Some state employees are getting a free ride courtesy of taxpayers, a state audit released Monday found.

The Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration’s policies for allowing employees to commute to and from work in state-owned vehicles doesn’t align with federal regulations on allowing the use of a vehicle as a benefit, the Office of State Auditor found in the report presented Monday to the Legislative Audit Committee.

And it’s no small change. Last year 782 employees were allowed to use publicly vehicles to drive to and from work at a  $1.54 million cost to the state. Of that, $1.38 million “was for commuting arrangements that did not meet all the statutory criteria,” auditors wrote in their report. “The department does not review commuting authorizations for compliance with criteria or provide clear guidance to agencies related to the use of take-home vehicles.”

Auditors recommended more oversight on vehicle policies.

Auditors found 364 vehicles being used for commutes by Department of Corrections employees, 243 by the Department of Transportation, 87 by the Department of Public Safety, 66 by the Department of Revenue, 25 by the Department of Natural Resources, 10 by the Department of Local Affairs, four by the Department of Public Health and Environment and one by the Department of Military Affairs.

Collectively, they were driven more than 5.9 million miles in 2015, an average of 7,580 miles per commuter, according to the audit.

Auditors reviewed a sample of 30 “commuters.” Only one case met the proper requirements.

The full audit is available here.

There could be tax implications.

“For example, the state may have underreported vehicle fringe benefits for two state employees by more than $5,000 each in calendar year 2015,” auditors wrote, “Both the employees and the state may be liable for taxes on the amounts underreported and the State could be charged monetary penalties by the IRS.”

Seventeen commuters were required to reimburse the state for personal use of their state vehicles in  2015, but “we found 65 percent were not reimbursing the amounts that they should have according to department rules,” auditors said. “Overall, the state only collected about $15,400 in reimbursements out of the $40,800 it was owed in calendar year 2015.”