About This Site
Why this exists
Members of the National Guard and Reserve who travel more than 100 miles to drill can deduct their unreimbursed travel costs — and a surprising number never claim it. The most common reason is a misunderstanding: many assume that because they take the standard deduction, work-related travel is off the table. For this particular deduction, that is not true. It sits above the line on Schedule 1, and you get it either way.
The existing tools we found were either generic mileage calculators or military travel-pay calculators. None of them answered the question a reservist actually has in April: what is this worth on my return? So we built one.
What the calculator does
You enter your annual mileage, lodging nights, meal days, the applicable per diem rates, and your marginal tax rate. It applies the correct standard mileage rate for the tax year, caps lodging and meals at per diem, applies the 50 percent meal limit, and shows both your total deduction and an estimate of what it saves you.
- 100% Free
- No Signup
- Veteran Owned
- We Don’t Sell Your Data
How it stays current
Standard mileage rates and per diem rates change regularly, and 2026 is a split year because the IRS raised the business mileage rate effective July 1. We track those changes and update the calculator and the guides accordingly. Each page carries the date it was last reviewed.
How this is funded
The tool is free and always will be. There is no paywall, no account, and no upsell. The site is supported by affiliate commissions and, where approved, display advertising from tax-filing services — if you follow one of those links and file, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Those relationships never change the figures the calculator produces, and affiliate links are labeled as sponsored.
What this site is not
It is not a substitute for a tax professional, and it is not affiliated with the IRS or the Department of Defense. It produces an estimate to help you understand roughly what you are owed and have an informed conversation — or to make sure you do not skip a deduction you are entitled to.
Who is behind it
The site was created by a reservist for people who drill the way its creator does. It is not written by a tax professional, and every page says so. What it offers is the habit of reading the source: when the IRS or GSA publishes a rule or a rate, the publication itself is read, an example is worked from it, and the result is written down in terms of what a reservist needs to do. The personal details of the creator's service are not the point of this site, so they are left out. The point is that every number should be traceable. The creator's story tells how the project started.
How we decide what to write
The guides follow the questions reservists ask at drill and again at filing time. Does the drive from my house count? Which nights count? What do I do with a mileage rate that changed in July? How far back can I claim this? Each answer links to the IRS or GSA text behind it. When a source does not answer a question, we say so instead of guessing, and we point to the form instructions or to a preparer. The way pages are researched, reviewed and corrected is written out in the editorial policy, and the sources page lists every primary source in one place.
What you will find here
- A free calculator that estimates the deduction and the tax it saves, using the published mileage and per diem rates and the published caps.
- A set of guides on who qualifies, Form 2106, per diem, mileage records, the 100-mile rule, amended returns and common mistakes.
- A news page reviewed weekly, where each item shows its source and the date it was checked.
- Resources for free tax help, including MilTax and VITA.
How you can hold us to it
Every page shows when it was last reviewed, and that date means something. If you find a figure that does not match its source, write to us through the contact page. We check it, and if we are wrong we fix it and say what changed. The review schedule is weekly for the news page and whenever a rate changes for the guides. That is a commitment, and the editorial policy page is where you can see it in writing.
Money and independence
The calculator and the guides are free and will stay free. The site is supported by affiliate commissions from a tax-filing service and, where it is approved, display advertising. Those are separate from the writing: the figures come from the sources, not from a sponsor, and an affiliate link never changes what a guide says. The disclosure appears at the top of the pages where a sponsored link appears, and the privacy policy explains how advertising cookies work and how to opt out.