Which states require an employer to reimburse mileage, which publish a rate for their own travelers only, and what each one pays in 2026.
Whether an employer has to reimburse mileage is a state question, and states answer it three ways: a statute that makes a job-required expense the employer's to pay, an official rate that binds only the state's own travelers, or a written employer policy where the state sets no rule. Which one applies decides whether a rate even exists for your claim.
A state's travel rate and its labor law are separate things. An official rate sets what a public traveler is paid; a labor statute decides what a private employer owes. Which of the two a state has, or whether it has neither, decides whether a rate exists for your claim at all.
Each of these states obliges an employer to cover an expense the job required, and each sets its own clock, from Illinois and Iowa at 30 days to the states that leave the deadline to a written policy.
| State | What requires reimbursement | 2026 official figure |
|---|---|---|
| California | Labor Code §2802 — private employers must cover necessary job expenses, and §2804 voids a waiver | No state rate for private employers; the federal benchmark is 72.5 cents per mile Jan-Jun, 76 cents per mile from Jul 1. Workers' compensation medical travel pays the same two figures |
| Illinois | 820 ILCS 115/9.5 — necessary work expenses, with a 30-day submission rule | No state rate; the federal benchmark is 72.5 cents per mile Jan-Jun, 76 cents per mile from Jul 1 |
| Iowa | Iowa Code §91A.3(6) — an authorized expense is the employer's, payable within 30 days of the claim, with a written reason if it is refused | No rate for private employers; state employees get $0.50 a mile, capped at 14,000 miles a fiscal year |
| Montana | Montana Code §39-2-701 — an employer covers what the job made the employee expend or lose, subject to two written exceptions | 34.9 cents a mile for state travel, 72.5 cents for the first 1,000 miles in a month and 69.5 cents above that |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Century Code §34-02-01 — an employer covers what the job made the employee expend or lose, excluding tools and equipment the employee also uses off the job | 72.5 cents Jan-Jun and 76 cents from Jul 1 for state travel, under the OMB travel policy |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Codified Laws §60-2-1 — an employer covers all that the job made the employee expend or lose, or that following the employer's directions cost | $0.70 through Sep 30, 2026 and $0.76 from Oct 1 for state travel; $0.35 if a state car was available |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire RSA 275:57 — an expense incurred at the employer's request, payable within 30 days of proof of payment, with a penalty behind a willful refusal | The IRS business rate for state travel, 72.5 cents Jan-Jun 2026 and 76 cents from Jul 1 |
Every one of these states makes the expense the employer's, and none of them fixes a cents-per-mile rate for private employment.
A rate without a mandate. These states publish what their own employees are paid on official travel, and that figure is often the first one you find. It reaches a private employer only through a contract, a policy, or a promise the law will enforce.
| State | What requires reimbursement | 2026 official figure |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | State travel only; private employers set their own policy | 72.5 cents per mile Jan-Jun, 76 cents per mile from Jul 1 (Textravel) |
| Florida | Public travel under F.S. §112.061; private employers set their own policy | 44.5 cents per mile, fixed in the statute |
| Massachusetts | Workers' compensation travel to treatment (DIA), and Commonwealth employee travel; otherwise employer policy | $0.62 per mile (from March 23, 2026) for workers' compensation; state travel follows its own lesser-distance rule |
| New York | State employee travel (OSC) and workers' compensation travel to treatment; otherwise employer policy | 72.5 cents per mile Jan-Jun, 76 cents per mile from Jul 1 on both official tracks |
| Pennsylvania | Commonwealth travel under MD 230.10; the WPCL enforces a promised private-employer reimbursement | 76 cents per mile from Jul 1, 2026 (the GSA figure), 72.5 cents per mile before |
| Washington | The minimum wage floor (RCW 49.46.020) for private employers; state travel under SAAM Chapter 10 | 76 cents per mile from Jul 1 for state travel; private employers set the rate, subject to the wage floor |
What each state pays its own travelers, and what that figure does not reach.
Official California law on reimbursement of necessary business expenses.
Explains that per diem and expense reimbursement are generally not required by Washington state law.
Official Texas guidance for state-business mileage reimbursement.
Florida public-travel reimbursement rule for public officers, employees, and authorized persons.
Example of a New York mileage schedule that applies to a specific official program rather than every employer.
Subsection 6 makes an authorized expense the employer's to pay and sets the 30-day window.
The $0.50 rate and the 14,000-mile fiscal-year ceiling for state employees.
The indemnity duty, its ordinary-risk exception and the employer's own-care rule.
The published travel summary and the personal vehicle use authorization form.
The indemnity duty, the tool and equipment exclusion, and the ordinary-risk exception.
Policies 501 and 511 set the personal vehicle rate for state travel.
The indemnity duty, the ordinary-risk exception, and the employer's own-care rule.
The personal vehicle rate in force and its October 1 effective date.
The 30-day window, the exclusions, the penalty and the private right of action.
The enforcement route RSA 275:57 runs through.
Section IX.F sets private-vehicle reimbursement at the Mileage Reimbursement Rate, which section II.E defines as the current IRS rate.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
No. The IRS rate is the nationwide federal benchmark for tax-free expense allowances under an accountable plan. Individual state laws govern whether an employer must reimburse you, while the IRS rate determines whether that reimbursement is exempt from income tax.
Yes. Regardless of state law, valid reimbursement claims require defensible trip records documenting dates, destinations, business purpose, and mileage.
Only in the states whose programs follow the federal figure. Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, New York and North Dakota all moved to 76 cents per mile on July 1, 2026. Florida's statutory allowance, Massachusetts' workers' compensation table, Montana's tiered schedule and South Dakota's October-to-September year are set on their own calendars and did not move with it.
Calculate estimated reimbursement, review official rate tables, or download log templates.