US Expense Report Template
A free US expense report template to itemize business expenses and total a reimbursement claim.
- Accounting standard
- US GAAP
- Financial year
- Any 12-month period; the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31) is most common
- Currency
- USD ($)
- Filed with
- SEC (public companies) — no general registry for private firms
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Travel (airfare, mileage) | $320 |
| Lodging | $450 |
| Meals and entertainment | $120 |
| Local transportation | $60 |
| Office supplies | $85 |
| Other | $40 |
| Total to reimburse | $1,075 |
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How to Fill In a US Expense Report Template
An expense report itemizes what an employee, contractor or owner spent on business activities — travel, meals, lodging and similar costs — so the amount can be verified and reimbursed. It also gives the business a paper trail for its own bookkeeping and, where costs are deductible, for tax purposes.
Keeping expense reports organized by category makes it far easier to substantiate deductions if the IRS ever asks for records, and it keeps reimbursement requests moving quickly through approval.
What is an expense report?
An expense report is a simple itemized record of business expenses incurred by an individual, submitted for reimbursement or for the business’s own records. Each line shows a category and an amount, with receipts kept as supporting evidence, and the report totals to the amount owed to the person who paid.
What to include
- Travel (airfare, mileage) — cost of flights, trains or mileage reimbursement for business travel.
- Lodging — hotel or other accommodation costs while traveling for business.
- Meals and entertainment — cost of business meals and client entertainment.
- Local transportation — taxis, rideshares, parking and tolls.
- Office supplies — small purchases of supplies or materials needed for work.
- Other — any remaining business expense that doesn’t fit the categories above.
- Total to reimburse — the sum of every category, calculated automatically.
Step-by-step guide
- Set the reporting period (e.g. a specific trip, or a calendar month) at the top of the report.
- Enter each expense under the right category — travel, lodging, meals, local transportation, office supplies or other — with the date it was incurred.
- Let the template total all categories automatically to calculate the amount to reimburse.
- Attach or reference receipts for each expense, since the IRS generally expects documentation to support deductible business expenses.
- Note the business purpose for meals and entertainment, as US tax rules limit the deductibility of these costs and documentation of purpose is expected.
- Submit the completed report to a manager or the finance team for approval.
- Keep a copy of the approved report and receipts with your business records for at least the standard IRS recordkeeping period.
US-specific rules
There is no SEC or GAAP filing requirement for an expense report — it is an internal reimbursement and recordkeeping document. However, the IRS requires adequate records (receipts, dates, business purpose) to support any business expense deduction, and business meal costs are generally only 50% deductible under current federal tax rules, so keeping meals separate from other categories, as this template does, matters for tax preparation.
Independent contractors and sole proprietors can use the same structure to track deductible business expenses for Schedule C, even though they aren’t "reimbursing" anyone but themselves.