The IRD standard mileage rate for motor vehicles is now 77 cents per km. This rate applies to the 2012 income year.

The standard mileage rate may not be acceptable where an employee’s business travel exceeds 5,000km. The reimbursement should be based on actual expenditure or a reasonable estimate of the expenditure likely to be incurred by the employee.

One way to claim in Xero is to enter the mileage as a supplier invoice, and to either pay the invoice to yourself in cash, or to pay via your shareholder’s current account.