Mileage Reimbursement Calculator
Calculate mileage reimbursement at the 2026 IRS rates, including the July 1 rise to 76 cents a mile. Splits miles at June 30 and flags taxable excess.
Mileage Reimbursement Calculator
Tax Year
2026 has two business rates: 72.5¢ through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1. 2025 used a single 70¢ rate all year.
What Were the Miles For?
Miles Driven
Presets fill the Jul 1 – Dec 31 field. Split your miles at June 30 so each half gets the right rate.
Miles are capped at 200,000. Past that, the standard mileage method stops being credible and the actual expense method applies.
Commuting from home to your regular workplace is personal mileage and never counts. Driving between two job sites in the same day does.
IRS Rate Per Mile
Rates fill in from the tax year and purpose you picked. Edit them if you need a custom or historical rate.
Employer Rate (Optional)
Leave this blank if your employer pays the IRS rate. Enter a different figure to see the taxable excess or the unreimbursed shortfall.
Estimates only. Mileage reimbursement and deduction rules depend on your employment status, your state, and your employer's plan. This is not tax or legal advice, so confirm with the IRS or a tax professional before filing.
Log Miles Alongside Your Hours in ClockWage44
ClockWage44's Hours Tracker keeps a per-job Additional Income list, and every entry can be flagged taxable or non-taxable. Put the tax-free mileage in as one line and any taxable excess in as another. The on-device paycheck engine folds both into the same take-home figure as your hours, so the mileage stops living in a separate spreadsheet.
The 2026 IRS Mileage Rates (and the July 1 Split)
The IRS set the 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile in Notice 2026-10. Then gasoline prices climbed through the spring, and the agency raised the rate to 76 cents in Announcement 2026-11 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29, published July 13, 2026). Medical and military moving mileage went from 20.5 cents to 23.5 cents on the same date. The charitable rate held at 14 cents, because Congress fixes that one in the tax code.
| Purpose | Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026 | 2025 full year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $0.725 | $0.760 | $0.700 |
| Medical | $0.205 | $0.235 | $0.210 |
| Moving (active-duty military) | $0.205 | $0.235 | $0.210 |
| Charitable | $0.140 | $0.140 | $0.140 |
Which rate applies depends on when the expense was paid or incurred, not on when the money reaches you. A December check covering June miles still uses the June rate, so a full-year log has to be split at June 30.
Here is what that looks like. Say you drove 900 business miles in the first half of 2026 and 1,100 in the second half. That is (900 × $0.725) + (1,100 × $0.76) = $652.50 + $836.00, or $1,488.50. A calculator that applies 72.5 cents to all 2,000 miles reports $1,450.00 and shorts you by $38.50. Mid-year rate changes are rare (the last one was in 2022), so it is worth confirming that whatever tool you use has picked up the July figure.
Reimbursement and Deduction Are Not the Same Thing
Most of the confusion here comes from people using those two words interchangeably. A reimbursement is money your employer hands you for miles you already drove. A deduction is a cut in your taxable income that you claim yourself on a return. For W-2 employees, only the first one still exists.
| Your situation | What you actually get |
|---|---|
| W-2 employee, reimbursed under an accountable plan | Tax-free money up to the IRS rate, and nothing added to your W-2 |
| W-2 employee, not reimbursed | Nothing. TCJA suspended the deduction and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made that permanent |
| Self-employed or 1099 contractor | A Schedule C deduction at the standard rate, or actual vehicle expenses instead |
| Volunteer driver | 14 cents per mile on Schedule A, but only if you itemize |
A few exceptions survive on the employee side. Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local officials, and workers with impairment-related expenses still file Form 2106, and eligible educators picked up a limited carve-out starting in 2026. Everyone else who is not reimbursed just absorbs the cost. If you drive for your own business instead, the standard rate is the easy method, and actual expenses (gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation) is the alternative. The self-employment tax calculator and the freelance hourly rate calculator both help you price that mileage cost into what you charge.
When Mileage Money Shows Up on Your W-2
An accountable plan has three tests. There has to be a business connection, you have to substantiate the expense with records, and you have to return any excess advance within a reasonable time. Clear all three and the payment is not wages at all: it never appears in Box 1, and no income tax or FICA touches it.
There are two ways to fail. The first is paying above the IRS rate, where only the excess gets taxed. Say your employer reimburses 1,000 September miles at 85 cents, or $850. The IRS-rate share is 1,000 × 76 cents = $760, which stays tax-free. The other $90 becomes wages, so 6.2% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare takes $6.89 off the top and income tax at your bracket takes more. The second way to fail costs a lot more. A flat $500 monthly car allowance with no mileage log is not a reimbursement at all, so the full $6,000 for the year lands in Box 1 as ordinary wages.
ClockWage44 has a place for both halves of that split. Each job carries an Additional Income list, and every entry can be flagged taxable or non-taxable, which is exactly the shape of a mileage payment. Enter the $760 as non-taxable and the $90 as taxable, and the on-device paycheck engine folds them into the same take-home number as your logged hours. Download the app if you want that math sitting next to your shifts. To look at the payroll-tax side of the taxable piece on its own, use the take-home pay calculator.
