# Company Vehicle Use Policy for NEMT Vans: Take-Home Vans, Personal Use, and Commuting

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/templates/company-vehicle-use-policy/ · Updated 2026-10-02

A company vehicle use policy is the written rule for your vans: who may drive them, where they park at night, and whether drivers may take them home. Pick one of the two written policies the IRS accepts: no personal use, with vans parked at your business, or commuting only, valued at $1.50 per one-way trip and added to the driver's wages in 2026.

- Form 4562 asks whether you keep a written policy banning all personal use or all personal use except commuting. This template gives you both.
- Under the commuting rule, add $1.50 to the driver's wages for each one-way commute in 2026. It is not open to directors or owners of 1 percent or more.
- Federal law keeps the drive home in a company van unpaid when it stays in your normal commuting area under an agreement with the driver, so every driver signs Part 9.
- Only drivers your insurer covers and each broker has credentialed may drive, and no rider paperwork stays in a van overnight.

Once a van goes home with a driver, four sets of rules matter. The IRS asks on Form 4562 whether you keep a written policy on personal use, and the policy you keep changes how the van's use is valued for tax. Federal wage law decides whether the drive home is paid. Your insurer and each broker care who drives and where the van sleeps. Rider privacy rules reach the paperwork left on the seat.

This template puts all four in one signed policy. Fill in the blanks, pick a rule for each van, and have every driver sign before the first take-home night.

## How to use this template

1. **Pick a rule for each van in Part 2.** Rule A keeps a van at your business when it is not working. Rule B lets named drivers take it home and back, with nothing else personal. If you want to allow more personal use than that, see "Personal use beyond commuting" below before you write it in.
2. **List every allowed driver in Part 3.** Confirm with your insurance agent that each one is covered, and with each broker that each one is credentialed, before the driver's first trip.
3. **Write where each van parks overnight in Part 4.** Send the same list to your insurance agent and to any state agency or broker that asks for vehicle storage sites.
4. **Set the fuel card, ticket, toll, and damage rules in Parts 5 and 6.** Read the deduction rules on this page before you write that a driver pays for anything.
5. **Set the commute rules in Part 8 for Rule B drivers.** Name your normal commuting area, where the paid day starts, and how the commute value goes on the paycheck.
6. **Have every driver sign Part 9.** For Rule B drivers, that signature is the agreement federal law names when it keeps the drive home in a company van unpaid.
7. **Tell payroll.** Add $1.50 for each one-way commute to each Rule B driver's wages, and send the written notice in Part 8 if you choose not to withhold income tax on it.
8. **Review it every January.** Use it to answer Form 4562 lines 37 and 38, update Parts 3 and 4, and collect new signatures after any change. Keep the commuting and personal miles in the [mileage log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-mileage-log/).

## The template

### Part 1: Policy details

| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Company name | |
| Effective date | |
| Last reviewed | |
| Policy owner, name and phone | |
| Vans covered (fleet numbers) | |
| Applies to | Every employee, attendant, dispatcher, and owner who drives a company van |

### Part 2: Personal use rule for each van

| Rule | What it says | Applies to these vans |
|---|---|---|
| A. Company use only | The van is used only for company work. When it is not in use, it stays at our business location in Part 4, unless it is away for repairs or a breakdown. A short stop between trips, such as lunch, is allowed. No other personal use, by the driver or anyone else. | |
| B. Work and commuting only | We require the drivers marked in Part 3 to take this van home, for this business reason: ______. The van is used only for company work and for the drive between home and work, plus a short personal stop on that drive. No other personal use, by the driver or anyone else. We add $1.50 to the driver's pay for each one-way commute. Not for directors, officers, owners of 1 percent or more, or employees paid $290,000 or more (2026 figure). | |

### Part 3: Who may drive

| Name | License number, state, class, and expiration | Insurer confirmed (date) | Broker credentialed (which brokers, date) | Rule B take-home (yes or no) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

1. Only people listed above drive a company van. No family members, friends, or other staff who are not listed.
2. Only riders on the trip, their escorts and attendants, and company staff ride in the van.
3. No personal stops while a rider is on board, unless dispatch says yes.
4. Tell the policy owner within ______ hours of any license suspension, ticket, or crash, in any vehicle, on or off duty.
5. Turn the van off and take the keys whenever you leave the driver's seat, except while running the lift.
6. Follow our [drug and alcohol policy](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-drug-and-alcohol-policy/) and the phone rules in the [driver handbook](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-handbook/).

