Any word if the IRS will rate the 2008 mileage rate because of the rapid increase in gas prices?

June 9, 2008 5:59 PM

Any word if the IRS will rate the 2008 mileage rate because of the rapid increase in gas prices?

The IRS set the 2008 mileage rate for business car travel way back in November of last year at 50.5 cents per mile. That's still more than the price of gas, but not as much as it was back then. Has anyone heard if the IRS will raise this value? (Note: I'm not going to claim it per se, but my company ties their mileage reimbursement rate to the IRS rate)

posted by GuyZero to work & money (4 answers total)

It's been done before. They raised it in September 2005 for the last 4 months of 2005.

“This is about fairness for taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “People are entitled to deduct the real cost of operating a vehicle. We’ve responded to the recent gas price increases by making this special adjustment so taxpayers get the tax benefit they deserve.”

Note that they announced a higher rate for the month of September on September 9th, so it's not like they feel a need to pre-announce.
posted by smackfu at 7:11 PM on June 9, 2008

It did actually go down to 44.5 for all of 2006. Maybe he's a wizard.
posted by smackfu at 8:03 PM on June 9, 2008

It's doubtful they'd raise it because of the recent rise in gas prices. Gas prices always go up at the beginning of the summer, and the IRS doesn't usually change the rate in the middle of a calendar year. What happened in 2005 was an unexpected severe rise in gas prices in September and October. It was out of the ordinary, so the IRS made a one-time adjustment.
posted by Dec One at 10:16 AM on June 10, 2008

The IRS just raised it to $.585/mile, a 16% increase.
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 1:02 PM on June 23, 2008