What Does One Full Drilling Year Look Like on the Reservist Travel Deduction?

By SSgt Christian Horton

Page updated: October 16, 2026 · Official guidance last changed: October 1, 2026

The best way to see how the pieces fit is to run a whole year through them. Below, a made-up reservist makes five trips in 2026. Every distance, date, hotel price and reimbursement is invented, for illustration only: these trips are made up. Only the rates, caps and rules come from the IRS and GSA sources, and every figure is calculated by a script, and its output is pasted below.

Step 1: the made-up trips

We assume the home is more than 100 miles from each duty location, which is the line the statute draws. (The IRS publications we read do not say how that distance is measured, so the example simply assumes it is met.) Each trip is a round trip by car, with one night in a hotel per night away, and the 2026 return has to deal with two mileage rates and two per diem years.

Step 2: mileage, by date range

The rate depends on the date of the expense. For expenses before July 1, 2026 the rate is 72.5 cents, and for expenses on or after July 1, 2026 it is 76 cents. Trips 1 to 3 use 72.5 and trips 4 and 5 use 76.

Total: 1,380 miles and $1,020.10. For comparison, using one rate for the whole year would give $1,000.50 at 72.5 cents or $1,048.80 at 76 cents, and neither is right for 2026.

Step 3: lodging, capped at the per diem lodging rate

Lodging is your actual cost, limited to the federal per diem lodging rate for where you slept. We use the standard CONUS rate: $110 for FY2026 (rates effective October 1, 2025) and $113 for FY2027 (rates effective October 1, 2026). In the real world you would look up your own location on the GSA site, because individual rates apply to about 300 non-standard areas.

Trips 2, 3, 4, the first night of trip 5 and the night of October 1 cost more than the cap, so the cap is used. We cap the night of October 1 at $113, not $110, because the FY2027 rates take effect that day; this is our reading, since the IRS and GSA sources we reviewed do not spell out a rule for a trip that crosses the date. Using $110 for all three nights would give $325.00 for trip 5; the correct figure is $328.00. Lodging total: $753.00.

Step 4: meals at 50 percent, with the first and last day at 75 percent

We use the standard meal allowance, the $68 M&IE rate, which is the same in FY2026 and FY2027. On the first and last day of a trip we use three-fourths of it, $51 (Publication 463 Method 1; GSA shows the same $51.00). Then only 50 percent of the result is deductible.

Meals total: $323.00. For trip 5 the four days are $51 + $68 + $68 + $51 = $238.00, and half of that is $119.00.

Step 5: parking and tolls

Business-related parking fees and tolls are deductible on top of the mileage rate; parking at your regular workplace is commuting and is not. Our made-up $23 on trip 2 is added as is.

Step 6: add it up, then subtract the reimbursement

Publication 3 says you can deduct your unreimbursed travel expenses, so the reimbursement comes off. On Form 2106, line 7 is reimbursements received from your employer, and line 8 says to subtract line 7 from line 6 and enter zero if the result is zero or less. If the reimbursement is larger than the expenses, the IRS instructions say the excess in Column A is reported as income on Form 1040.

Here the $200 reimbursement was for lodging on trip 5, so it comes straight off the total (we assume that; the IRS text we reviewed does not say how to split a reimbursement across lines). $2,119.10 minus $200.00 is $1,919.10.

Step 7: where the answer goes

Form 2106, line 10 says to add the line 9 amounts for both columns and also enter the total on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 12. Publication 463 describes the same route: complete Form 2106 first, then carry the reserve travel over 100 miles, up to the federal rate, to Schedule 1. In our example $1,919.10 is the figure that reaches line 12. Because it is an adjustment to income, it is deductible whether or not you itemize.

We have not shown what the deduction is worth in tax. That depends on the rest of your return, and the IRS publications we reviewed give no figure for it.

Check against the IRS example

Publication 3 has its own example: an Army Reserve captain 220 miles from home claims mileage of $308 (440 miles at 70 cents), meals of $300 cut to $150 by the 50 percent rule, and lodging of $1,000, for $1,458.00 on Form 2106, line 10 and Schedule 1, line 12. The same script reproduces $1,458.00 from those inputs. That example has no per diem cap, split-year rate or reimbursement, so it checks only the mileage, meal and lodging arithmetic.

Keep in mind that a real return needs records for each trip, not just totals. Our records guide covers what the IRS publications say about that.

The script totals

TOTAL mileage $1,020.10 | lodging $753.00 | meals(50%) $323.00 | tolls/parking $23.00
line 6 (total expenses before reimbursement) $2,119.10
line 7 reimbursements $200.00
line 8 (6 minus 7, not below zero) $1,919.10
cross-check Pub 3 captain example: $1,458.00 (Pub 3 says $1,458.00)

Sources

• IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
• IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide
• IRS Instructions for Form 2106
• IRS Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses
• IRS Instructions for Form 1040
• IRS Notice 2026-10, 2026 standard mileage rates
• Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (Announcement 2026-11)
• 26 U.S.C. 62, Adjusted gross income defined (govinfo.gov)
• GSA, M&IE breakdowns
• GSA, FY 2027 per diem highlights
• GSA, FY 2027 per diem rates file
• GSA, FY 2026 per diem master rates file

Related guides

• The per diem cap for lodging and meals
• Mileage rates by year
• Form 2106 to Schedule 1
• Mileage Log Requirements
• Which Trips Count
• The 100-Mile Rule
• Airfare, Rental Cars and Parking
• Records to Keep
• Frequently Asked Questions
• All guides

Estimate your deduction →