Minnesota's agreements adopt the federal rate as it stood on the day you drove, and pay 7 cents less when a state vehicle was offered and declined.
Minnesota sets no mileage figure in statute or rule. The state bargaining agreements and compensation plans adopt the IRS business standard mileage rate that is in place on the day of travel, which is 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1. The payroll office of Minnesota Management and Budget restates the figures in a bulletin whenever the federal rate changes. A trip in the employee's own car, taken because no state vehicle was available, pays that rate. If the state offered a vehicle and the employee declined it, the rate is 7 cents lower, so 65.5 cents and then 69. A private employer is outside those agreements, and the state sets no rate for private employment.
Minnesota leaves mileage to the agreements the state signs with its unions and to the compensation plans for employees who are not represented. Those documents adopt the federal business rate rather than fixing an amount, which is why the state figure moves when the Internal Revenue Service moves.
Minnesota Management and Budget publishes a bulletin each time the federal rate changes, so an agency, a payroll office and a traveler apply the same number on the same date.
The agreements price a personal car differently depending on whether the state could have provided a vehicle. A state vehicle means one the state owns, leases or has been lent for its use.
The full IRS rate in force on the day you drove: 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1.
Seven cents less than the IRS rate on that day: 65.5 cents through June 30, 2026 and 69 cents from July 1.
The agreements key the figure to the day of travel, not the day the claim is paid. A 400-mile trip driven on June 28, 2026 and submitted in August prices at 72.5 cents a mile, which is 290 dollars. The same trip in a car that replaced a declined state vehicle prices at 65.5 cents, which is 262 dollars.
| Day of travel | Own car, no state vehicle | State vehicle declined |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents per mile | 65.5 cents per mile |
| From Jul 1, 2026 | 76 cents per mile | 69 cents per mile |
The two 2026 federal periods, and the 7-cent reduction the agreements apply to a declined vehicle.
No Minnesota statute obliges a private employer to pay mileage, so the agreements that cover state employees say nothing about a private claim. What the employer owes comes from its written policy, and the figure most policies adopt is the federal business rate: 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1.
The payroll office of Minnesota Management and Budget publishes these figures. It covers state employees under the bargaining agreements and compensation plans, and the agencies that pay their travel. A private employer owes nothing under those agreements.
The reduction is a fixed 7 cents rather than a second schedule, so it moves on the same day the federal rate moves.
A motorcycle, a specially equipped vehicle and a personal aircraft are priced by the agreements rather than in the bulletin.
| Applies to | Amount |
|---|---|
| No state vehicle available, Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents per mile |
| No state vehicle available, from Jul 1, 2026 | 76 cents per mile |
| State vehicle declined, Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | 65.5 cents per mile |
| State vehicle declined, from Jul 1, 2026 | 69 cents per mile |
Source: Minnesota Management and Budget: IRS mileage rate effective July 1, 2026.
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 | Minnesota's agreements adopt this figure as it stands on the day of travel, so a first-half trip prices here. |
| July 1 – December 31, 2026 | 76 cents per mile | The July increase reached Minnesota without a legislative or agency decision, because the agreements point at the federal rate. |
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 agreements' reliance on the rate in force at the time of travel, and the 7-cent reduction for a declined state vehicle.
The first-half figures, 72.5 cents and 65.5 cents, and the same two options for a trip.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
No. The state's own figure comes from bargaining agreements and compensation plans that cover state employees. A private employer sets its own policy, and the federal business rate is the figure most policies use.
The rate in force on the day you drove. A trip on June 28, 2026 pays 72.5 cents a mile, or 65.5 cents if a state vehicle was declined, even when the claim is submitted in August.
A vehicle the state owns or leases, or one lent to the state. If one was available and the employee chose to drive a personal car instead, the agreements pay 7 cents a mile less.
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.