High gasoline prices can give migraines to motorists, and despite a slight decrease in recent weeks, the gas crisis still sees prices almost two dollars more per gallon than where we were at last year. And what national security professionals are road gypsies? Background investigators, of course.
With the D.C. metro area at around $5 per gallon, there is a ton of chatter among investigators on the ClearanceJobsBlog.
Has anyone noticed they are paying more in gas but receiving mileage reimbursement that’s less than what you paid for in gas out of pocket?
Per an IRS release, the standard reimbursement increased from 58.5 centers per mile to 62.5. The memo reads:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rate for the final 6 months of 2022. Taxpayers may use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes.
For the final 6 months of 2022, the standard mileage rate for business travel will be 62.5 cents per mile, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year. The new rate for deductible medical or moving expenses (available for active-duty members of the military) will be 22 cents for the remainder of 2022, up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of 2022. These new rates become effective July 1, 2022. The IRS provided legal guidance on the new rates in Announcement 2022-13. issued today.
In recognition of recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this special adjustment for the final months of 2022. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year. For travel from January 1 through June 30, 2022, taxpayers should use the rates set forth in Notice 2022-03.
Other background investigators on the blog note that their contractors reimburse the standard IRS allowable amount (billed back to the government) with the new changes going into effect on 7/1.
Let’s say your vehicle gets 20 miles/gallon, a gallon being $5. For simplicity’s sake, let’s say you only travel 20 miles in one day and are reimbursed $11.70 (with the 58.5 reimbursement) for the $5 you paid for that gallon. At the 62.5 cent reimbursement, you receive $12.50.
20 miles to the gallon is generous, especially if you have an older vehicle. So, you used to break even when gas was cheaper but now, it’s double the cost to fill up your tank for work, investigators are just breaking even. Will reimbursements catch up or gas prices go down? Only time will tell.
