Mileage and Personal Car Usage

• An employee may use their personal car for business purposes. The university will reimburse employees for business travel using their personal vehicle at the prevailing rate per mile. The mileage reimbursement on a privately-owned vehicle compensates the traveler for wear and tear, fuel and insurance coverage. No coverage is provided by Purdue for physical damage to private vehicles used on university business.
• Mileage for travel on campus or in the area of official duty station is considered a business expense, and reimbursement is subject to departmental guidelines, since this is not considered a travel expense it should not be processed through Concur.
• The university reimburses mileage at either the federal or state rate, depending on funding source.
• If a funding source (e.g. grant) requires the Indiana state mileage allowance, reference the Indiana State Travel Services website to view the latest memo related to mileage reimbursement.
  • The official station is defined by the IRS as the location of the permanent office, including the entire city or general area in which the 'official station' is located.
  • If the traveler departs/returns on the weekend, a holiday, after normal work hours, or a day they would not normally commute to their official station, it is acceptable to calculate the mileage from their home.
  • An individual’s daily commute to and from their residence and work is not considered to be in University travel status, and therefore is not eligible for reimbursement.
  • Mileage reimbursement is limited to the lesser of expenses incurred from the departure point or from the traveler’s official station.
• When two or more staff travel together in a personal vehicle, the mileage reimbursement is only issued to the Purdue employee who provided the vehicle for business travel.
• Traffic fines, court costs, parking violations, etc. are not reimbursable.
• Expenses subject to documentation requirements.