### Part 4: Where each van parks overnight

| Van number | Plate | Overnight address | Rule A or B | Driver who takes it home | Insurer told (date) | Broker or state told (date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |

1. Park off the street where the address allows. Lock the van, close the windows, and never leave keys or fobs inside.
2. Change an overnight address only after the policy owner says yes, so the insurer and any broker or state can be told first.
3. Follow the parking, zoning, and HOA rules at the overnight address.

### Part 5: Fuel and the fuel card

1. Each fuel card belongs to one van. Use it only for that van, and only for the fuel grade its manual calls for.
2. Keep your PIN to yourself. Never write it on or near the card, and never leave the card in the van.
3. Enter the odometer reading at the pump when asked, and turn in every receipt by ______.
4. No personal purchases on the card, ever.
5. If the card is lost or stolen, call ______ right away so it can be shut off.

### Part 6: Tickets, tolls, and damage

| Event | Who pays | What the driver does |
|---|---|---|
| Parking ticket during a trip | | Tell dispatch the same day and turn in the ticket |
| Parking ticket off duty or at home | | Turn in the ticket the next workday |
| Moving violation | | Tell the policy owner within the hours in Part 3 |
| Tolls on a trip | | Keep the receipt or note the toll on the trip log |
| Tolls on the commute | | Note it on the mileage log |
| Crash or damage | | Make the scene safe, call 911 if anyone is hurt, call dispatch, and fill in the incident report |
| Tow or impound | | Call the policy owner right away |

### Part 7: Rider papers, phones, and the van at night

1. At the end of every shift, no paper with a rider's name stays in the van. Manifests, signature sheets, trip logs, and broker forms go to ______ (a locked office box, or the driver's bag to be turned in the next morning).
2. The phone or tablet with the driver app goes with the driver, locked with a passcode. It never stays in the van overnight.
3. Riders' belongings left in the van are turned in the same day.
4. If papers or a device with rider information are lost or stolen, call the policy owner right away.

### Part 8: Commuting and pay (Rule B drivers)

| Topic | Our rule |
|---|---|
| Our normal commuting area (miles from the yard, or the map attached) | |
| Where the paid day starts (first pickup, the yard, or the first task dispatch assigns) | |
| What makes the drive paid (a rider on board, a stop the job requires, work dispatch assigns on the way) | |
| Value added to pay for each one-way commute | $1.50 (IRS commuting rule, 2026) |
| Federal income tax on the commute value (withheld, or not withheld after written notice on this date: ______) | |
| Social security and Medicare tax on the commute value | Always withheld |
| Who pays tolls and parking on the commute | |

### Part 9: Driver agreement

I have read this policy. I agree to use company vans only as Part 2 allows for the vans I drive, and to take a van home only as Parts 3, 4, and 8 say. I understand that any other use breaks this policy.

| Name | Van numbers | Rule A or B | Date | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## The IRS written policies behind Part 2

Part V of Form 4562 (2025) asks employers that provide vehicles to employees five yes-or-no questions. Line 37 asks whether you keep a written policy that bans all personal use, including commuting. Line 38 asks whether you keep one that bans personal use except commuting. A yes means you skip the per-vehicle questions for vans driven by employees who are not more than 5 percent owners or related persons, and your drivers need not keep a separate set of records to back up your deduction (26 CFR 1.274-6T).

**Rule A, no personal use.** The regulation accepts it when all of these hold:

- You own or lease the van and provide it for your business.
- When it is not working, it is kept at your business premises, except briefly elsewhere for repairs or a breakdown.
- No employee who uses the van lives at those premises.
- Your written policy bans personal use except de minimis use, such as a lunch stop between two trips, and you reasonably believe no one uses it otherwise.

