man driving in a car

Employee Mileage Guide

Employee mileage reimbursement is as unique as the organization. For example, you might get reimbursed for using your personal vehicle or for using a company car. In addition, you might get reimbursed based on your mileage logs or based on an allowance.

Also, employers aren’t federally required to reimburse employees, so make sure you are eligible for reimbursement first.

Each organization has its own rules of employee reimbursement. Be sure to consult your company’s policy to make sure you’re reimbursed for every eligible mile.

When your employer provides the vehicle:

If you drive a company car, you may be eligible for reimbursement for expenses like gas, parking, and tolls. Be sure to check your company’s reimbursement policy first. Then, use an app to track mileage and expenses, like Everlance. They help you stay organized and track every expense.

You can’t use the standard mileage rate to calculate these expenses because this rate includes the cost of operating a vehicle. 

When you own the vehicle:

Reimbursement

Under a mileage reimbursement policy, employees are in charge of logging their work trips (including details like date, locations, purpose, and distance). Then, employees report these trips to their employer for reimbursement.

Companies can use the Standard Mileage Rate reimbursement method (work miles X current standard mileage rate = reimbursement). Or a FAVR reimbursement method, which involves paying both a fixed amount to cover fixed costs and a cents-per-mile to cover variable costs.

Allowance

Under a mileage allowance policy, employees are typically paid a set amount upfront for each payment period.

Are you self-employed and an employee? 

Then you must keep separate records for each business activity. Go to this guide for the self-employed mileage guide.

Want to track and report your work mileage easily?

Like your personal assistant, a mileage tracker like Everlance creates detailed mileage logs of your work trips and lists of expenses for you. Try it today.