How much reimbursement for gas & mileage to travel for work? and should rideshares also contribute?

Question

My man & his brother work for the same company. They travel out of town together (appox. 530 miles round trip), they room together, they work together, it's supposed to be the "buddy" system. Although "brother buddy" does not contribute anything to the cost of fuel or repairs (not to mention oil, maintenance costs, or insurance premiums). Our '95 model truck gets 18 mpg & is in endless need of repair. The company allows some for fuel, a $25 per diem & covers lodgeing so you would think we should be able to save a little $$$ now, right?(the opportunity to save was one of the ways my man sold me on working out of town) The job should be complete in 6-8 more months, but in the past four months on this job we have not been able to save a dime!! Helpful advise, in man terms, is desperately needed! Thanks.

Answer 1

Subtract the distance from home to his office.  This gives you the business mileage.  The IRS allows 50.5 cents per mile traveled for business.  Let's say for sake of arguement the you live 15 miles from the office.  This means that 30 miles of the 530 mile commute can't be used, but the remaining 500 can be.  At $0.505 per mile, you're allowed to claim $252.50.  From this, deduct what the company is reimbursing for gasoline.  The rest you can claim on your taxes if the company doesn't reimburse for mileage.

If your man claims the deduction, brother really should be allwed to ride for free.  If not, man up and cover your share, half expenses plus $25 per trip for the ride.

Per diem and lodging don't factor into the travel expense.

Answer 2

my fieance works out of town as well but i go with. They get 75.00 daily per dem... but we have to pay for our own rooms. Some buddy up some dont. The company supplies a limited amont of company vehicles for travel with gas provided but we aint that lucky so i bought a 91 honda 36mpg... saves alot. We travel around 480 miles round trip every week. If it is available i would first see if they would have a company vehicle available. If not when you file your taxes keep a milage log each state pay different but if you are traveling long distance for work there is a tax credit which means you get back more at the end of the year. Where we live in nc they gave us a 48 cent per mile credit which really racked up at 20,000 + miles ....

good luck....