The third condition matters for home-based companies. If your business address is your home, Rule A fails for any van driven by an employee who lives there, such as a spouse or grown child on your payroll. See [running a NEMT business from home](https://nemtguide.com/guides/run-nemt-from-home/).

**Rule B, commuting only.** You must require the driver to commute in the van for real business reasons that are not a form of pay, ban all other personal use except a short errand stop on the way, and add the commute value to the driver's income. It is not available when the driver is a control employee. For 2026, Publication 15-B defines a control employee of a private company as a director, an officer paid $145,000 or more, an employee paid $290,000 or more, or anyone who owns 1 percent or more of the business. The Form 4562 instructions for line 38 leave out every officer, whatever the pay, so Part 2 keeps all officers off Rule B.

### The $1.50 commuting value

Under Publication 15-B (2026), the value of commuting use is $1.50 for each one-way trip, home to work or work to home, and $1.50 for each employee when more than one commutes in the van. A driver who takes the van home 22 workdays in a month makes 44 one-way trips, so $66.00 goes on that month's wages, unless the driver pays it back.

That value goes in box 1 of the driver's Form W-2, and in boxes 3 and 5. You may choose not to withhold federal income tax on it, if you tell the driver in writing by January 31 or within 30 days after the van is first provided, whichever is later, and also show the value in box 14. You must still withhold social security and Medicare tax.

### Why a wheelchair van is usually not exempt

Some vehicles are so unlikely to be used personally that all of their use is a tax-free working condition benefit. Publication 15-B lists them, including an ambulance used as an ambulance. A van of 14,000 pounds or less makes the list only if it is specially modified so it is unlikely to be used personally. The publication's example is a marked van with a seat for the driver only, or the driver and one other person, plus permanent shelving or a cargo area that always carries work equipment. A wheelchair or stretcher van built with seats for riders does not match it, so plan on treating its take-home use as taxable. Publication 15-B also says commuting in an employer vehicle more than one day a month is not a de minimis benefit, so a regular take-home van is a taxable benefit, valued under the commuting rule or another Publication 15-B rule.

### Personal use beyond commuting

If you let drivers use a van for errands, weekends, or family, neither written policy applies. You then value the personal use with another Publication 15-B rule, such as the cents-per-mile rule (the standard mileage rate times personal miles), and you need each driver's business and personal miles to back up the split. The [mileage log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-mileage-log/) has the columns for them. The cents-per-mile rule is closed to a van whose value, when you first let a driver use it personally, is above the IRS maximum automobile value for that year, so a costly converted van may need the lease value rule instead.

## When the drive home is paid work

Normal travel from home to work is not work time, whether the employee reports to one place or to different job sites each day (29 CFR 785.35). A 1996 amendment to the Portal-to-Portal Act extends that to an employer's vehicle. Driving it, and activities incidental to using it for commuting, are not principal activities when the travel is within the normal commuting area for your business and the van use is subject to an agreement between you and the driver (29 U.S.C. 254(a); 29 CFR 785.34). Part 8 sets the area, and the Part 9 signature is the agreement.

The drive becomes work in these cases:

- **The day has started.** Time between the first and last principal activity of the workday counts (29 CFR 790.6).
- **Travel between trips.** Driving from one job site to the next during the day is work (29 CFR 785.38).
- **A required meeting place.** If the driver must report to your yard first, the drive from the yard to the first pickup is work (29 CFR 785.38).
- **Work on the way.** Any work you require while traveling counts, and so does riding along as an attendant (29 CFR 785.41).

The same rule cuts the other way at night. A driver who finishes the last drop-off and drives home, instead of back to your yard, is making home-to-work travel (29 CFR 785.38). Your state's wage law may count more time than federal law, so check it before you fill in Part 8. The handbook's [hours and pay section](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-driver-handbook/) and [NEMT driver overtime](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-overtime/) cover the rest of the clock.

