Expense report template

This builds a standard expense report in the order a claim is checked. It takes business miles at a cents per mile rate, adds the receipted lines for meals, lodging, transport and supplies, gives the report total, and subtracts any advance already paid to show the reimbursement due. The mileage rate defaults to the IRS standard business rate for the second half of 2026 and is yours to change; the dollar lines are a worked example to overwrite with the real receipts. Meals are entered here as receipted amounts; for a per diem expense report template, with meals and incidentals at a daily rate, use the T&E expense report on this site.

Why mileage is a rate times miles and not a fuel receipt

The standard mileage rate exists so that a business can reimburse the use of an employee's own car without collecting fuel, insurance and depreciation evidence for every trip. The IRS publishes the rate, 76 cents per mile for business use from July 1, 2026 after 72.5 cents per mile in the first half of the year, and a reimbursement at or below it is substantiated by the miles alone. Pay more than the rate and the excess is treated differently, which is why the field is an input rather than a fixed figure.

Which lines need a receipt attached

Under 26 CFR 1.274-5 documentary evidence is required for any expenditure of $75 or more and for lodging while away from home at any amount. That makes lodging a receipt line always, and the other categories receipt lines whenever a single purchase crosses the threshold. The report does not know whether the $112 of supplies is one purchase or five; the person approving it does, and PerDiemDesk Pro attaches the receipt to the line so the question is answered at approval.

Reimbursement due is what gets paid, so it is last and it is the headline

A report that ends in a total with the advance mentioned above it gets queried. One that ends in the balance after the advance has come off gets paid. The report computes the due figure last and shows it first because it is the number the owner acts on. If the advance was larger than the spend the figure goes negative, and that is a debt to the business to be returned within the 120 days the safe harbor allows.