How Much Is the Standard Mileage Rate? 2026 IRS Rates

The IRS standard mileage rate for business driving is 70 cents per mile for tax year 2025. For 2026 there are two rates, because the IRS raised it midyear: 72.5 cents per mile for miles driven January 1 through June 30, 2026, and 76 cents per mile from July 1 through December 31, 2026. You multiply your business miles by the rate in effect when you drove them, so 6,000 business miles in 2025 is a $4,200 write-off. The rate covers gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation in one number, and self-employed people claim it on Schedule C. The medical and moving rate is 21 cents for 2025, then 20.5 cents and 23.5 cents across the two halves of 2026, and the charitable rate is fixed at 14 cents.

Last updated July 2026, to reflect the midyear rate increase that took effect July 1, 2026.

How much is the standard mileage rate?

The IRS normally sets the optional standard mileage rate once a year, in mid-December, in a notice that takes effect the following January. It is a per-mile figure that stands in for the actual cost of driving your car for a deductible purpose. Instead of adding up gas, oil, repairs, tires, insurance, and depreciation, you just count the miles and multiply.

2026 is an exception worth knowing about. The IRS opened the year at 72.5 cents, then took the unusual step of raising the rate in the middle of the year, to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026, citing the jump in fuel prices. That means a 2026 return has two business rates in it, split by the date you drove.

The business rate is the one most people mean when they ask about the mileage rate, and it is the one that keeps climbing: 65.5 cents in 2023, 67 cents in 2024, 70 cents in 2025, 72.5 cents for the first half of 2026 and 76 cents for the second half. The governing guidance is IRS Notice 2025-5 for 2025 and Notice 2026-10 for 2026, with the midyear change made by Announcement 2026-11. The charitable rate never moves with the others because it is fixed in statute at 14 cents by Section 170(i) of the tax code, not set by the IRS.

Which rate applies depends on when you drove the miles, not when you file. Miles driven in 2025 use the 70-cent rate even though you file that return in early 2026. For 2026, keep your log in a way that lets you total the first half and the second half separately, because the two halves are multiplied by different numbers. A courier who drove 9,000 business miles before July and 9,000 after deducts 9,000 times 72.5 cents plus 9,000 times 76 cents, or $13,365, rather than a single blended figure.

How the mileage deduction works

The math is deliberately simple. Take your deductible business miles for the year, multiply by the rate for that year, and the result is your deduction. A rideshare driver who logged 18,000 business miles in 2025 deducts 18,000 times 70 cents, or $12,600. A consultant who drove 3,200 miles to client sites deducts $2,240. That amount comes off your business profit before income tax and self-employment tax are figured, so at a combined 30 percent rate a $12,600 deduction is worth roughly $3,780 in real tax saved.

The standard rate is meant to be all-inclusive. When you use it, you cannot also deduct gas, oil changes, repairs, insurance, registration, lease payments, or depreciation separately, because the per-mile figure already bakes those in. You can still add business-related parking fees and tolls on top of the mileage, since those are not part of the rate. Interest on a car loan and personal property tax on the vehicle are also deductible on a proportional basis if you are self-employed.

One rule catches people who drive for a living: the miles between your home and your regular place of business are commuting miles, and commuting is never deductible. Deductible business miles start when you leave for a business destination that is not your regular office, for example driving from your home office to a client, between two job sites, or to pick up business supplies.

Who can claim the standard mileage rate?

Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the mileage deduction is essentially a self-employed benefit. Here is who can and cannot use it.

• Self-employed people and independent contractors claim business mileage on Schedule C. This is the biggest group: rideshare and delivery drivers, real estate agents, contractors, consultants, and freelancers who drive for work.
• Employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed business mileage on their personal returns. The TCJA suspended the miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses starting in 2018, and the 2025 tax law (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) made that repeal permanent, so a W-2 worker who drives their own car for the job gets nothing on their tax return and should ask the employer for a reimbursement instead.
• Employers commonly reimburse employees at the IRS rate. A reimbursement paid under an accountable plan at or below the standard rate is tax-free to the employee and deductible to the business.
• The medical rate applies to miles driven for medical care if you itemize and clear the 7.5 percent of AGI floor.
• The moving rate is limited to active-duty members of the Armed Forces (and certain intelligence community members) moving under orders, since the general moving deduction was also suspended by the TCJA.

To use the standard rate on a car you own, you have to choose it in the first year the vehicle is used for business. If you take actual expenses that first year, you are locked out of the standard rate for that car for as long as you own it. If you lease, you must stick with whichever method you pick for the whole lease term.

