An employer in Ireland can reimburse employees for using a personal vehicle for business journeys. This does not apply to commuting from home to the normal place of work. The employer can either reimburse the actual expense of travel of the employee or reimburse a fixed mileage allowance per kilometer.
Actual expense
In case the employer chooses to reimburse the actual expense of travel, all of the following conditions must be met:
- the employee was necessarily obliged to pay the expenses to carry out their duties;
- the expenses were reimbursed on the basis of vouched receipts.
Fixed mileage allowance
There is a maximum mileage allowance per kilometre that the employer can reimburse tax-free. The mileage allowance rates depend on the type of vehicle. These maximum amounts are based on the Civil Service rates and can be found on the website of the Irish Revenue.
Cars
Motor travel rates (From 1 September 2022):
| Distance band | Engine capacity up to 1200cc | Engine capacity 1201cc – 1500cc | Engine capacity 1501cc and over |
| Up to 1,500 km (Band 1) | 41.80 cent | 43.40 cent | 51.82 cent |
| 1,501 – 5,500 km (Band 2) | 72.64 cent | 79.18 cent | 90.63 cent |
| 5,501 – 25,000 km (Band 3) | 31.78 cent | 31.79 cent | 39.22 cent |
| 25,001 km and over (Band 4) | 20.56 cent | 23.85 cent | 25.87 cent |
Motor travel rates (between 1 April 2017 and 31 August 2022):
| Distance band | Engine capacity up to 1200cc | Engine capacity 1201cc – 1500cc | Engine capacity 1501cc and over |
| Up to 1,500 km (Band 1) | 37.95 cent | 39.86 cent | 44.79 cent |
| 1,501 – 5,500 km (Band 2) | 70.00 cent | 73.21 cent | 83.53 cent |
| 5,501 – 25,000 km (Band 3) | 27.55 cent | 29.03 cent | 32.21 cent |
| 25,001 km and over (Band 4) | 21.36 cent | 22.23 cent | 25.85 cent |
The motor travel rates applicable before 1 September 2022 remained applicable for mileage an employee incurred between 1 January 2022 and 31 August 2022. The kilometres the employee accumulated in 2022 to date count towards the aggregated mileage for the year.
Example: An employee has claimed 1.400 km by 31 August 2022. The employee would move to the new rate applicable to Band 1 for the remaining 100 km in that band.
Additional notes on mileage allowances for cars:
- If the employee uses electric vehicles, the rates applicable to engine capacity 1201cc-1500cc should be used;
- Hybrid vehicles should be based upon their engine capacity.
Motorcycles
Motorcycle rates (From 5 March 2009):
| Distance | Engine capacity up to 150cc | Engine capacity 151cc – 250 cc | Engine capacity 251 cc – 600 cc | Engine capacity 601cc and over |
| Up to 6,437 km | 14.48 cent | 20.10 cent | 23.72 cent | 28.59 cent |
| 6,438 km and over | 9.37 cent | 13.31 cent | 15.29 cent | 17.60 cent |
Bicycles
The bicycle rate (from 1 February 2007) is 8 cent per kilometer.
