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Mileage deduction calculator, 2026

United States · federal taxes only · tax year 2026

Type your business miles for each half of the year. The page shows what the IRS standard mileage rates give you, and, if you add your total miles and car costs, how that compares with deducting your actual expenses.

Your year

Trips to clients, to buy supplies, to meetings. Leave out commuting: driving between your home and your main or regular place of work is not deductible, however far it is. The rate for this period is 72.5 cents a mile.
The IRS raised the rate in the middle of 2026: 76 cents a mile for this period. Use 0 if you have not driven yet, or leave it empty.
Business, commuting and personal miles together. Needed to compare with actual expenses. Your odometer on December 31 minus January 1 gives it.
Added to either method. Parking at your regular place of work is commuting and does not count.
Gas, oil, repairs, tires, insurance, registration, licenses, and depreciation or lease payments, for all miles, not only business miles.

Your estimate

Deduction for the year

Standard mileage rate
$9,175.00
Actual expenses
$7,500.00
Mileage deduction for the year, by method
Standard mileage rateActual expenses
Car use$8,875.00$7,200.00
Parking and tolls$300.00$300.00
Deduction for the year$9,175.00$7,500.00

With these numbers the standard mileage rate gives $1,675.00 more.

  • The 2026 standard rate has two periods: 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30 and 76 cents a mile from July 1 (IRS Announcement 2026-11), by when the expense is paid or incurred. Put each business mile in the box for the period it was driven. The 2027 rate has not been announced.
  • The standard rate already covers gas, repairs, insurance, registration and the car’s wear. Do not deduct those again; only business parking and tolls are added.
  • You may not be allowed to use both. For a car you own, the standard rate has to be chosen in the first year you use the car for business; for a leased car it applies for the whole lease. It cannot be used with five or more cars at the same time, or after certain depreciation methods. Check the sources below.
  • Actual expenses only win when your car costs more than 73.96 cents to run for each mile driven (your average standard rate). Yours is 60 cents.

The standard-rate figure is exact for the numbers entered. The actual-expenses figure is an estimate for the United States, federal taxes only, tax year 2026.

General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.

Your numbers stay on this page. Nothing is sent or saved.

What this page leaves out

United States, federal taxes only, tax year 2026, for a self-employed person using their own car. The standard-rate figure is exact for the numbers entered; the actual-expenses figure is an estimate (the full list of what is left out is below).

  • Whether you are allowed to use each method (first-year choice, leased cars, five or more cars, depreciation already claimed). The page reminds you; it cannot check your history.
  • The dollar limits on a car’s depreciation and the Section 179 deduction, which can lower the actual-expenses figure.
  • The amount added back for a leased car under the actual-expenses method.
  • How much tax the deduction saves. That depends on your profit, filing status and state.
  • Medical and moving miles (20.5 cents a mile to June 30, 2026, 23.5 cents from July 1) and charity miles (14 cents), which use other rates.
  • State rules, and mileage a client has already reimbursed.
  • Your records: the page does not check that your log is complete.

The working

  1. January 1 to June 30: 7,000 business miles × 72.5 cents a mile = $5,075.00.
  2. July 1 to December 31: 5,000 business miles × 76 cents a mile = $3,800.00.
  3. Standard mileage rate, car use: $5,075.00 + $3,800.00 = $8,875.00.
  4. Parking and tolls: $300.00, added to either method.
  5. Standard-rate deduction: $8,875.00 + $300.00 = $9,175.00.
  6. Business share of the miles: 12,000 ÷ 15,000 = 80%.
  7. Actual expenses: $9,000.00 × 80% = $7,200.00.
  8. Actual-expenses deduction: $7,200.00 + $300.00 = $7,500.00.
  9. The larger deduction is standard mileage rate, by $1,675.00.

Amounts are rounded to the cent, and half a cent rounds up.

Rates checked on the IRS website on October 29, 2026.

The deduction lowers your business profit. To see what you should set aside for tax, put your business expenses, including this deduction, in the self-employment tax calculator.

A mileage log you can keep

Tax law asks you to prove your business miles with adequate records: the date, where you went, why, and how many miles. This free spreadsheet file has a column for each. Open it in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets. It is a plain file on this site; nothing is sent anywhere.

