topic What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my employer? in Deductions & credits

What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my employer?

saxophoneguy2001 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:36:29 GMT

I used to enter mileage to get the deduction because I wasn't getting reimbursed by my employer. I still drive for work (from one site to another during my work day), but now I get reimbursed. I'm sure that means I don't enter mileage here for a deduction, but the only options seem to be to enter mileage or to say I don't drive for work any more, which isn't true. What do I do?

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my employer?

saxophoneguy2001 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 07:00:39 GMT

I should add that there's nothing on my W-2 from my employer that shows the amount that's been reimbursed, unless that was already added into wages and I didn't realize it. Which is certainly possible, because that amount I see in box 1 does look a little higher than I thought it would be.

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my employer?

xmasbaby0 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 07:12:17 GMT

Can I deduct job-related expenses on my tax return?

Sorry---W-2 employees cannot deduct job-related expenses on a federal return. Job-related expenses were eliminated as a federal deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond. Your state tax laws might be different in AL, AR, CA, HI, MN, NY or PA.

If you live in a state that lets you deduct job-related expenses, the information will flow from your federal return to the state return, so enter it in Federal>Deductions and Credits>Employment Expenses>Job-Related Expenses

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my employer?

saxophoneguy2001 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 07:14:39 GMT

And that's no problem, but I'm wondering how to actually fill that part out. I had entered that work-related expense in previous years, but I skipped over it this year. Then when I went through the final federal review, it insisted that I enter mileage since I've done that before. So how do I get past that when I don't want to enter mileage because I'm not trying to claim it?

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my...

JohnB5677 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 15:16:11 GMT

This can be easily resolved.

You drive your vehicle for work related projects.
It is reimbursed by your employer.
It does not show up on your W-2.
- That is correct. It should not.
- Your employer will get the deduction for the mileage on the business tax return.
You can eliminate the business mileage portion of your tax return.
You are not taxed on the reimbursement that the company gave you, and there is no need to report it to your tax return.

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my...

saxophoneguy2001 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:15:10 GMT

I understand that this is correct. My question is HOW do I do this. HOW do I eliminate the business mileage so that I can move on and finish my tax return?

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my...

BillM223 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:23:04 GMT

I take it that you have tried entering zero?

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my...

saxophoneguy2001 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:31:11 GMT

That's all I have to do is enter zero? I figured I'd need to specify that I'm not claiming mileage since I did drive more than zero miles.

Re: What do I do for work related expenses if I drove my car but got reimbursed for mileage by my...

TomK2023 — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:34:27 GMT

Just enter zero (0).