A rate from three years ago is still searched for, and for two honest reasons: a claim that was never paid has surfaced, or the books for that year are being corrected and the accountant wants the figure that applied. This page is for the owner who needs the 2023 rate: what it was, where it is published, and how a reimbursement of an old trip is recorded so that it does not distort the current year. The travel expense report tool on this site takes a rate per trip date, so an old trip can be worked at the rate that applied to it.
The 2023 rate
The IRS standard mileage rate for business use was 65.5 cents per mile for 2023, for the whole year. The IRS page linked below carries the current rates and the prior-year table. A 2023 trip is reimbursed at 65.5 cents whatever year the claim is paid in.
When the 2023 mileage reimbursement rate is still needed
An employee finds an unpaid claim from 2023. A business correcting its 2023 books needs to check reimbursements were paid at the right rate. A dispute about whether a 2023 reimbursement was wages or an accountable-plan payment turns on whether it exceeded the rate. In each case the figure that matters is the one in force when the trip was driven.
Reimbursing a very old claim
The accountable plan safe harbour treats an expense substantiated within 60 days as substantiated in a reasonable time, and a claim three years late is well outside it. The employer can still pay it, but should record why the timing was reasonable or treat the payment as wages; the 26 CFR 1.62-2 page linked below is the source, and the business's own policy, drafted with the builder here, should say what happens to late claims so that the decision is not made case by case.
Recording it in the current year
A payment in 2026 for a 2023 trip is a 2026 payment. Keep the trip date and the rate used on the claim, and the payment date on the reimbursement, so the accountant can decide whether it belongs to the current year or to a correction of the old one. The claim should state 65.5 cents per mile so the arithmetic is auditable.
Working it
The travel expense report tool on this site takes the trip date and the rate and produces the line; PerDiemDesk Pro, at $4 per month for the whole team, keeps old claims against the person and the period they belong to.
Questions people ask about mileage rate 2023
What was the federal mileage rate 2023 for business?
65.5 cents per mile for the whole of 2023, per the IRS.
Can I still reimburse a 2023 trip in 2026?
Yes, at the 2023 rate, but the accountable plan timing safe harbour is long past, so record why the timing was reasonable or treat the payment as wages.
Which rate applies to a trip driven in December 2023 and claimed in January 2024?
The 2023 rate. The rate follows the trip date, not the claim date.