Mileage Reimbursement in Surrogacy Contracts: What to do about rising gas prices

Gas prices have spiked dramatically in recent weeks. The national average for gas crossed $4.00 per gallon at the end of March 2026, up more than a dollar from just one month earlier. At the time of this writing, there’s little indication how long gas prices will continue increasing, will remain high, or may return to lower prices.

For surrogates who are driving to frequent medical appointments throughout their journey, the cost of fuel is not a small detail. It is a real, recurring expense that deserves consideration.

Here is what surrogacy contracts typically include when it comes to mileage and gas, and why both surrogates and intended parents should think carefully about whether the terms are fair.

What Is Typical in the Contract

For a more in-depth guide read: What is in a Surrogacy Agreement

Most surrogacy contracts include a mileage reimbursement provision that covers driving to surrogacy-related appointments. These include IVF clinic visits, monitoring appointments, embryo transfers, OB checkups, lab work, and any other medical visits tied to the pregnancy.

The reimbursement usually works one of two ways. Either the contract sets a flat rate per mile (for example, $0.60 per mile), or it ties the rate to the current IRS standard mileage rate, which for 2026 is $0.725 per mile. The key difference is that contracts pegged to the IRS rate will automatically adjust year to year, and sometimes will adjust midyear for especially sharp increases in gas (the last time being in 2022), while a flat rate stays fixed for the life of the contract. 

There is also typically a distance threshold. Mileage reimbursement only kicks in when the round-trip distance exceeds a set number of miles, often 51, 76, or 101 miles round trip depending benefit package. Anything under that threshold is expected to be covered by the surrogate's monthly allowance, which is a separate recurring payment (usually $200 or more per month) meant to offset day-to-day costs that are not specifically covered like your notary fee, short drives, parking, sometimes even lost wages or childcare for routine appointments.

One principle that is generally followed in the surrogacy industry is the surrogate should not be paying out of pocket for travel related to the surrogacy. The monthly allowance is intended to cover routine, shorter-distance driving. It is not a bonus. It is there so the surrogate is not absorbing costs that are part of the journey.

What Surrogates Should Consider About Mileage

Surrogates should map out the full picture of where they will be driving before they sign a contract. The journey involves multiple locations, and they may not all be close to home.

During the early stages, the surrogate will travel to the IVF clinic for screening, the embryo transfer, and follow-up monitoring. This clinic may or may not be near her home. If it is too far, the After the surrogate "graduates" from the fertility clinic (typically around 8 to 12 weeks), she will transition to her own obstetrician for the remainder of the pregnancy. 

That means two or three potential locations, each at a different distance. A surrogate whose IVF clinic is 40 miles round trip might technically fall below the mileage threshold, but if she is driving there two to three times a week for appointments, gas adds up fast.

The first time the surrogate can consider the mileage benefit is the time she signs her benefit package. This is done before matching, so that intended parents will have a good idea of what to expect for the cost of their journey. Unfortunately, the distance to and from the clinic or monitoring clinic will not be known at this time as the clinic will not be known until a match occurs. However, surrogates could be aware of higher mileage thresholds (100 miles or more) and look at the monthly allowance to see if it is above or at market rates, and if not request an adjustment to their package. 

The next time to evaluate this is during matching, before acceptance of the match. When presented with a match, the surrogate can try to calculate the distance from home or work to the intended parents’ IVF clinic, or request information about where a monitoring clinic would be. This gives them a chance to request adjusting the mileage threshold as a condition to agreeing to the match. 

The last time will be at the legal stage, when the contract is drafted and negotiated. If information about the clinic wasn’t known until legal, surrogates can now calculate their expected driving distances for each phase of the journey and raise the issue with their attorney if the math does not work. Note that if intended parents are in an all-inclusive surrogacy package, the surrogate may not be able to adjust mileage during the legal stage.

While it is possible to amend the surrogacy agreement once it is signed, this is normally not done for a benefit such as mileage unless an error was made in drafting.

What Intended Parents Should Know

The core principle is straightforward: a surrogate should not be financially burdened by travel costs that exist because of the surrogacy. If the monthly allowance does not realistically cover the surrogate's shorter-distance driving given current gas prices, that is a gap worth addressing during contract negotiations.

Intended parents benefit from getting ahead of this issue. A surrogate who feels financially supported is less likely to experience stress or friction during the journey. A small adjustment, like lowering the mileage threshold, pegging the rate to the IRS standard, or adding a flat rate to each IVF appointment, can go a long way as a goodwill gesture that costs relatively little in the overall scope of a surrogacy budget.

Is Mileage Reimbursement Negotiable?

While both surrogates and intended parents are discouraged by agencies from changing the benefit package that is agreed to at the time of match, when there are unforeseen changes to the parties’ expectations, a term could become subject to negotiation. For example, if a gestational carrier had childcare taken care of prior to the match, but circumstances changed that the family member or ex-spouse who used to provide babysitting for free no longer would provide such childcare, then childcare expenses might be now up for negotiation. So too, mileage and travel reimbursements could be negotiable if even the IRS business rate seems behind with gas prices, then both parties should expect that there may be changes to this often overlooked contract term.

The key levers include the per-mile rate, the round-trip distance threshold, and whether the contract includes any language to account for rising fuel costs. A flat rate of $0.60 per mile written today may not feel fair six months into a pregnancy if gas prices continue to climb. Contracts tied to the IRS rate offer built-in protection against inflation since the IRS adjusts its rate annually based on vehicle operating costs.

Both sides should also consider how the monthly allowance interacts with the mileage provision. If the surrogate lives 30 miles from her monitoring clinic and drives there three times a week, that is 240 miles a week that falls below a 75 mile roundtrip thresholds. At $4 or even $6 or more a gallon, gas expenses could eat away at the monthly allowance leaving nothing for childcare or lost wages to cover appointments. The contract should account for this reality.

Protect Yourself with the Right Legal Guidance

Whether you are an intended parent building your budget or a surrogate evaluating a match, the mileage and gas provisions in your contract matter more than ever. A surrogacy attorney can help you negotiate terms that reflect current costs and protect both parties throughout the journey.

As members of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) and the Academy of California Adoption-ART Lawyers (ACAL), Tsong Law Group brings extensive expertise to surrogacy contract drafting and negotiation. We are licensed in California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.