Idaho's Board of Examiners fixes the state rate for the year it is fixed, so the state figure lagged the federal one through 2026 until the August recommendation.
Idaho's state rate is fixed by the Idaho State Board of Examiners, not taken automatically from the federal schedule. That board entered 2026 at 70 cents a mile while the federal figure was 72.5, the State Controller's Office asked it in January to match the federal rate, and on August 11, 2026 the State Controller recommended 76 cents for travel on or after September 1, 2026. The Board's decision is what puts a figure in force, so the recommendation and the rate are two different things until the Board acts. The authority is Idaho Code 67-2006, which has the Board fix a mileage rate for the year in which it is fixed, and the State Travel Policy that follows it. A private employer owes what its written policy says, while a policy tied to the federal rate would price the year at 72.5 cents per mile and then 76 cents per mile.
Idaho Code 67-2006 gives the State Board of Examiners power to fix the mileage allowance for official travel in a privately owned vehicle, and ties that allowance to the year in which it is fixed. The Board of Examiners is a constitutional body, and the State Travel Policy it adopts applies across state government rather than to one agency.
The policy pays mileage at the rate the Board establishes, so the rate is an act of the Board rather than a formula in the statute. That is why Idaho does not move on the day the Internal Revenue Service announces a figure.
The state started the year at 70 cents a mile. The State Controller's Office asked the Board in January to raise it to the federal figure of 72.5 cents, effective February 1, 2026, and the Board's August letter describes an increase from 70 cents. On August 11, 2026 the State Controller put a recommendation to the Board's subcommittee: change the rate to 76 cents to match the federal figure, effective September 1, 2026.
The sequence is the mechanism. A federal announcement produces a recommendation, the recommendation produces an effective date, and the date is what prices a trip. A traveler who drove in the first half of 2026 is paid the state figure that was in force, not the federal figure that had already been published.
| Date in 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|
| January | The federal rate moved to 72.5 cents and the State Controller asked the Board to match it |
| August 11 | The State Controller recommended 76 cents for travel on or after September 1 |
| After August 11 | The Board of Examiners decides; until it acts, 70 cents stays in force |
State Controller's Office request of January 2026 and the Board of Examiners documents of August 2026.
The State Travel Policy takes the distance from a commercially recognized mapping service, using the most direct and efficient route, and allows an odometer reading only where the distance cannot be determined that way. It also closes a familiar shortcut: buying fuel for a private vehicle is not an allowable expense in place of mileage.
That combination is stricter than it looks. A claim is measured rather than estimated, and a fuel receipt cannot stand in for the per-mile figure, which is the same principle the per-mile rate itself rests on.
The Board's rate is a state travel policy, and Idaho sets no private-employer figure. A private claim follows the written policy, and where that policy tracks the federal rate the trip prices at 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1.
The Idaho State Board of Examiners publishes these figures. Every agency, elected office, board and institution of Idaho state government, and the travelers they reimburse. It is a state travel policy, not a private-employer rule.
The Board fixes the figure for the year in which it is fixed, so the rate can lag a federal change by weeks and a claim is paid whatever the policy said on the day of the drive.
Mileage is computed from a mapping service on the most direct route, and fuel bought for a private vehicle is not an allowable expense in place of the per-mile figure.
| Applies to | Amount |
|---|---|
| At the start of 2026 | $0.70 per mile |
| Recommended for travel on or after Sep 1, 2026, pending the Board | $0.76 per mile |
Source: Idaho State Travel Policies and Procedures.
The IRS moved the business standard mileage rate mid-year, so a 2026 trip prices by its date. This is the benchmark an employer's rate method usually follows.
| Period | Federal business rate | What it means for a claim here |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 – June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents per mile | Idaho's state figure for this period was below the federal one: the Board fixes the rate in policy and the year decides. |
| July 1 – December 31, 2026 | 76 cents per mile | The State Controller recommended this figure for September 1, 2026, which is the point the state rate was set to catch up with the federal one. |
Both 2026 federal periods, and how each one reaches this state.
The IRS has not published a standard mileage rate for 2027. Until it does, two things decide what a trip pays: the year you drove it and the date within that year. A 2026 trip pays 72.5 cents per mile through June 30 and 76 cents per mile from July 1. Miles driven from January 1, 2027 will use whatever figure the IRS publishes next.
The next year's rate has arrived in December in each of the last nine years, between December 14 and December 31. An announcement is not always the last word. The IRS raised the 2026 figure on July 1, halfway through the year, so a 2027 claim may need two rate periods.
A state that publishes a rate for its own travelers follows its own calendar, so it can publish the next period before the IRS does. A private employer's rate changes when its own policy changes, or when the benchmark that policy follows moves. It does not change because the calendar year turns.
The policy the Board adopts: Ida. Code 67-2006, mileage at the Board's rate, distances by mapping service, and fuel excluded in place of mileage.
The State Controller's recommendation of 76 cents for travel on or after September 1, 2026.
The state rate at 70 cents, the federal move to 72.5, and the request for a February 1 effective date.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
The state started 2026 at 70 cents a mile, and the State Controller recommended 76 cents for travel on or after September 1, 2026, to match the federal figure. The Board of Examiners fixes the state rate, so a recommendation takes effect only through the Board's decision.
Because the Board of Examiners fixes the state figure in policy for the year it is fixed rather than adopting the federal rate automatically, so a federal change waits for a recommendation and a new Board decision.
Fuel bought for a private vehicle cannot stand in place of the per-mile figure: the State Travel Policy says the purchase of gasoline is not an allowable expense in place of mileage reimbursement for official state business.
Idaho sets no private-employer rate, and the Board's figure governs state travel only, so a private claim follows the employer's written policy.
Only if the rate you are paid follows the federal figure: trips through June 30, 2026 price at 72.5 cents per mile and trips from July 1 at 76 cents per mile. A rate the employer sets on its own applies to the whole year, and a statutory duty is owed either way.
Explore official tax authority rate tables, compliance guides, and printable mileage log templates.