. Those courts are outside NC's Fourth Circuit, so their rulings guide but don't bind courts here. It's general information, not legal or tax advice. [1][3][4][13]

The pay line: gross revenue or miles

Under 376.12(d), your pay must be clearly stated on the face of the lease or an addendum, and you must get it before the trip starts. [1]

The rule allows a percentage of gross revenue, a flat rate per mile, a rate that varies by direction or commodity, or another method both sides agree to. [1]

On a percentage deal, the carrier must give you a copy of the rated freight bill before or at settlement. That's the document showing what the shipper paid. The carrier may black out shipper and consignee names. [1]

Whatever your pay method, you also have the right to look at the carrier's tariff or the rate parts of its shipper contract. [1]

Our tip: on a percentage lease, check that the gross on the sheet matches the rated freight bill and that the percentage matches the lease. On a per-mile lease, check the rate and the miles against the addendum. [1]

Watch for anything taken off the top before your percentage is figured. In Landstar, the Eleventh Circuit held that a vague "third party" fees clause didn't clearly disclose a payment-processing fee cut from pay. [4]

Fuel, fuel advances and fuel surcharge

Section 376.12(e) says the lease must clearly state who pays for fuel and fuel taxes. It also covers empty miles, permits, tolls, ferries, detention, accessorial services, base plates and licenses. [1]

Fuel bought on a carrier card usually comes back as a chargeback. The Eleventh Circuit cited a lower court's view that the charge should match the pump price when you fueled, not a hidden markup. [4]

Our tip: keep every fuel receipt and match gallons and price to the fuel lines on each settlement. [1][4]

Cash or fuel advances get paid back out of later settlements. The escrow part of the rule mentions advances to the owner-operator and lets the carrier subtract your average advance when it figures escrow interest. [1]

We found no federal rule that makes a carrier pass fuel surcharge through to a leased owner-operator. On a percentage lease, it depends on how your lease defines gross revenue, so read that definition and look for the surcharge on the rated freight bill. [1][4]

Chargebacks and markups

A chargeback is something the carrier paid for you and deducts later. Under 376.12(h), the lease must clearly list every item that can be charged back and explain how each amount is computed. [1]

You must also get copies of the documents needed to check that each charge is valid. [1]

Items the rule itself names include fuel taxes, permits, tolls, base plates and licenses, and insurance. ELD service, trailer rental and occupational accident coverage aren't named, so they belong on the sheet only if your lease lists them. [1]

If the carrier gets a refund on a base plate or resells it, the rule gives you a prorated share when you paid for it. [1]

Can a carrier charge more than it paid? The Ninth Circuit said in Swift that a markup isn't unlawful by itself, if the lease tells you enough to know your cost in advance. [3]

That court said a flat fee listed in the lease is enough. A variable charge needs a formula, and a charge stated as vendor cost plus a fee requires the vendor cost to be disclosed. [3]

It also held that settlement sheets can meet the paperwork rule if they let you verify the agreed rates were used. [3]

Insurance and damage deductions

The carrier must carry public liability insurance. Under 376.12(j)(1), the lease says so and says who covers other insurance, such as bobtail, and what you'll be charged if it's deducted from your pay. [1]

If you buy insurance through the carrier, you can ask for a copy of each policy. You must get a certificate showing the insurer, policy number, dates, coverage, deductibles and your cost for each type. [1]

Our tip: compare the weekly insurance lines on your sheet to the cost on those certificates. [1]

For cargo or property damage, the lease must state when you can be charged. The carrier must give you a written explanation and itemization before it takes any deduction. [1]

Truck payments and escrow

Under 376.12(i), the carrier can't make you buy or rent equipment or services from it as a condition of the lease. If you do buy or rent a truck from it, the lease must spell out the terms of any payments deducted from settlements. [1]

Escrow is money held back from your pay as a deposit. Under 376.12(k), the lease must state the amount and the specific items it can be used for. [1]

The carrier must account for escrow on each settlement sheet or in a separate monthly statement. You can demand an accounting at any time. [1]

It must pay interest at least every quarter. The rate can't be less than the average yield on 13-week Treasury bills, set on the first day of the period. [1]

When the lease ends, the carrier must give you a final accounting of deductions. The balance is due back no later than 45 days after the lease ends. [1]

The Sixth Circuit held in 2011 that escrow under this rule is held in trust for owner-operators. In that case, a lender to a failed carrier had to give that money back. [13]

When you should be paid

Under 376.12(f), the carrier must pay you within 15 days after you turn in the delivery documents it needs. That is limited to your logs and the papers the carrier needs to bill the shipper. [1]

The clock starts when you turn in paperwork, not when the trip ends. The carrier can ask for other papers, but it can't hold your pay for them. [1]

Your pay also can't depend on a clean bill of lading with no exceptions noted. At the end of the lease, the carrier may hold final payment until you remove its ID from the truck. [1]

When the numbers don't match

Our tips, based on the rule: ask in writing for the rated freight bill, the documents behind any chargeback you question, your insurance certificates and an escrow accounting. Keep every sheet, fuel receipt and addendum. [1]

Federal law lets a person sue a carrier for damages caused by a violation, and for an injunction in some cases. When a carrier is found liable for damages, the court must add a reasonable attorney's fee. [5]

Both the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits said owner-operators can bring these suits. Both also said damages need proof of actual losses, and a markup alone doesn't prove them. [3][4]

The Eleventh Circuit held that the deadline for these damages claims is four years. Other deadlines can apply to other claims, so talk to a lawyer early. [4]

Disputes like this do get settled. In 2023, C&K Trucking settled a class action for $3.35 million. Drivers alleged deductions without itemization and pay later than 15 days. C&K admitted no wrongdoing. [15]

Trade press reported that FMCSA's Truck Leasing Task Force saw lawsuits as the only current route to relief on lease-purchase deals. We found no new federal lease rule as of October 2026. [14]

Your settlements at tax time

A leased owner-operator is usually paid as a nonemployee. For tax years after 2025, the IRS says a payer reports nonemployee pay of $2,000 or more on Form 1099-NEC. The old figure was $600. [6][7]

Sole proprietors report business income and expenses on Schedule C. You must file Schedule SE if net self-employment earnings are $400 or more, and the self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. [8][9]

The IRS says you generally owe estimated tax if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. Its 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15 and Sept. 15, 2026, and Jan. 15, 2027. [10][11]

North Carolina has a matching $1,000 test for state estimated tax, paid with Form NC-40 on the same schedule. [12]

Our tip: your settlement sheets and fuel receipts are the records behind those numbers, so file them by week. A tax professional can sort out what's deductible. [8][10]

Why NC wage law usually isn't the rule here

North Carolina's rule on pay deductions, G.S. 95-25.8, is written for employers and employees. It requires written authorization for most deductions and limits deductions for the employer's benefit. [2]

A leased owner-operator treated as a contractor falls under the federal lease rule instead. Whether you're really an employee is a separate question, covered in our guide to contractor or employee status. [1][2]