Mileage, the home office and referee expenses
Reviewed October 10, 2026
General information for referees in the U.S., not tax advice. The rules change and every situation is different, so consult a tax professional.
- For most referees, driving is the largest expense of the year.
- The rate changed in the middle of 2026, so one number for the whole year is wrong.
- Whether a drive from home counts depends on the home office rule below.
Mileage
| Year | Trips made | IRS rate per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jan 1 to Jun 30 | 72.5¢ |
| 2026 | Jul 1 to Dec 31 | 76¢ |
| 2025 | Jan 1 to Dec 31 | 70¢ |
- This is the standard mileage rate for business use of a car. It stands in for gas, insurance, repairs and wear.
- The other method is actual expenses: add up what the car cost and take the business share.
- For a car you own, the IRS says the standard rate has to be chosen in the first year you use it for business. After that you can switch.
- Parking and tolls are separate from either method.
The mileage log
The IRS asks for four things for each use of the car:
| What | For a referee |
|---|---|
| Date | The day of the game |
| Destination | The field or venue |
| Business purpose | The match you worked |
| Miles | The round trip, plus your total miles for the year |
- Records made at or near the time carry more weight than ones rebuilt later. A weekly log counts.
- Keep them for 3 years from the date you file.
- Two games at one field on one day is one drive.
The home office, and why it matters for mileage
- The IRS says commuting is never deductible, however far you drive.
- It also says that if your home office is your principal place of business, you can deduct daily travel between home and another work location.
- So for a referee, the home office question can decide whether the drive to a game counts at all.
| Test | What the IRS says |
|---|---|
| Regular and exclusive use | The space is used for the business, regularly, and for nothing else. |
| Principal place of business | It can qualify if you do your administrative work there, such as scheduling, reports and invoicing, and have no other fixed place where you do it. |
| Simplified method | $5 per square foot, up to 300 square feet, so $1,500 at most. |
| Regular method | A share of actual home costs by floor area, on Form 8829. |
This is the one to ask a tax professional about. A desk in a shared room generally fails the exclusive use test, and the answer changes what your mileage is worth.
Expenses referees track
A business expense generally has to be ordinary and necessary for the work. These are the ones that come up for referees:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Uniforms | Jerseys, shorts, socks, badges |
| Equipment | Whistles, flags, cards, watch, beeper flags, bag |
| Registration and dues | Annual registration, association dues, background check |
| Training | Clinics, courses, fitness tests, recertification |
| Travel | Tolls, parking, hotels for tournaments. Meals away from home are generally limited to 50%. |
| Admin | Assigning platform fees, apps, a share of your phone |
- Keep the receipt and note what it was for.
- Something you also use personally is only partly a business expense.