Drive more than 100 miles to drill? You can deduct your travel — mileage, lodging, and meals.
See what you’re owed in under a minute — start below.
Enter the totals for the tax year. Amounts are capped at the federal per diem rate for your duty location — look yours up free at GSA.gov. Defaults below use the standard CONUS rate. We don't sell your data.
Meals are limited to 50% per IRS rules. Your actual savings depend on your full return. This is an estimate — see the disclaimer below.
FreeTaxUSA is the filing service we're partnered with for reservists claiming the travel deduction. (Affiliate link — see the disclosure at the top of the page.)
Free federal filing that supports Form 2106 / Schedule 1 adjustments. Budget-friendly for Guard and Reserve members.
Claim your deduction — free federal filing →Members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces (Army/Air/Navy/Marine/Coast Guard Reserve, the National Guard, and the Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service) can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses for reserve duties performed more than 100 miles from home. Unlike most employee business expenses — which the 2017 tax law suspended — this one survived and remains an above-the-line adjustment, meaning you claim it whether or not you itemize.
You generally qualify if you are a member of a reserve component, you traveled more than 100 miles away from your home to perform your reserve duties, you were away from home overnight, and your employer/unit did not reimburse those expenses. If you were reimbursed, you can't also deduct that portion.
Your deduction is capped at the federal per diem rate for your duty location (lodging + meals & incidental expenses, from GSA.gov) for lodging and meals, plus the standard mileage rate for driving, plus parking fees, tolls, and ferry fees. Meals are subject to the 50% limit. The 2026 standard mileage rate is 76¢/mile (it was 72.5¢ before July 1, 2026); 2025 was 70¢/mile.
Calculate the expenses on Form 2106 (Employee Business Expenses), then carry the reserve-related amount to Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 12. It reduces your adjusted gross income directly.
Keep your drill/orders showing dates and location, a mileage log (dates, destinations, miles), and lodging receipts. Good records are what protect the deduction if the IRS ever asks.
Available to Guard & Reserve members in all 50 states
This is a federal above-the-line deduction, not a state-specific one — so eligible National Guard and Reserve members can claim it in every state, no matter where you live or drill:
Everything you need to claim this correctly, in plain English.
The 100-mile rule, the overnight requirement, and what "unreimbursed" actually means.
How to look up the right GSA lodging and M&IE rate, and the 50% meal limit.
Current rates, why 2026 is a split year, and what a usable log contains.
How the deduction actually gets onto your return, and why above-the-line matters.
The errors that cost reservists money or create audit exposure.
Combat zone exclusion, the EITC combat pay election, PCS moves, TSP, state exemptions, free filing.
Army & Air National Guard, Army, Air, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard Reserve, and part-time Space Force.
Missed the deduction in 2024 or 2025? File Form 1040-X, rebuild your records, and claim the refund.
Pay raises, mileage-rate changes, per diem resets and other updates that affect your return. Refreshed weekly.
Free tools and vetted partners: tax filing, banking, VA loans, insurance, GI Bill benefits.
Why it exists, how it stays current, and how it is funded.