Wyoming Mileage Reimbursement 2026: A Capped Rate

Wyoming's rate has two layers, and 2026 shows them apart. The statute allows an allowance up to the maximum nontaxable rate the IRS permits at the time of travel, so when the federal rate rose to 76 cents per mile on July 1 the legal ceiling rose with it.

The figure actually paid did not. It comes from a memorandum the Governor signs, and the one in force since January 5, 2026 sets 72.5 cents a mile with no end date other than a replacement. An employee in July therefore had a lawful ceiling of 76 cents and a payment of 72.5.

The memorandum pays two rates, and the difference is whose trip it was. When no state vehicle is available the figure is 72.5 cents a mile; when a personal vehicle is used for the employee's convenience it is 48.5 cents.

The split matters at claim time, because a trip that suited the employee pays two thirds of what a trip that suited the state pays.

Because the statute tracks the IRS rate at the time of travel, the outer limit for 2027 already follows whatever the IRS publishes. The paid figure does not, and it moves only when a new memorandum is signed.

So the 2027 answer has two halves: the ceiling follows the federal figure automatically, and the payment follows the Governor. A traveler planning January 2027 should expect 72.5 cents unless a new memorandum says otherwise, and should not assume the federal figure is what the state pays.

Section 9-3-103 reaches state, county and precinct officers and employees, and it takes commuting out of the reimbursement it authorizes. Neither reach extends to a private payroll, and Wyoming has no statute that requires a business to cover an employee's business miles.

A private claim follows the employer's written policy. The state memorandum is the benchmark a Wyoming policy usually names, and its effective date is the part to copy if the policy is meant to track it.

• Check the memorandum date before applying 72.5 cents.
• Leave the home-to-work drive out, the way the statute does for state travelers.

The State Auditor's Office publishes these figures. State, county and precinct officers and employees required to travel in the performance of their duties.

The figures are the Governor's, published by the State Auditor's Office, and they run until a new memorandum replaces them.

The statute caps the allowance at the federal nontaxable maximum, so the ceiling can be higher than what the state actually pays.

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.

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.