my employer doesn't reimburse my mileage but when I requested something from him stating as much (the irs requested proof of expense) he refused. I am paid the same amount for a client visit 1 mile away as one 7 miles away. can he possibly be claiming reimbursement for the bus. tax deduction for himself without paying it to me.

my employer doesn't reimburse my mileage but when I requested something from him stating as much (the irs requested proof of expense) he refused. I am paid the same amount for a client visit 1 mile away as one 7 miles away.z======>>>>>What sometimes confuses employees about this is that the IRS sets a mileage rate, but does not mandate reimbursement by the employer. There is no law mandating how much or how little to reimburse employees. Also, many employers think they have to reimburse mileage but, in reality, they don’t. Employers are free to reimburse more or less than the IRS rate.




“ can he possibly be claiming reimbursement for the bus. tax deduction for himself without paying it to me.”======>>>>>No I do not think so; he can not claim the expense UNLESS he pays mileage reimbursement for you. Even if your employer doesn’t reimburse you , you can recover the costs on your Sch A of 1040 aslongas you itemize deductions on your return. They are deductible only if, and to the extent that, they along with your other miscellaneous deductions exceed 2% of your AGI.

I did submit the mileage deduction for 2014 on my tax return and was denied by the irs pending some sort of verification from my employer. that is when he refused to state one way or the other whether I was being reimbursed and that he was advised by his accountant not to give me any letter for my irs claim. can't understand why he would do that unless he was somehow claiming reimbursement on his taxes and was trying to cover his butt. shouldn't there be something on my paycheck showing amount reimbursed or at the very least wouldn't I have to be submitting the total mileage to him on some form (which I do not do) if he was indeed reimbursing me?

shouldn't there be something on my paycheck showing amount reimbursed or at the very least======>>As said , it depends; How your ER report your reimbursed mileage expenses depends on the accounting method he uses for these types of expenses. Under a non-accountable plan, the mileage expenses you accrue do not have to be justified or substantiated with receipts or invoices. If the reimbursement is given as an advance, you may keep unspent money under a non-accountable plan as opposed to having to return money that wasn't needed or was spent on non-business expenses. Your ER is also under a non-accountable plan if he reimburses or advances your funds that he expects may not be used to pay for business expenses or he pays an amount that he otherwise would have paid as your wage onW2.on the contrary, If he is using an accountable plan, none of your mileage expenses can be reported as income on your w2, so he/you have no reporting requirements. So, if he is under a non-accountable plan, you must report the mileage reimbursement as earnings on your W-2 Form as wages in Box 1 of yourW-2 Form. The reimbursement amount is subject to federal income, fica tax.







wouldn't I have to be submitting the total mileage to him on some form (which I do not do) if he was indeed reimbursing me?======>>> under accountable plan, the plan must require you to provide information that is sufficient to enable the employer to identify the specific nature of each expense and to conclude that the expense is attributable to business activities. Thus, each element of an expenditure or use must be substantiated. It is not sufficient for you, as an employee, merely to aggregate expenses into broad categories, such as travel, or report individual expenses through the use of vague, non-descriptive terms, such as miscellaneous business expenses. The IRS has ruled that an expense reimbursement arrangement that allows you to use electronic receipts and expense reports can qualify as an accountable plan if the electronic receipts and expense reports provide sufficient information to substantiate claimed expenses; an accountable plan is a plan that requires you to substantiate expenses, any amounts in excess of substantiated expenses to be returned to your employer..he is considered to have accounted to you, if your mileage expenses do not exceed the rate established by the federal government ;if your expenses do exceed that rate, the amount in excess must be reported as wages and added in Box 1 ofyour W-2 form. In this case, any substantiated reimbursements are reported in Box 12 using Code L on your W-2 Form. The excess amount is subject to federal income, fica taxes. Under a non-accountable plan, the mileage expenses you accrue do not have to be justified or substantiated with receipts or invoices..
If the reimbursement is given as an advance, you may keep unspent money under a non-accountable plan as opposed to having to return money that wasn't needed or was spent on non-business expenses.

that's all well and good but how do I find out IF I am being reimbursed if he refuses to tell me. that's the problem I am having. he refuses to confirm or deny mileage reimbursement. I therefore have no way of knowing the rate if he is claiming to reimburse me (in my salary) or the total # of miles that he is reimbursing me for. my miles traveled changes every day and only I know the correct total and he has never asked me.

UNLESS he tells you your miles traveled, there is technically no way to know it(you just need to have your own log to record your miles traveled yourself ). As said, private employers are not required by law to reimburse employees for mileage pertaining to work-related private vehicle use ;however,. Many actually do it as they find it tax beneficial to do so. I guess you need to talk to your ER for solution.

hi - I guess i'm still a little confused about the non-accounting method. in another post you said that if a person is using his personal vehicle for work related driving, the reimbursed amount paid in the salary is not taxable because it meets irs standards. so if I am being reimbursed under the non-accounting method in my salary should that amount be included in my wages on my w-2? thanks