It's cheaper to reimburse for gas right now than to pay the mileage rate

[underpants]

I was just processing a travel reimbursement for a fellow employee. He filled his tank at $2.05 per gallon (that's a lot for around here) totaling $33.52. At the $.23 per mile rate his 274 mile round trip would be $63.02.


The IRS rate is $.575 but this trip is at the lower rate per policy.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Gas, oil, tires, maintenance, general wear--

Driving costs more per mile than gas prices alone would suggest.

[underpants]

3. Yeah I know

I hadn't done one of these in a while and was surprised at the difference

[NYC_SKP]

2. Reimbursement is intended to also cover maintenance, etc., not just fuel.

"fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil"

I did this for years with my Prius, it was a money maker to charge mileage instead of fly or rent a car.

No more, my car is showing the signs of age and high mileage.

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New Standard Mileage Rates Now Available; Business Rate to Rise in 2015

IR-2014-114, Dec. 10, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:

57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014
23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil. The charitable rate is set by law.

Taxpayers always have the option of claiming deductions based on the actual costs of using a vehicle rather than the standard mileage rates.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/New-Standard-Mileage-Rates-Now-Available;-Business-Rate-to-Rise-in-2015

[Sunlei]

4. some ceo in your company will probably lower the reimbursement rate to .18 soon :P

[exboyfil]

5. Lots of companys want you to rent

and turn in rental and gas receipts. Frankly at $.50/mile it is difficult to justify driving your own personal vehicle if it is newer. Maybe more so now that gas prices are down. I remember after buying my Cavalier new in 2002 I still much preferred renting to getting a reinbursement (don't remember how much the per mile was then). We are talking about a Cavalier here. I can't imagine someone with a Lexus or a Cadillac or one of those $30,000 diesel trucks.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Huh?

The IRS number even includes the depreciation rate on every car per 100 miles.

That's a pretty crappy policy.

On Edit: Something else occurred to me. Even at $4 dollars per gallon the gas is always cheaper than the mileage rate. Example of 100 mile each way trip. Even at 25 mpg (moderately good MPG), you'd need 8 gallons of gas that would cost $32. The mileage rate would pay $115.

Something odd there UP, because that would have been how they paid for the use of a personal car the whole time.