## Who may drive and where vans park

**Brokers.** Brokers credential each driver and vehicle before trips. MTM Health's Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026) collects a roster of each provider's drivers and vehicles and warns of lost payment for trips run by drivers with expired documents or otherwise unapproved drivers. Using a driver, attendant, or vehicle never credentialed in its system costs 3 points per instance and an immediate suspension of at least 5 days. The same handbook applies Virginia's inspection and safety rules to vehicles garaged in neighboring states.

Some brokers limit where a van may sleep. MART's provider standards in Massachusetts (revised July 1, 2025) require every vehicle on its trips to be garaged and registered in Massachusetts or a state next to it. The same standards ban personal stops while riders are on board unless specifically authorized, and tell drivers to shut the van off and take the keys whenever they leave the driver's seat. A driver carrying the state Department of Public Health's riders must also report in person to a supervisor at your place of business, during business hours, on each of those days, take-home van or not.

**State licensing.** New Jersey, as of October 2026, requires mobility assistance vehicle providers to tell the state where every vehicle storage site is (N.J.A.C. 8:40-3.2) and to keep a copy of the standard operating procedures manual at each location where a vehicle is garaged (N.J.A.C. 8:40-3.5). If vans sleep at drivers' homes, ask the state whether each home counts as a storage site. City zoning and HOA rules can also limit [a van parked at a house](https://nemtguide.com/guides/run-nemt-from-home/).

**Insurance.** Where a van sleeps and who drives it both reach your premium. Nevada's Division of Insurance auto guide (2023) says applications ask for the address where a vehicle will be principally garaged, insurers set the rate territory from it, and the declarations page lists it. Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation says in its commercial auto guidance that a vehicle kept in an indoor garage or locked lot may qualify for a lower premium, and that employees who drive company vehicles should have good driving records and proper training. So a van moving to a driver's driveway is a change your agent needs to hear about first. Ask in writing which drivers are covered and which overnight address is on file for each van.

California shows why the driver list matters. Its Insurance Code 11580.1(d) lets an insurer and a policyholder agree that coverage and the duty to defend do not apply while a driver they name in that agreement is behind the wheel. Its Vehicle Code 14604 bars an owner from knowingly letting someone drive without making a reasonable effort to confirm a valid license. Pull each driver's [motor vehicle record](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/motor-vehicle-record/) before you add the name to Part 3, and see [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/) for the limits brokers ask for.

**Tracking.** If your vans carry trackers, a take-home van keeps reporting after the shift ends. See [GPS tracking for NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-gps-tracking/) for the notice and privacy rules before you track after hours.

## Fuel cards, tickets, and damage

**Fuel cards.** The federal fleet card program is a good model. GSA's SmartPay training tells drivers to keep their PIN confidential, never write it on or near the card, and never leave the card in the vehicle. It also lists the limits a card can carry: dollars per transaction and per month, transactions per day and per month, and the products the card may buy. Set the same limits with your card issuer. For the savings side, see [how to reduce NEMT fuel costs](https://nemtguide.com/guides/reduce-nemt-fuel-costs/).

**Deductions from pay.** Federal wage rules limit what you can take back. Under the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 16 (revised July 2009), a deduction for something mainly for your benefit, which includes damage to your property, may not cut the driver's pay below the minimum wage, $7.25 an hour federally as of October 2026, or cut into overtime. The limit holds even when the loss came from the driver's negligence. The fact sheet's list of typical problems includes a driver who wrecks the employer's vehicle and is made to pay for the repairs, pushing pay below the minimum wage. Requiring the driver to pay you back in cash is held to the same limit. State law can be stricter. The California Labor Commissioner says losses from an accident or simple negligence cannot be deducted, because they are a cost of doing business. A deduction may be legal only if you prove the loss came from the driver's dishonesty, a willful act, or gross negligence. Fill in the "Who pays" column in Part 6 only after you check your state's rule.