Download the log (CSV)

Why use this one

How the mileage deduction works in 2026

If you drive your own car for your business, you can deduct the cost of that driving from your business profit. The IRS lets you do it in one of two ways. This page works out both. It covers the United States, federal taxes only, for the 2026 tax year, for a self-employed person using their own car.

The two methods

Business parking fees and tolls are deductible on top of either method.

Worked example

Dana is a freelance photographer. In 2026 she drove 15,000 miles, 12,000 of them for work: 7,000 before July 1 and 5,000 after. She paid $300 in business parking and tolls, and her car cost $9,000 for the year, depreciation included.

  1. Standard mileage rate: 7,000 miles × 72.5 cents = $5,075.00, and 5,000 miles × 76 cents = $3,800.00, which is $8,875.00. With parking and tolls: $9,175.00.
  2. Actual expenses: 12,000 ÷ 15,000 = 80% of her driving was for business. 80% of $9,000 is $7,200.00. With parking and tolls: $7,500.00.

The standard rate gives Dana $1,675.00 more. Her car cost her 60 cents a mile, less than the 73.96 cents a business mile the standard rate pays her on average, so that is no surprise.

When actual expenses win

Because the standard rate pays 72.5 or 76 cents for every business mile, actual expenses only come out ahead when your car costs more than your average rate to run for each mile you drive. A car that is expensive to run and driven mostly for work is the usual case; a car that is cheap to run is less likely to beat the standard rate.

Which miles count

Only business miles. Driving between your home and your main or regular place of work is commuting. It is a personal expense, and it is not deductible however far it is. Parking at your regular place of work is part of commuting too.

You cannot always choose

For a car you own, the standard rate has to be chosen in the first year the car is available for your business. For a leased car, the standard rate has to be used for the entire lease, renewals included. You cannot use it if you operate five or more cars at the same time, or if you have already claimed depreciation on the car with a method other than straight-line (MACRS, a Section 179 deduction or the special depreciation allowance). Read the IRS pages linked below before you choose.

Keep a log

The law requires you to prove your business use with adequate records or sufficient evidence. That means, for each trip, the date, where you went, the business purpose and the miles. A notebook, a spreadsheet or an app all work. A free log you can download is under the result on this page.

Other rates

The IRS sets other rates for 2026 too: for medical and qualifying moving trips 20.5 cents a mile until June 30 and 23.5 cents from July 1, and 14 cents for charity driving. This page uses only the business rates. The IRS announced the first 2026 rate on December 29, 2025 and raised it in July; the 2027 rate has not been announced.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard mileage rate for 2026?

It has two periods this year: 72.5 cents for every business mile for expenses paid or incurred from January 1 to June 30, 2026 (Notice 2026-10), and 76 cents from July 1, 2026 (Announcement 2026-11). Put each mile in the box for the period you drove it. Both are linked below.

Standard mileage rate or actual expenses: which is better?

Work out both and compare, as this page does. The standard rate is simpler and wins when your car is cheap to run. Actual expenses win only when your car costs more per mile than your average standard rate (between 72.5 and 76 cents). Check first that you are allowed to use the method, because the first-year choice and a few other rules can decide it for you.

Can I deduct parking and tolls as well?

Yes. Business parking fees and tolls are deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate, and they are included with actual expenses too. This page adds them to both. Parking at your regular place of work is commuting and does not count.

Is my drive to work deductible?

No. The cost of driving between your home and your main or regular place of work is a personal commuting expense, however far it is. Leave those miles out of your business miles.

What records do I need?

The law requires adequate records or sufficient evidence of your business driving: the date, where you went, why, and how many miles. A mileage log with a column for each is the usual way. The free CSV file on this page has them.

Is this how much tax I will save?

No. It is the amount you can deduct from your business profit. How much tax that saves depends on your profit, your filing status and your state. To see what you should set aside for tax, use the self-employment tax calculator.

Is this the amount I can claim on my return?

It is an estimate. The standard-rate figure is exact for the numbers you enter, but this page cannot check which method you are allowed to use, or the dollar limits on a car’s depreciation under actual expenses. General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.

Sources and official links