Mileage reimbursement starts with an accurate log

An Accountable Plan has three requirements: a business reason for the expense, substantiation (a mileage log made at the time) and returning any excess payment within a reasonable time. Meet all three and the reimbursement is tax-free. Miss one and the IRS treats it as a Non-Accountable Plan, where every dollar paid becomes taxable W-2 wages, subject to withholding, FICA and FUTA.

Generally no, so any shortfall comes out of the employee's pocket. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made that suspension permanent. A few narrow exceptions remain, for Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis government officials and employees with impairment-related work expenses.

No. Self-employed people and independent contractors aren't reimbursed by an employer. They deduct business mileage on Schedule C, using either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Accountable Plan rules only apply to reimbursement between an employer and an employee.

Driversnote gives you the mileage log and the amount to reimburse, and you pay it out through payroll or your expense process. It logs every trip automatically and lets drivers classify each one as business or personal. That's the contemporaneous record an Accountable Plan requires. The amount is calculated at the standard IRS rate or your own custom rate, and Teams accounts add approval workflows and audit-ready exports for employers reimbursing several employees.