Accountable plan template, with a filled-in example

A plan document your S corporation can adopt, the resolution that adopts it, the monthly expense report that makes it work — and one month of it filled in, so you can see what a clean reimbursement looks like.

Checked against its sources September 21, 2026

How accountable plans work

How to use it

Fill in the blanks in the plan and have your CPA or attorney review it for your state and your business.
Adopt it by resolution before the first reimbursement, and keep the signed copy with the corporate records.
Run it every month: submit an expense report with its records, have it approved, and reimburse it from the corporation's account.

It's a starting point, not legal advice. The structure follows the IRS regulation; the details — who approves an owner's own report, which costs you include — are choices to make with your advisor.

1. The plan document

Accountable Reimbursement Plan of [Corporation name]

1. Purpose. [Corporation name] (the "Corporation") adopts this plan to reimburse its employees, including shareholder-employees, for business expenses they pay personally. The plan is intended to be an accountable plan under section 62(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation §1.62-2, so that reimbursements under it are not wages.

2. Eligible expenses. The Corporation will reimburse ordinary and necessary business expenses an employee pays or incurs in performing services for the Corporation, including: (a) the business share of mobile phone and internet service; (b) the business share of the costs of a home office that meets the requirements of section 280A(c)(1) of the Code; (c) business use of a personal vehicle, at the IRS standard mileage rate in effect when the miles are driven; and (d) business travel, meals, supplies and similar costs. The Corporation will not reimburse personal expenses, commuting, or any cost the Corporation has already paid or reimbursed.

3. Substantiation. To be reimbursed, an employee submits an expense report showing, for each expense, the amount, the date, the place and the business purpose, with receipts or other supporting records. A receipt is required for lodging and for any expense of $75 or more. Vehicle use is supported by a log of the date, destination, business purpose and miles of each trip. A home office is supported by its measurements, the area of the home and the allocation calculation. Reports are due within 60 days after the expense is paid or incurred.

4. Advances. The Corporation may advance funds no more than 30 days before an expected expense. Any amount advanced beyond the expenses substantiated must be returned within 120 days after the expense is paid or incurred.

5. Reimbursement. The Corporation will pay approved reports from its own account within [30] days of approval. Reimbursements under this plan are not reported as wages.

6. Amounts not substantiated or returned. Any amount not substantiated, or any excess not returned, within the periods in sections 3 and 4 will be treated as wages, reported on the employee's Form W-2, and subject to withholding.

7. Administration. [Title of officer] approves expense reports. A report submitted by that officer is approved by [another officer / the board]. The Corporation keeps each report and its supporting records for at least four years.

8. Effective date and changes. This plan is effective [date] and may be amended or ended by the board at any time, prospectively.

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Illustrative product demo · fictional S corporation

The example continues by asking the owner for the receipt, checking for a duplicate reimbursement, and tracking a draft for review. No real action is taken. Enable JavaScript to step through it.

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Before you reimburse yourself, close the evidence gap

Sample Planning Letter · fictional example · educational, not personalized advice

The free idea: check whether you pay business expenses personally. The useful next step is to turn that question into a reviewable expense report—not transfer money because a deduction sounds plausible.

Start with one month's records

Consider a fictional S-corporation owner who paid a $100 phone bill and an $80 internet bill personally. Assume their records support 60% business use of the phone and 50% of the internet. Those percentages are example assumptions, not IRS standard allowances or recommendations for your business.

Item	Example calculation	Candidate business amount
Phone	$100 × 60%	$60
Internet	$80 × 50%	$40
Total	$60 + $40	$100
Already reimbursed	Subtract the recorded payment	−$40
Left to review	$100 − $40	$60

That is $60 of potentially unreimbursed expenses, not $60 of tax savings. The plan, expenses, allocation, timing and prior payments still need checking. Do not project this month over a year without checking the other months.

Build the review packet

Find the itemized bills and evidence of who paid. Keep expense dates separate from the date you prepare the report.
Explain the business purpose and the evidence for each business-use share. Exclude personal use; don’t select a percentage just to reach a target.
Compare the bills with the business ledger and earlier expense reports. Mark the existing $40 reimbursement so it cannot be paid again.
Ask your accountant to check the reimbursement arrangement and timing. An accountable plan requires a business connection, timely substantiation and timely return of excess amounts. A document alone is not enough.
Prepare a draft report showing what is supported and what is still missing. Obtain the required review and approval before reimbursement. Preserve the approval and actual payment record with the packet.

The federal rules include a 60-day substantiation safe harbor, measured from when an expense is paid or incurred. It is not a universal rule that every older expense fails. Have your accountant assess the facts and the plan’s own terms; do not backdate records to fit a window.

