Oakland, CA – The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) has announced that the mileage rate that workers’ compensation claims administrators pay injured workers for travel related to medical treatment or evaluation of their injuries is increasing by 3.5 cents from 72.5 cents per mile to 76.0 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026, regardless of the date of injury. The current rate of 72.5 cents per mile will still apply for travel from January 1 through June 30, 2026.

California Labor Code §4600(e)(2), in conjunction with Government Code §19820 and DPA regulations, requires claims administrators to reimburse injured workers for medical mileage at the rate adopted by the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) for non-represented (excluded) state employees, which is tied to the IRS published mileage rate.  

The IRS normally adjusts the standard mileage rate each fall for the next calendar year based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, but if those costs surge, they sometimes do a mid-year increase as well. With gas prices up sharply in the first half of 2026 due to the ongoing conflict with Iran, the IRS announced on July 13 that the standard mileage rate for miles driven on or after July 1, 2026 will increase to 76.0 cents per business mile driven. The IRS’s announcement was made with little fanfare, as it was included on page 49 of IRS Revenue Bulletin No. 2026–29 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb26-29.pdf), but no press release was issued.

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation contacted CWCI with the information and said it will be posting a Newsline regarding the new mileage rate for travel on or after July 1, 2026 on its website,  https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/dwc_newsline.html. In addition, the DWC plans to update its downloadable mileage-expense forms that show the applicable rates based on the travel. Those forms are posted under “Medical Forms” on the Division’s website (click here). 

Given the lack of advance notice, CWCI advises workers’ compensation claims administrators to alert their claims staff and programmers of the change as soon as possible. 

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