Can my employer require I drive my personal car for business purposes without compensatins me?

You should also consider whether you can recoup some of the costs through tax benefit. If you use your car in your job or business and you use it only for that purpose, you may deduct its entire cost of operation (subject to limits discussed later). However, if you use the car for both business and personal purposes, you may deduct only the cost of its business use. See: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc510.html

As to whether the employer can require you to use your own car, absent an agreement otherwise, he can or she can. The employer can do so without compensating you and should you have an accident, you will have to rely on your own and the other person(s) insurance coverage.

The general rule is that the employer can require you to use your own vehicle as part of your job and you can take the tax advantage of its business use if the employer doesn't compensate you for it. If you are on a work task and are involved in an accident, your employer may be liable in part or all for the damages that result but that depends on your local state law. In any event you should keep your insurance up on the car and make sure your agent knows that you are using it for part business use. But the law is a little different in each state. You need to talk to a local Insurance Law attorney who deals with this kind of case. You can look for a local attorney near you here on at the Find a Lawyer link. Or you can call your local attorney's Bar Association in Richmond and ask for a referral to a Insurance or Employment Law attorney near you. If you can not afford an attorney then you should tell them and ask for a public defender (it may be called something else in your particular state). If this answer was helpful, please give a “Vote Up” review below. Thanks. Ron Burdge, www.BurdgeLaw.com