2026 Mileage Deduction Calculator

How the IRS standard mileage rate works

The IRS standard mileage rate is a flat amount per business mile that stands in for the actual cost of running your car: gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation and repairs. Instead of saving every receipt for the vehicle, you multiply your business miles by the rate and claim that number on Schedule C. The IRS sets the rate every year, and in some years it changes mid-year when fuel and vehicle costs move sharply.

Using the standard rate is simpler than the actual expense method, and for most gig drivers who put real miles on a personal car it also produces the larger deduction. Once you choose the standard rate for a car in its first year of business use, you can switch methods later, but the rules are strict, so check with your preparer before changing.

The 2026 mid-year rate change

For 2026 the IRS published two rates. Business miles driven from January 1 through June 30, 2026 are worth 72.5 cents each. Miles driven from July 1 through December 31, 2026 are worth 76 cents each. That is why the calculator asks when you drove: the same 10,000 miles are worth $7,250 in the first half of the year and $7,600 in the second half.

If your mileage log records dates, your preparer can apply the right rate to each trip. A single yearly total with no dates forces an estimate, which is exactly the kind of guess the IRS pushes back on.

Who can deduct business mileage

Self employed people and independent contractors who use their own car for work: rideshare and delivery drivers on Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Amazon Flex, real estate agents, home health aides, mobile notaries, contractors, and anyone with 1099 income who drives to earn it. Miles between your home and a regular workplace are commuting and do not count. Miles between jobs, to pick up supplies, or to meet a client do count.

W-2 employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed mileage on their federal return under current law, although a few states still allow it. Ask your preparer if that applies to you.

What records the IRS expects

The IRS wants a contemporaneous log, meaning one written at or near the time of the trip, not rebuilt from memory in April. For every business trip you need the date, the starting point and destination, the business purpose, and the miles driven. You also need your odometer reading at the start and end of the year so the IRS can see total miles against business miles.

A GPS mileage tracker that records trips automatically produces exactly this log, with dates, addresses and distances, and keeps it for the years the IRS can ask for it. MileVault does this in the background and exports the IRS-ready report your preparer needs.

IRS standard mileage rates, 2024 to 2026

Mileage deduction questions