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Mercer County sets per diem at IRS meal rates and approves 70¢ mileage reimbursement
Summary
The commission approved a county mileage reimbursement rate of $0.70 per mile (effective Jan. 1, 2025) and set per diem meal allowances to IRS amounts—Breakfast $16, Lunch $19, Dinner $28, Incidental $5—classifying reimbursed mileage as nontaxable. States Attorney Todd Schwarz advised on legal treatment of mileage.
Mercer County commissioners approved changes to expense policies at their Jan. 2 meeting, including a mileage reimbursement rate and per diem amounts.
HR/EM Director Alice Grinsteinner requested a mileage rate of $0.70 per mile effective Jan. 1, 2025; Commissioners approved the new rate (Voigt moved; Folk seconded). Later in the session, States Attorney Todd Schwarz advised the board that per diem rates and the tax treatment of mileage should be addressed; Commissioner Casey Voigt moved — rescinded and refiled — to set IRS meal rates and to treat reimbursed mileage as nontaxable. The board approved per diem amounts as: Breakfast $16, Lunch $19, Dinner $28 and Incidental expenses $5 (total $68 per day), and confirmed reimbursed mileage would be treated as nontaxable.
The minutes record both actions: the flat mileage reimbursement rate and the formal setting of per diem amounts per IRS guidance. The record does not contain a legal citation beyond the States Attorney’s oral advice or examples of how the county will administer tax reporting for reimbursements.
The motions passed with unanimous support and were recorded in the official minutes. The county may publish implementing payroll or reimbursement guidance to reflect the changes and to clarify whether the 70¢ rate differs from the IRS standard mileage rate for specific dates.
