Please note that mileage reimbursement, properly documented, is not taxable. They don't need to give you "cash" but can add to your paycheck and not tax it.

This is poster 08/24/2016 20:43 and 08/25/2016 11:35 again.

I did a whole bunch of math and realized I actually do spend more on vehicle maintenance than I do on gas. My vehicle is older, so I set aside $1,000 a year for my van to be in the shop and each year it comes to just about that amount for whatever mechanical issues it may decide to have each year. And of course there are the usual oil changes / wiper blades / new battery/ etc. My car insurance is $200 a year and that is for liability only. My registration is $100 a year. So that comes up to $1,300 a year, or 22 cents a mile.

I drive about 6,000 miles a year. My gas hog van gets 16 miles to the gallon. Gas is about $2.40 a gallon for the cheap stuff. That computes to 15 cents a mile for gas So I am spending $900 a year for gas.

Add those two together and it comes up to 37 cents a mile that it costs me to go anywhere.

I don't have a car payment or a lease payment, and my van is too old to care about depreciation.

So in conclusion, I have decided that the 54 cents a mile reimbursement rate that the government has come up with is actually pretty realistic.


Two thirds of my driving is driving the kids around. A couple days ago, the 8 year old spilled his drink in my vehicle. I guess I could get really anal and also calculate how much it cost me to run the washer after I washed the towels I used to mop up his mess once I got home that evening.

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like with the change in circumstances, you need to do more renegotiation than just the mileage. I would ask for a cap on the number of evenings you're stuck at home, or a raise.

+1. And you should be paid for the hours you are working!