Does Iowa require a private employer to reimburse mileage?
Yes, for mileage the employer authorized. Iowa Code §91A.3(6) makes an authorized business expense the employer's to pay rather than the employee's to absorb.
Iowa statute guide
Iowa Mileage Reimbursement Law
Iowa requires an employer to pay for mileage it authorized, within 30 days of your claim, at whatever its method produces.
Guide by MileagePilotUpdated Oct 19, 2026
Short answer
Iowa Code §91A.3(6) makes mileage your employer authorized a business expense it owes, and puts a 30-day clock on it: pay in advance, or not later than 30 days after you submit the claim. Refuse it and the employer has to send you a written reason in that same window. Iowa sets no cents-per-mile figure for private employment, so the amount follows the employer's method; where that method tracks the federal rate, trips through June 30, 2026 price at 72.5 cents per mile and trips from July 1 at 76 cents per mile.
At a glance
- Iowa Code §91A.3(6) is the duty: mileage the employer authorized is the employer's cost, not yours.
- The same subsection sets the clock at 30 days after you submit the claim, which is shorter than most states allow.
- A refusal is not silent in Iowa: the employer has to give you a written justification within those same 30 days.
- Iowa publishes no rate for private employers, so the figure depends on the employer's method.
- Commuting between home and your regular workplace is not authorized travel; travel between worksites or to a customer is.
What Iowa Code §91A.3(6) requires, and when
Iowa treats mileage as an expense the employer authorized rather than a rate the state fixes. Once the travel is authorized, the cost belongs to the employer, and the subsection sets both the deadline and the answer to a refusal.
The window runs from your claim, not from the day you drove. That matters when an employer holds a claim for weeks and then argues the expense is old.
| Question | What Iowa answers |
|---|---|
| Who owes | The employer, for mileage it authorized under Iowa Code §91A.3(6) |
| How much | The employer's method. Iowa sets no cents-per-mile rate for private employment |
| When it is due | In advance, or not later than 30 days after you submit the claim |
| If it is refused | A written justification, within the same 30 days |
Iowa's rule is a duty, a deadline and a written answer, not a rate.
How to submit an Iowa mileage claim
- Log each trip's date, start and end points, business purpose and miles.
- Keep the authorization: who approved the travel, and when.
- Submit the claim and keep the date you submitted it, because the 30-day clock starts there.
- If the claim is refused in part or in full, ask for the written justification §91A.3(6) requires.
Iowa's own travel rate
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services publishes these figures. State employees using a private vehicle on state business. It does not set what a private employer owes.
The state rate answers a question about state employment, not about your employer. A private employer in Iowa is free to pay more, and a rate that tracks the federal standard pays considerably more. What §91A.3(6) guarantees is the authorized expense, whatever the employer's method produces.
| Applies to | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per business mile, since July 2022 | $0.50 |
| Mileage above 14,000 in a fiscal year | Not reimbursed |
Source: DAS State Accounting: travel, policy 210.130.
The 2026 federal business rate
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 | Iowa's own rule names no rate, so this is the figure an employer's method usually adopts for the first half of the year. |
| July 1 – December 31, 2026 | 76 cents per mile | The mid-year increase changed the benchmark, not Iowa law: §91A.3(6) owes the authorized expense either way. |
Both 2026 federal periods, and how each one reaches this state.
Official references
Iowa Code §91A.3 — Mode of payment
Subsection 6 makes an authorized expense the employer's to pay and sets the 30-day window.
Iowa DAS travel policy 210.130
The $0.50 rate and the 14,000-mile fiscal-year ceiling for state employees.
IRS Notice 2026-10 (Jan 1-Jun 30)
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
IRS Announcement 2026-11 (Jul 1-Dec 31)
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
Common questions
How long does an Iowa employer have to pay a mileage claim?
30 days from the day you submit the claim. §91A.3(6) also requires a written justification if the employer refuses part or all of it, within the same 30 days.
What rate does Iowa require for business mileage?
Iowa sets no cents-per-mile rate for private employment. The figure depends on the employer's method; one that tracks the federal rate pays 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1.
Do I split 2026 mileage at July 1 in Iowa?
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.
Continue with tools
Calculate estimated reimbursement, review official rate tables, or download log templates.