## Rider information left in vans

Manifests and trip logs carry riders' names, addresses, and appointments. A HIPAA covered entity must reasonably safeguard protected health information from any use or disclosure the rules do not allow (45 CFR 164.530(c)). A business associate of a broker or plan agrees in its contract to use appropriate safeguards (45 CFR 164.504(e)). MTM Health's Virginia handbook tells providers to keep member information private and never display or discuss it with unauthorized people. A manifest left on the seat of a van parked on the street overnight is in plain view of anyone walking by. Part 7 keeps papers and devices out of the van, and the [HIPAA policy template](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-hipaa-policy/) and [HIPAA breach log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/hipaa-breach-log/) cover what to do when something goes missing.

## Vans bought with Section 5310 grants

A van bought with a federal Section 5310 grant comes with its own use rules. Chapter VI of FTA's program circular (C 9070.1H, applicable November 1, 2024) covers vehicle use, leasing, and title. Under the federal grant rules (2 CFR 200.313(c)), equipment bought with an award is used for the project it was bought for as long as it is needed, and any other use must not interfere with that purpose. Your state may keep a stake in the van. Wisconsin's Section 5310 guidelines for Cycle 51 (calendar year 2027) keep WisDOT as the lien holder through the vehicle's useful life, and another organization may operate the van only under a lease WisDOT approves.

Before you write Rule B for a grant-funded van, read your grant agreement or lease, and ask the state agency that made the grant to confirm in writing that take-home use fits it. See [Section 5310 grants](https://nemtguide.com/guides/section-5310-grants/) for how NEMT companies take part.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a take-home company van a taxable fringe benefit?

Usually, yes. IRS Publication 15-B (2026) says commuting in an employer vehicle more than one day a month is not a de minimis benefit. A wheelchair or stretcher van with rider seats does not fit the publication's example of a van exempt as a qualified nonpersonal use vehicle. With a written commuting-only policy, you add $1.50 per one-way commute to the driver's wages.

### Do I have to pay drivers for the drive home in a company van?

Not under federal law, if the drive stays within the normal commuting area for your business and the van use is part of an agreement between you and the driver (29 U.S.C. 254(a)). The time counts once real work starts: a rider on board, a stop the job requires, or travel from a required meeting place such as your yard. Check your state's wage rules before you set Part 8.

### Can a driver's spouse or friend drive the company van?

Not under this policy. Both IRS written policies bar personal use by anyone whose use would be taxed to the employee. A broker may also refuse to pay for a trip run by a driver it never approved: MTM Health's Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026) warns of lost payment for trips run by unapproved drivers. In California, an insurer and a policyholder can agree that coverage does not apply while a driver they name is behind the wheel.

### Can I take van damage out of a driver's paycheck?

Only within tight limits. Federal rules say a deduction for something mainly for your benefit, such as damage to your property, may not cut the driver's pay below the federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour as of October 2026) or into overtime, and asking for cash repayment is held to the same limit. California goes further: losses from an accident or simple negligence cannot be deducted. A deduction may be legal only if you can prove the driver was dishonest, acted willfully, or was grossly negligent. Check your state before you write Part 6.

### Can I, as the owner, use the commuting rule for my own van?

No. The commuting rule is not available for a van driven by a control employee. For 2026 that includes any owner of 1 percent or more, a director, an officer paid $145,000 or more, and an employee paid $290,000 or more. Log your own business, commuting, and personal miles instead. Form 4562 asks for those totals for each vehicle a more than 5 percent owner drives.

### Can drivers leave manifests in the van overnight?

Not under this policy. A HIPAA covered entity must reasonably safeguard protected health information (45 CFR 164.530(c)), and a business associate agrees in its contract to use appropriate safeguards (45 CFR 164.504(e)). A manifest left on a seat is names, addresses, and appointments in plain view. Part 7 sends every paper home with the driver or to a locked office box.

## Official resources

- [IRS: Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits (commuting rule and control employees)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b)
- [IRS: About Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-4562)
- [IRS: Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463)
- [eCFR: 26 CFR 1.274-6T (the two written vehicle policies)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-1.274-6T)
- [U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet 16, Deductions from wages](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/16-flsa-wage-deductions)
- [FTA: Circular C 9070.1H, Section 5310 program guidance (Chapter VI, vehicle use, leasing, and title)](https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/2024-10/C9070.1H-Circular-11-01-2024.pdf)