Expense Management Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 8 sourced statistics
Expense management is the work of recording, checking and reimbursing what employees and owners spend on behalf of a business. Two kinds of numbers matter most: what the process costs, and the official rates and rules that decide what can be reimbursed and deducted. On cost, a GBTA Foundation study found that processing one expense report for a single-night hotel stay cost $58 and took 20 minutes, and that 19% of reports had errors that cost another $52 and 18 minutes each to fix. On rules, the IRS set the 2026 business mileage rate at 72.5 cents a mile, then raised it to 76 cents from July 1, 2026; it expects receipts for lodging and any other expense of $75 or more, and an accountable plan expects expenses to be accounted for within 60 days. The federal per diem standard rate for fiscal 2027 is $181 a day. Spending is growing too: GBTA estimates global business travel spending rose 8.4% to $1.59 trillion in 2025. Each figure below links to the page it comes from.
Key takeaways
- Processing one expense report cost $58 and took 20 minutes, and 19% of reports had errors costing $52 and 18 minutes each to fix (GBTA Foundation, 2015).
- The IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1, 2026, up from 70 cents in 2025.
- The IRS expects documentary evidence such as receipts for all lodging and for any other business expense of $75 or more (IRS Publication 463).
- Under an accountable plan, expenses should be accounted for within 60 days and excess reimbursements returned within 120 days (IRS Publication 463).
- The federal per diem standard rate for fiscal 2027 is $181 a day: $113 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidental expenses (GSA).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $58 | The average cost to process an expense report for a single-night hotel stay was $58, and completing the report took 20 minutes (GBTA Foundation study with HRS). | GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Foundation, How Much Do Expense Reports Really Cost a Company?, October 20, 2015 | 2015 |
| 19% | One in five expense reports (19%) contained errors or missing information, costing an additional $52 and 18 minutes to correct each report. Companies in the study processed an average of 51,000 expense reports a year. | GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Foundation, How Much Do Expense Reports Really Cost a Company?, October 20, 2015 | 2015 |
| $1.59T | Global business travel spending grew 8.4% in 2025 to $1.59 trillion, ahead of GBTA's earlier forecast of 6.6% growth, across an estimated 1.82 billion business trips. | GBTA, Business Travel Index (BTI) 2026, press release of August 3, 2026 (industry association research) | 2026 |
| $1.71T | GBTA forecasts global business travel spending of $1.71 trillion in 2026. The US is the largest market at a forecast $423.0 billion, followed by China at $403.7 billion; together they make up about 48% of the total. | GBTA, Business Travel Index (BTI) 2026, press release of August 3, 2026 (industry association research) | 2026 |
| 76¢/mile | The IRS standard mileage rate for business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026 and 76 cents a mile for July 1 to December 31, 2026, up from 70 cents in 2025 and 67 cents in 2024. | Internal Revenue Service, Standard mileage rates (IR-2025-128 and IR-2026-29) | 2026 |
| $75 | Receipts or other documentary evidence are required for all lodging and for any other travel, gift or car expense of $75 or more. Evidence should show the amount, date, place and essential character of the expense. | Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses | 2025 |
| 60 days | Under an accountable plan, the IRS treats as reasonable an advance received within 30 days of an expense, expenses accounted for within 60 days after they were paid or incurred, and excess reimbursement returned within 120 days. Reimbursements that meet the rules are left out of the employee's W-2 wages. | Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, chapter 6 | 2025 |
| $181/day | The federal per diem standard rate for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) is $181 a day for most of the continental US: $113 for lodging, up from $110, and $68 for meals and incidental expenses. 295 non-standard areas have higher rates. | U.S. General Services Administration, FY 2027 per diem highlights | 2026 |
The statistics
The average cost to process an expense report for a single-night hotel stay was $58, and completing the report took 20 minutes (GBTA Foundation study with HRS).
One in five expense reports (19%) contained errors or missing information, costing an additional $52 and 18 minutes to correct each report. Companies in the study processed an average of 51,000 expense reports a year.
Global business travel spending grew 8.4% in 2025 to $1.59 trillion, ahead of GBTA's earlier forecast of 6.6% growth, across an estimated 1.82 billion business trips.