Keeping a Log the IRS Will Accept
Publication 463 and IRC §274(d) set the bar. For each trip, record the date, the destination, the miles, and the business purpose, then note your odometer at the start and the end of the year. The records need to be contemporaneous, written at or near the time of the trip. A weekly log counts as timely. A log reconstructed the night before you file does not carry the same weight. The format is up to you, since a notebook, a spreadsheet, and an app all qualify as long as they capture those four elements per trip.
The line that trips people up is commuting. Driving from home to your regular workplace is personal mileage no matter how far it is. Driving from one job site to another during the same day is business mileage, which matters if you work several jobs or move between locations for one employer. If your day involves multiple pay rates as well as multiple sites, the blended overtime calculator covers the wage side of that same shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about mileage reimbursement calculator
Is mileage reimbursement taxable?
Not if your employer pays it under an accountable plan and the rate is at or below the IRS standard rate. An accountable plan has three requirements: a business connection, adequate substantiation (a mileage log with date, destination, miles, and business purpose), and return of any excess within a reasonable time. Clear all three and the reimbursement never touches your W-2. Miss one, or take the money as a flat car allowance with no mileage records, and the whole payment turns into taxable wages subject to income tax and FICA. To see how taxable wages land in your check, run them through the take-home pay calculator.
What happens if my employer pays more than the IRS rate?
Only the portion up to the IRS rate is tax-free. Anything above it counts as taxable wages, goes on your W-2, and gets federal and state income tax plus the 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare FICA withholding. Say you drove 1,000 business miles in September 2026 and your employer paid 85 cents, or $850. The IRS-rate portion is 1,000 × 76 cents = $760, which stays tax-free. The remaining $90 is taxable income. The FICA tax calculator shows what that extra $90 costs in payroll tax.
What if my employer pays less than the IRS rate, can I deduct the difference?
If you are a W-2 employee, no. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses for 2018 through 2025, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made that suspension permanent. There is no deduction for tax year 2026 or later. A few narrow exceptions survive: Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses all still file Form 2106, and eligible educators picked up a limited carve-out starting in 2026. Self-employed drivers and 1099 contractors play by different rules. You deduct business mileage on Schedule C no matter what a client pays you, and the self-employment tax calculator shows how that deduction changes your SE tax.
Which states require employers to reimburse mileage?
Federal law has no general mileage reimbursement mandate. All it does is bar an employer from letting unreimbursed expenses push your pay below the federal minimum wage. Three states impose an affirmative duty: California (Labor Code §2802, covering all necessary expenditures incurred in direct consequence of your duties), Illinois (Wage Payment and Collection Act §9.5, effective 2019, covering reasonable necessary expenditures), and Massachusetts (454 CMR 27.04(4), which covers work-related transportation). None of the three names the IRS rate. What they require is that you end up whole, so an employer can use actual expense, the IRS rate, FAVR, or a documented stipend. Other states have narrower rules, so check with your state labor department.
What is the 2026 IRS mileage rate, and why did it change mid-year?
The IRS set the 2026 business rate at 72.5 cents per mile in Notice 2026-10, then raised it to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026 in Announcement 2026-11, citing roughly a 38% rise in gasoline prices between January and mid-July. Medical and military-moving mileage went from 20.5 cents to 23.5 cents on the same date. Charitable stayed at 14 cents. Mid-year changes are rare, and the last one was in 2022, so plenty of people miss them. If you drove all year, split your miles at June 30 and apply both rates. This calculator handles that split.
Why is the charitable rate stuck at 14 cents?
Because Congress sets it, not the IRS. The business, medical, and moving rates come out of an annual IRS study of what it costs to run a vehicle, so they float with fuel and depreciation. The charitable rate is written into the tax code at IRC §170(i) and has been 14 cents per mile since 1998. Only an act of Congress can move it. So a volunteer driver deducts far less per mile than a business driver making the identical trip.
What records does the IRS require for mileage?
Under IRC §274(d) and Publication 463 you need adequate records for each trip: the date, the destination, the number of miles, and the business purpose, plus your vehicle's odometer reading at the start and end of the year. The records have to be contemporaneous, meaning written at or near the time of the trip. A weekly log is explicitly treated as timely. A log you reconstruct at tax time is not reliable evidence. Format is up to you, since a paper notebook, a spreadsheet, and an app all qualify as long as they capture those elements. Leave one out and you can lose that trip's deduction. Keep a sloppy log all year and you can lose the year.
Can I claim medical or moving mileage?
Rarely, in practice. Medical mileage only counts inside your Schedule A medical expense total, which is deductible to the extent it exceeds 7.5% of your AGI, and most filers never clear that floor. Moving mileage is limited to active-duty members of the Armed Forces relocating under permanent change of station orders (and certain intelligence community members). TCJA eliminated it for everyone else, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made that permanent.