Is an employer allowed to go below .48 2007 mileage reimbursement standard? If so, how much below?

Question

My company now only pays .35 and it's killing me with the gas. I'm just wondering if that's even legal.

Answer 1

I believe the company is free to reimburse you at whatever rate they want. The .48 comes from the IRS for tax purposes.

Answer 2

If .48 is the government per mile rate, then you can deduct anything they don't pay you below that as long as you can prove it (a handwritten log is sufficient).  

How is it killing you in gas?  Even if you're getting 8 mpg you'd still break even as long as gas is 2.80 a gallon or less.

Answer 3

To add to what Russ B said (and he is perfectly correct), the .48 is the MAXIMUM that the IRS allows as a business expense.  Anything above that is income and therefore taxable.

Hope this helps clarify.

Answer 4

A company can determine it's own mileage reimbursement.  Your recourse is that the IRS allows you to claim the difference between the 48 cent allowance and what your company pays you on your tax filings.  In your case, you can claim the 13 cents per mile your company is not paying you.

Keep good records and enjoy that big deduction in April !!

Answer 5

The company can pay whatever they want.  They don't even have to pay your gas if they don't want to.  

You can deduct the difference as a business expense.