Standard mileage rate vs. actual expenses

The standard rate is one of two methods the IRS allows for deducting vehicle costs. The other is the actual expense method, where you total your real costs for the year, gas, oil, repairs, insurance, registration, lease or depreciation, and deduct the business-use percentage of that total. If your car is 60 percent business, you deduct 60 percent of every cost, which means keeping every receipt and categorizing each expense through the year.

As a rule of thumb, the standard rate wins for people who drive a lot of miles in a reasonably economical car, because 70 to 76 cents a mile adds up fast and the paperwork is light. Actual expenses tend to win for an expensive vehicle, a gas guzzler, or a car with heavy repair bills and relatively few miles, where the real costs exceed the per-mile figure. Many drivers run both calculations the first year and pick the larger deduction, since that first-year choice sets the rules for the life of the car.

The mileage log the IRS expects

Whichever method you use, you need a record of your business miles, and "about 15,000 miles" written on a sticky note will not survive an audit. The IRS wants a contemporaneous log, meaning you write it down at or near the time of the trip, not reconstruct it in April. For each business trip, record:

• The date of the trip
• The destination and business purpose (who you saw or why you drove)
• The miles driven for that trip

You also want your total miles for the year and your odometer reading at the start and end, so you can show the business-use percentage. A phone app that logs trips by GPS satisfies the requirement and is far easier than a paper book. The log is what turns a mileage estimate into a defensible deduction, and it is the single thing most self-employed drivers are missing when the IRS asks.

Claiming mileage on your tax return

Self-employed filers report vehicle costs on Schedule C. Car and truck expenses go on line 9, and Part IV of the Schedule C asks for your total business miles, commuting miles, and other miles, plus whether you have written evidence, which is the log. If you claim actual expenses and depreciation, you may also file Form 4562. The deduction reduces your business profit, which lowers both your income tax and the self-employment tax you owe on that profit.

TaxFile handles the vehicle deduction as part of the sole proprietor return. It applies the correct year's mileage rate to the business miles you enter, compares it against actual expenses when you have the numbers, puts the result on the right Schedule C lines, and runs an error check before anything is transmitted. You review and approve every line, then it e-files through an authorized IRS e-file provider. Pricing is $89 for the self-employed tier and $199 for business, plus $19 per state return. See self-employed tax filing for how the whole return fits together, or Schedule C software for the business side, and the self-employed write-offs guide for the other deductions you can pair with mileage. TaxFile is self-prepared tax software and does not provide personalized tax advice; for complex situations, consult a CPA or tax professional.

How much is the IRS mileage rate for 2025?

The IRS business standard mileage rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile, up 3 cents from 67 cents in 2024, under IRS Notice 2025-5. The medical and moving rate is 21 cents per mile and the charitable rate is 14 cents per mile. You use the 2025 rate for miles you drove during 2025, even though you file that return in early 2026.

What is the mileage rate for 2026?

There are two business rates for 2026. Miles driven from January 1 through June 30, 2026 use 72.5 cents per mile, and miles driven from July 1 through December 31, 2026 use 76 cents per mile, after the IRS raised the rate midyear. The medical and moving rate is 20.5 cents for the first half and 23.5 cents for the second half, and the charitable rate stays at 14 cents all year.

Did the IRS mileage rate change in the middle of 2026?

Yes. The IRS raised the business standard mileage rate from 72.5 cents to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026, through Announcement 2026-11, which modified Notice 2026-10. The IRS pointed to the sharp rise in fuel prices during the first half of the year. Midyear changes are rare, with the last one in 2022, so split your 2026 mileage log at June 30 and apply each rate to its own half.

Can I write off my commute to work?

No. The IRS treats travel between your home and your regular workplace as commuting, which is a personal expense and never deductible, no matter how far you drive. Deductible business miles begin when you leave for a business destination other than your main office, such as a client visit, a second job site, or a supply run. A qualifying home office can shorten the non-deductible commute because trips from a home office to business locations count as business miles.

Do I need receipts to claim the standard mileage rate?

You do not need gas or repair receipts when you use the standard mileage rate, because the per-mile figure already covers those costs. What you do need is a mileage log showing the date, destination, business purpose, and miles for each trip. If you use the actual expense method instead, then you need all the receipts, since you are deducting your real costs rather than a flat rate.

Can I switch between the standard rate and actual expenses?

Only in one direction, and only if you started with the standard rate. If you use the standard mileage rate in the first year you place the car in service, you may switch to actual expenses in a later year (with some depreciation adjustments). But if you use actual expenses in that first year, you are locked into actual expenses for that vehicle for as long as you own it. Leased vehicles must use the same method for the entire lease.