Mileage Reimbursement: Gas Versus Electric? Amazing.

May 26, 2026 / in How To, Personal / by Jason Terry

Hello friends! I wanted to share some interesting data about mileage reimbursement for 2026 with a focus on the differences between operating a gas or electric vehicle for Blue Gurus.

For those of you that didn’t know, I bought a Tesla towards the end of 2025. Lots of things went into that decision including some friendly prodding from my friend Jason Moxness who invited me to test drive one with him knowing that I would fall in love with the thing. It also helped that I was able to take advantage of the $7,500 EV Tax Credit at the time of sale. Also, my previous vehicle was starting to show signs of potentially costly maintenance issues.

Fun fact: The last time I paid for gasoline was 8/28/2025. It was the last time I would fill up the vehicle so that I could take it to the dealer to trade in on my new EV. At the time, the cost of regular gas was $2.79 per gallon. I kept the QuikTrip receipt to make a shadow box commemorating my move from traditionally powered gas vehicles to electric vehicles. :) Nine months later, the national average cost for gasoline has almost doubled to $4.50 per gallon. Yikes.

Another important fact that went into me switching to an EV was about operating a vehicle in my business. Previously, I bought the vehicle through my business and all maintenance and fuel were business expenses. But to take advantage of the EV tax credit at point of sale, I had to purchase the vehicle as an individual, not as a business.

I weighed the pros and cons of buying the vehicle as Blue Gurus or as Jason Terry with my accountant, and he said something that I didn’t realize would be such a game changer. He told me that I could buy the car as myself and then expense the mileage. Sure, I knew that… but I didn’t understand the full impact of that statement until I did some napkin math.

2026 Mileage Reimbursement Rate

Do you know what the IRS Standard Rate for mileage reimbursement is for 2026? 72.5 cents per mile. With that in mind, please read the following:

IRS Standard Rates: Both gas and EV drivers use the same standard per-mile rate. Because the IRS rate is intended to cover the total cost of owning and operating a vehicle (fuel, maintenance, wear and tear, and insurance), EV drivers often profit since charging at home costs considerably less than buying gas.

Here was the revelation moment… it costs a fraction of the cost to operate an EV when compared to a gas vehicle.

• Fuel. It used to cost me anywhere from $40-$60 to fill up my gas vehicle. I did this at least once a week, so the monthly cost for fuel was around $200/month on average. Guess how much it costs me to charge my EV with a home charger at off peak times? About $25 per month. You read that right… PER MONTH. That is a savings of about $175/month or $2,100/year.
• Oil changes. I used to have to get an oil change about twice a year. At $50/change let’s say that cost about $100/year. There is no such thing as an oil change with an EV. So I am saving another $100 per year on oil changes.
• Brakes. I drove an SUV, so the brake pads wore more quickly in the front than in the back. It feels like I had to replace brake pads every 3 years at around $600. Since an EV uses regenerative braking, the physical brake pads are seldom used. I may need to change the brakes once for as long as I own the vehicle. Let’s call this a savings of $200/year.
• Insurance. Electric vehicle (EV) insurance generally costs more than gas-powered vehicle insurance. On average, you can expect to pay about 15% to 40% more, or roughly $30 to $40 extra per month. So we will add back in $500/year of cost for EV insurance when compared to a gas vehicle.

Bottom line is that I am saving in the ballpark of $2,100 + $100 + $200 – $500 = $1,900/year. But that isn’t the most interesting part of this story.

During a typical month, I drive around 500-600 miles while doing business for Blue Gurus. With a mileage reimbursement rate of 72.5 cents per mile, that turns into an expense reimbursement of $362.50 – $435/month. Which is TAX FREE because it is an expense reimbursement. Multiply this out and it turns into around $4,800/year of mileage reimbursement on top of the operating savings of $1,900/year.

You heard all of this correctly… switching from a gas powered vehicle to an all electric vehicle that you charge at home, and then driving that vehicle for a business that is eligible for traditional IRS mileage reimbursement can save you roughly $6,500 per year or more.

One last thing…

Annual company vehicle savings aside, the 2026 Tesla Model Y AWD Long Range EV has been the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car. It’s faster than anything I’ve ever owned (by a lot). The sound system is the best I’ve ever heard from an OEM stereo. The Full Self Driving capability feels like magic and my car drives me just about everywhere now without me touching the steering wheel or pedals. Since I have my calendar sync’d to my car, it knows where I am headed to next when I get in and automatically offers me map routing without me having to put in an address. And the list goes on…

The economics for a fully electric vehicle for a daily driver are hard to argue. Especially if that daily driver is being operated for a company that allows for mileage reimbursement. If you have ever considered buying an EV, I really encourage you to do the same napkin math I did!

If you have any questions or want more details, let me know in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this one! Thank you for reading!