GBTA forecasts global business travel spending of $1.71 trillion in 2026. The US is the largest market at a forecast $423.0 billion, followed by China at $403.7 billion; together they make up about 48% of the total.
The IRS standard mileage rate for business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026 and 76 cents a mile for July 1 to December 31, 2026, up from 70 cents in 2025 and 67 cents in 2024.
Source:Internal Revenue Service, Standard mileage rates (IR-2025-128 and IR-2026-29)2026
Receipts or other documentary evidence are required for all lodging and for any other travel, gift or car expense of $75 or more. Evidence should show the amount, date, place and essential character of the expense.
Source:Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses2025
Under an accountable plan, the IRS treats as reasonable an advance received within 30 days of an expense, expenses accounted for within 60 days after they were paid or incurred, and excess reimbursement returned within 120 days. Reimbursements that meet the rules are left out of the employee's W-2 wages.
Source:Internal Revenue Service, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, chapter 62025
The federal per diem standard rate for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) is $181 a day for most of the continental US: $113 for lodging, up from $110, and $68 for meals and incidental expenses. 295 non-standard areas have higher rates.
Source:U.S. General Services Administration, FY 2027 per diem highlights2026
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- The GBTA Foundation figures come from a 2015 study run with HRS, a hotel booking company, and describe a report for a single-night hotel stay at mostly large companies (the average company in the study processed 51,000 expense reports a year). They are more than ten years old, and costs at a small business with a handful of reports a month will be very different.
- GBTA's Business Travel Index is an industry association forecast, not official statistics. The 2026 spending figure is a projection published in August 2026.
- IRS rules on this page are US federal rules for tax years 2025 and 2026. States, other countries and your own reimbursement policy can set different limits. This is not tax advice; check IRS Publication 463 or an adviser for your situation. Last reviewed 2026-10-28.
- GSA per diem rates are what US federal agencies reimburse their own employees. Businesses often use them as a benchmark, and the IRS allows per diem allowances up to federal rates under an accountable plan, but private employers are not required to use them.
- There is no official source for how many small businesses use expense software or how much time they spend on expenses. Vendor surveys on those questions exist, but we could not match their figures to a free primary page, so they are not on this page.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. We opened each source on that date and kept only figures stated in it. Official figures come from the Internal Revenue Service (standard mileage rates page and Publication 463 for 2025 returns) and the U.S. General Services Administration (FY 2027 per diem highlights). Industry figures come from the Global Business Travel Association: its 2015 Foundation study on expense report costs, read on GBTA's own site, and its 2026 Business Travel Index press release. We removed the earlier Association of Certified Fraud Examiners figures because the 2026 report's expense reimbursement findings are not on its free web pages in a form we could check, and we did not want to quote the superseded 2024 edition. We also removed a Billentis cost-saving range that linked to a homepage and described invoices, not expenses.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to process an expense report?
The most widely quoted figure is $58 per report, with 20 minutes to complete it, from a 2015 GBTA Foundation study of reports for a single-night hotel stay. The same study found that 19% of reports had errors costing another $52 and 18 minutes each. The figures are from 2015 and mostly large companies.
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
72.5 cents a mile for business driving from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents a mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026, after the IRS raised the rate midyear. The 2025 rate was 70 cents.
Do I need a receipt for every business expense?
Not for every one. IRS Publication 463 requires documentary evidence such as a receipt for all lodging and for any other travel, gift or car expense of $75 or more. You still need a record of smaller expenses, showing the amount, date, place and business purpose.
How quickly should employees submit expenses?
To keep reimbursements tax-free under an accountable plan, the IRS treats accounting for expenses within 60 days and returning any excess within 120 days as reasonable. Many businesses set shorter internal deadlines.
What is the federal per diem rate?
For fiscal 2027, the GSA standard rate is $181 a day in most of the continental US: $113 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidentals. 295 higher-cost areas have their own rates.
Put these figures to use
- Business expense resources: tracking, receipts and rebilling: How to record business costs with evidence and recharge the right ones to clients.
- Tax on invoices: sales tax, VAT and GST resources: Guides on the tax rules that affect what you invoice and deduct.
- Home office deduction: rules, calculation and mistakes: IRS rules for a self-employed home office, with the simplified and regular methods worked out.
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