To get reimbursed for mileage, keep a contemporaneous log of every business trip, submit it through your employer’s expense system at the reimbursement rate they’ve set, and confirm the payment is being processed under an accountable plan so it stays out of your taxable wages. Most private employers use the IRS standard business mileage rate, which is 72.5 cents per mile for 2026.1IRS. 2026 Standard Mileage Rates The rest is record-keeping and knowing which drives actually qualify.
What Counts as a Reimbursable Trip
Business mileage generally covers trips to client sites, travel between worksites during the workday, runs to pick up supplies for your employer, and similar driving that directly serves your job. Your daily commute from home to your primary workplace does not count and is never reimbursable, no matter the distance.
There is one exception worth knowing. If you have a regular office but get sent to a project site expected to last a year or less, the drive from home to that temporary location counts as business mileage. Once an assignment is expected to run longer than a year, the IRS treats it as indefinite and the drive becomes a nondeductible commute from that point forward.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
Parking fees and tolls tied to business trips can typically be added on top of the mileage figure, so keep those receipts too.
How to Track Your Miles
The IRS wants four things documented for every business trip: the amount (miles driven), the time and place of travel, the business purpose, and the business relationship involved.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 274 – Disallowance of Certain Entertainment, Etc., Expenses In practice, that means the date, starting point, destination, miles driven, and a short note about why the trip was necessary. “Drove to Smith & Co. office for quarterly review” works. “Business meeting” doesn’t.
Capture odometer readings at the start and end of each trip, or use a GPS-based mileage app that logs them automatically. The IRS accepts electronic records as long as they substantiate time, place, and purpose.4Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2019-46 Record trips as they happen. A log reconstructed from memory the night before you submit your expense report is exactly the kind of documentation that falls apart under audit; a same-day record carries far more weight.
Submitting the Request
Most employers provide a mileage log template or use expense management software. Digital platforms usually pull in the current reimbursement rate and calculate totals automatically once you enter your miles. If your company uses paper forms, you’ll fill in the date of each trip, starting point, destination, business purpose, and odometer readings, then multiply total miles by the rate the company pays.
Transfer your mileage data carefully. A math error or blank field is the most common reason requests get bounced back, and the delay can push payment to the next cycle. Complete every field even if it looks redundant, and attach digital copies of any toll or parking receipts if the form allows uploads. Submit through whatever channel your employer designates, whether that’s cloud-based expense software, an emailed PDF, or a signed hard copy. Approved requests typically pay out within one to two pay cycles, though some companies take up to 30 days. The reimbursement usually appears as a separate line item on your paycheck or as a standalone direct deposit.
Making Sure the Payment Isn’t Taxed
How your reimbursement gets taxed depends entirely on whether your employer runs what the IRS calls an accountable plan. Under an accountable plan, reimbursement payments don’t count as income, don’t appear in Box 1 of your W-2, and aren’t subject to payroll taxes.
An accountable plan has to meet three requirements:2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
- The expenses relate to services you performed as an employee.
- You substantiate the expenses to your employer within a reasonable time.
- You return any reimbursement that exceeds your documented expenses within a reasonable time.
If the plan fails any of those tests, the IRS treats it as a nonaccountable plan and the entire reimbursement gets included in your wages as taxable income.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 62 – Adjusted Gross Income Defined The same applies if your employer pays above the IRS standard rate. The portion up to 72.5 cents per mile goes into Box 12 of your W-2 under code L and isn’t taxed; the excess shows up in Box 1 as ordinary wages.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
Watch out for flat monthly car allowances paid without any mileage documentation. That money is fully taxable. You’ll owe income tax and payroll tax on every dollar, and employees who don’t understand this are often caught off guard at year-end.
When Your Employer Won’t Pay
No federal law broadly requires employers to reimburse mileage. There is a floor, though. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, if unreimbursed vehicle expenses push your effective hourly pay below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in any workweek, your employer has violated federal law.6U.S. Department of Labor. WHD Opinion Letter FLSA2020-12 The same principle applies to overtime: employers cannot let unreimbursed costs eat into overtime pay.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 16 – Deductions From Wages for Uniforms and Other Facilities Under the FLSA This mostly affects lower-wage workers like delivery drivers, but the protection exists.
A small number of states go further and require employers to reimburse employees for all necessary business expenses, including mileage, regardless of pay level. If you work in one of those states, your employer cannot simply opt out. Check your state labor department’s website for the specific rules.
If none of that applies and your employer still won’t pay, your federal tax return is not a fallback. Since 2018, employees have not been able to deduct unreimbursed business expenses on their federal return, and recent legislation made that restriction permanent. Narrow exceptions exist for Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, and fee-basis state or local government officials, who can still file Form 2106.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses For everyone else, the practical move is to push your employer to adopt an accountable reimbursement plan.
If You’re an Independent Contractor
Independent contractors don’t get reimbursed the way employees do. You deduct business mileage directly on Schedule C when you file your tax return, which reduces your self-employment income and the taxes owed on it. You can use the standard mileage rate or the actual expense method, but you must use the standard rate in the first year you put the vehicle into business service if you want the option of using it in later years. If you use five or more vehicles at the same time in your business, actual expenses is required.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025) The same log requirements apply.
Check Your Auto Insurance
Reimbursement doesn’t cover one risk that comes with driving for work. Most personal auto policies exclude coverage for accidents that happen during business use. If you regularly use your personal car for work trips, look at your policy’s language around business use. You may need to add a business-use endorsement, or ask your employer whether their commercial auto policy extends to employees driving personal vehicles. Getting paid 72.5 cents a mile does little good if an accident during a client visit leaves you with an uncovered claim.
How Long to Keep the Records
Hold onto your mileage logs and supporting documents for at least three years after filing the tax return for that year. The IRS generally has three years from your filing date to open an audit. That window extends to six years if you underreported income by more than 25%, and there’s no time limit at all if a return is fraudulent or was never filed.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 305, Recordkeeping Three years is the minimum; six is the safer bet if storage isn’t an issue.