A message you can adapt for your accountant

I’m reviewing personally paid business expenses for [period]. I’ve attached the bills, payment evidence, business-use explanation and previous reimbursements. Could you check whether our arrangement covers these costs, whether the timing and support are sufficient, and who should approve the report? The draft leaves [items] unresolved; no new reimbursement has been made.

Replace the brackets with real facts. Do not send documents through this website. The public reimbursement form can help organize a report; it cannot establish eligibility for you.

Decide the next action

If evidence is missing, assign a person and a follow-up date. If the accountant identifies a problem with the arrangement or timing, resolve it before payment. After an approved reimbursement, reconcile it and retain the evidence so next month’s check does not rediscover the same expense.

Sources checked September 23, 2026: IRS Publication 463, accountable plans and Treasury Regulation §1.62-2. This sample has not been sent as an issue. It does not include app access or a personal review of your records.

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2. The resolution adopting it

Resolution of the Board of Directors of [Corporation name]

RESOLVED, that the Corporation adopts the Accountable Reimbursement Plan attached to this resolution, effective [date], and that the officers of the Corporation are authorized to administer it.

Adopted on [date].

______________________________
[Name], [Title]

In a one-owner corporation the owner usually signs as the sole director. Some states let the board act by written consent in place of a meeting; your attorney will know which form yours uses.

3. The monthly expense report

Expense report — [Employee name] — [Month, year]

Date	Expense	Business purpose	Records attached	Amount





Total to reimburse

Submitted on ________ · Approved by ________ on ________ · Paid on ________ from account ending ____

Rather fill one in online? The reimbursement formtotals itself and applies the right mileage rate for each trip, then prints.

Attach the mileage log and, for the home office, the allocation calculation. Submitting every month keeps each expense well inside the 60-day safe harbor.

4. A filled-in example

Here's August 2026 for the owner of Harbor & Pine Design, Inc., the fictional business in our sample report. From July 1, 2026 the IRS business rate is 76¢ a mile; for miles driven before then it was 72.5¢.

Expense report — Dana Reyes, President — August 2026

Expense	How it's calculated	Amount
Mobile phone — business share	60% of $110	$66.00
Internet — business share	50% of $118	$59.00
Home office	12% of $1,875 (240 of 2,000 sq ft)	$225.00
Vehicle — mileage log	318 miles at $0.76	$241.68
Total to reimburse		$591.68

Submitted September 8, 2026 · Approved by the board by written consent · Paid September 10 from the corporation's account

Home office allocation

240 sq ft used regularly and only for the business, the principal place of business, in a 2,000 sq ft home: 12%.

Mortgage interest, August	$1,160.00
Property tax, August	$250.00
Utilities, August	$310.00
Homeowner's insurance, August	$155.00
Home costs × 12%	$225.00

Mileage log

Date	Destination	Business purpose	Miles
Aug 4	Lakeview Dental, 1200 Shore Rd	Rebrand kickoff meeting	42
Aug 11	Harbor Print Co.	Press check for client brochures	18
Aug 13	Coastal Brewing	Site photos for packaging project	96
Aug 18	Regional design conference	Trade show — client prospecting	94
Aug 20	Office supply store	Supplies for client workshop	14
Aug 26	Lakeview Dental, 1200 Shore Rd	Presentation of final designs	42
Aug 28	Bank and post office	Deposit client checks, mail proofs	12
318 miles × $0.76			$241.68

What the example gets right

Each line shows how the amount was worked out, not just a total.
It's submitted within days of the month's end — well inside 60 days — and paid from the corporation's account.
The trips start from the home office, which is the principal place of business, so they're business travel, not commuting.
The phone and internet shares are the same every month, set once from a sample of real use, not picked to make a round number.

One thing to tell your accountant: the home office share of mortgage interest and property tax is reimbursed here, so it shouldn't also be deducted on your personal return. Whether this fits your business is a question for your CPA or tax attorney.

Sources

Treas. Reg. §1.62-2 — accountable plan requirements, safe harbors, and amounts treated as wages
Treas. Reg. §1.274-5 — records, including receipts for lodging and for expenses of $75 or more
Rev. Proc. 2019-46 — mileage allowances at the standard rate
IRS standard mileage rates — 72.5¢ through June 30, 2026; 76¢ from July 1, 2026
IRC §280A(c)(1) — home office qualifying uses

General information, not advice for your situation. Whether a strategy fits depends on your facts — talk to your CPA or tax attorney about whether you qualify before you put it in place. Your accountant remains responsible for your return.

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