The IRS publishes a standard mileage rate for business use of a vehicle, and for 2026 it published two: one for the first half of the year and one for the second. An employer who reimburses at the standard rate under an accountable plan can treat the reimbursement as a business expense rather than wages, and an employee who is paid at or below it has nothing to report, which is why the rate matters to the owner paying a claim back and not only to the person filing a return. This page is for that owner: the two 2026 rates with their source, how a mileage claim is worked from the log, and what the rate settles and what it leaves to the business. The travel expense report tool on this site works the arithmetic from the miles you enter.
The 2026 mileage reimbursement rate, in two halves
The IRS standard mileage rate for business use is 72.5 cents per mile from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents per mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026. A trip is reimbursed at the rate in force on the day it was driven, so a claim that straddles the end of June has two lines. The IRS page linked below is the source; state the rate on the claim form so the arithmetic can be checked.
Why the federal mileage rate 2026 and the reimbursement rate are one number
The federal mileage rate, the business mileage rate and the mileage reimbursement rate are the same figure searched under different names. The IRS sets one business rate; employers adopt it as the reimbursement rate because paying at or below it keeps the reimbursement out of wages under an accountable plan. An employer may pay less than the standard rate, or more with the excess treated as wages, but almost all small businesses pay exactly the rate to keep the paperwork simple.
What a claim at the current mileage reimbursement rate 2026 needs
Date, purpose, start and end points, and miles for each business trip, from a contemporaneous log. Miles multiplied by the rate in force that day. Tolls and parking added as separate lines at cost, because the standard rate covers the vehicle and not the road. A signature and a date. Under the accountable plan rules an expense substantiated to the payor within 60 days after it is paid or incurred is treated as substantiated within a reasonable time, so the claim should follow the trip by weeks rather than months; the 26 CFR 1.62-2 page linked below is the source.
What the federal mileage reimbursement rate 2026 does not settle
Whether the trip was business travel at all, which is the employer's judgement against the policy. Whether commuting is included, which it is not. Whether the business reimburses at the standard rate or at actual cost, which is a policy decision. The rate is the arithmetic; the policy, drafted with the expense policy builder on this site, is the rule the arithmetic is applied under.
Working it without a subscription
The travel expense report tool on this site takes the trip miles and the rate for the date and produces the claim line, alongside per diem and the other travel lines, free and on the page. PerDiemDesk Pro, at $4 per month for the whole team, keeps the claims against the people who drove and exports them for the books.
Questions people ask about mileage reimbursement 2026
What is the federal mileage rate for 2026?
72.5 cents per mile for business use from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents per mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026, per the IRS.
Do I have to reimburse at the federal reimbursement for mileage rate?
No; the rate is a ceiling for keeping the reimbursement out of wages under an accountable plan. Paying less is allowed; paying more makes the excess wages.
Does the 2026 mileage rate include tolls and parking?
No. They are reimbursed separately at cost with receipts where the policy requires them.