Is this inappropriate to ask my employer?

[Anonymous]

Heck, if gas costs $3/gallon, you'd only lose money driving 5 miles if your car only got 5 miles per gallon!

[Anonymous]

OP is not so smart. You should be receiving federal mileage rate for "taxi/chauffeur" service of 5 miles.

[Anonymous]

OP if you are actually losing money on gas then they should cover that (unless the reason you are losing it is because you chose to drive a car with horrifically low MPG). But at 50 cents a mile I highly doubt you are actually out of pocket for gas money. If what you want is to renegotiate your rate of pay then you can ask for that but I would not take kindly to a request to renegotiate at less than a year.

[Anonymous]

OP here - dont want to give exact make and model of my car but it's a very sensible 07' sedan ... 23mpg suburban roads and 30mpg highway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - dont want to give exact make and model of my car but it's a very sensible 07' sedan ... 23mpg suburban roads and 30mpg highway

So then there is no way you are losing money at 50 cents/gallon. As a previous poster said you'd have to be averaging 5 miles/gallon to lose money. If you don't like having to sit in traffic that's understandable but I wouldn't claim it's because you are losing money. Unless you can explain to us how you think that is happening.

[Anonymous]

Because other things burn gas than just driving. I don't mind sitting in traffic as I am getting paid an hourly rate to do so. But if I need to drive somewhere that's 10 miles away it could take me up to an hour to do so in the middle of rush hour. This burns a lot of gas. Running the air conditioner also burns a lot of gas and the kids are constantly requesting that I put the air on. What am I supposed to say? No, I can't afford it?

[Anonymous]

That is why you are reimbursed $0.50/mile, not your average cost of $0.15/mile. The extra 35 cents accounts for traffic, A/C, wear and tear. The current IRS rate is $0.565/mile, which means that in their opinion, reimbursing more than this cannot possibly for actual expenses and therefore has to be reported as income.

I suppose you could ask for an extra six and a half cents, but keep in mind how little this will add up to, versus the cost of exposing your whiny nature to your employer.

If your issue is that you feel you are undersalaried

[Anonymous]

Sorry, hit submit too soon.

If you think you are under salaried, then say that and be prepared to explain why. Don't hide behind reimbursements for expenses that don't exist.

[Anonymous]

OP you are crazy. I live in LA and drive the kids in rush hour every day. Hence the reason I bought a Prius, but even if I hadn't I would never expect more than IRS mileage! Get a grip, your expectations are unreasonable. If you don't want to drive in traffic, move to the prairies and enjoy your $7/hr nanny job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because the hourly rate is separate from the gas reimbursement. I should not be spending this much of my own money to drive these kids around.

I don't understand what you mean by that. New poster here BTW. You get paid for all gas mileage. You say but it is during high traffic times, so it takes longer? Well you are also getting paid for more time spent at the position (or you only work within your scheduled hours). Are you saying that you are burning up more gas sitting in traffic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because other things burn gas than just driving. I don't mind sitting in traffic as I am getting paid an hourly rate to do so. But if I need to drive somewhere that's 10 miles away it could take me up to an hour to do so in the middle of rush hour. This burns a lot of gas. Running the air conditioner also burns a lot of gas and the kids are constantly requesting that I put the air on. What am I supposed to say? No, I can't afford it?

Yeah, say no and open windows instead. Or turn it down low, put it on in the back for them only if you don't need it, etc. It sounds like you are trying to come up with ways that you are burning through gas that cannot be solved. Also, ask for the current 56.6 cents per mile if you are so concerned. I think the federal recommended rate should be fair to ask for.

[Anonymous]

Let them swelter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you aren't getting paid fifty cents per mile that you drive while working? Maybe I am missing something here, but if you are getting paid mileage money, how does the timing of the driving/the driving conditions make your mileage worth a higher reimbursement rate?

If you drive 5 miles, you've used 5 miles worth of gas, yes? Are you hoping they will pay you an additional fee based on the time you spend in the car? IOW, do you want to earn more per hour when driving?

not op here, just commenting because yes you are missing something here! hello, yes, of course you burn more gas going 5 miles in slow rush hour traffic than when there is no traffic. seriously, not to be snarky, but you didn't know that?

[Anonymous]

You're not losing money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because other things burn gas than just driving. I don't mind sitting in traffic as I am getting paid an hourly rate to do so. But if I need to drive somewhere that's 10 miles away it could take me up to an hour to do so in the middle of rush hour. This burns a lot of gas. Running the air conditioner also burns a lot of gas and the kids are constantly requesting that I put the air on. What am I supposed to say? No, I can't afford it?

Yeah, say no and open windows instead. Or turn it down low, put it on in the back for them only if you don't need it, etc. It sounds like you are trying to come up with ways that you are burning through gas that cannot be solved. Also, ask for the current 56.6 cents per mile if you are so concerned. I think the federal recommended rate should be fair to ask for.

Just to clarify, the IRS rate is the maximum rate allowed to be paid as reimbursement as opposed to income. It is not a "federal recommended rate."