The mileage rate changed mid-year. Which rate does your trip earn?

California's medical mileage rate changed twice in 2026: to 72.5¢ per mile on January 1, then to 76¢ on July 1 (DWC Newslines 2026-02 and 2026-60). And the rule that decides which rate a trip earns is the one most reimbursement checks get wrong: the rate in effect on the date you traveled — not your date of injury, and not the date the check was cut.

The opposite of the TD rule, on purpose

Temporary disability is set by your date of injury and never moves. Mileage is the mirror image: a trip in August 2026 reimburses at 76¢ even on a 2019 claim. The two rules sit side by side in the same claims, which is exactly why they get swapped. Both rules, with their sources.

The mixed-list problem

A physical-therapy schedule that ran April through September 2026 crosses the July 1 change. Each side computes at its own rate: a trip on June 30 and an identical trip on July 1 pay differently. Anyone who applied a single rate to the whole list underpaid one side of it — and on a long treatment schedule, the difference is real money. The calculator handles a dated trip list exactly.