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IRS Standard Mileage Rates and Rules for 2026

The IRS allows qualified taxpayers to deduct vehicle mileage related to business, charity, medical or moving purposes — but there are several important rules to know.

Tina Orem
Chris Hutchison
Updated
If you drive for your business or plan to rack up miles while volunteering this year, you might be eligible to deduct some of that mileage on your tax return.
To qualify for this deduction, the miles must have been driven for qualifying business, medical, moving or charity purposes, and you may have to itemize on your return to claim the tax break. Rates are valid for electric, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), gas and diesel-fueled cars.

2026 IRS mileage rates

The IRS standard mileage rates for calendar year 2026 took effect on Jan. 1. The rate for business miles increased by 2.5 cents, while medical and moving miles were reduced by half a cent. The rate for charity miles remains the same as in 2025.
  • Business: 72.5 cents per mile.
  • Charity: 14 cents per mile.
  • Medical: 20.5 cents per mile.
  • Moving (military): 20.5 cents per mile.

How standard mileage rates for business work

If you’re self-employed or work as a contractor, you might be able to deduct the cost of using your car for business purposes. Commuting to work is generally not deductible mileage, but you may be able to deduct mileage for business-related trips, such as those made to clients, meetings or temporary workplaces.
You can also choose whether to deduct standard mileage using the rates above versus actual expense (e.g., repairs, depreciation, gas, and so forth), but you can't deduct both. Expenses for tolls or parking fees related to business use, however, are separately deductible regardless of which method you use.

Calculating standard mileage vs. actual expenses for business

There are two options for calculating the business deduction for your vehicle use.

1. Standard mileage deduction

This is the most straightforward way of calculating your driving expense: simply multiply the number of business miles by the IRS mileage rate. However, you’ll need to keep a record of your business-related mileage.
To use the standard IRS mileage deduction method, you must own or lease the car. But the rules for business mileage deductions can be complex, especially if you use lots of vehicles for business. The IRS website has more details.

2. Actual expenses

If you don’t want to track your mileage, you could track and deduct the actual expenses you incur while using your vehicle for business purposes. These expenses may include:
  • Depreciation.
  • Licenses.
  • Lease payments.
  • Registration fees.
  • Gas and oil.
  • Insurance.
  • Repairs.
  • Tires.
» MORE: See what other tax breaks you can take if you’re self-employed

Other mileage rate types

IRS standard mileage rate for volunteering and charitable activities

If you use your car to help a charity or to go somewhere to volunteer, the mileage can be deductible. You can deduct parking fees and tolls as well.
If you don’t want to deduct your mileage, you can deduct your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, such as gas and oil. However, the expenses have to relate directly to using your car to give services to a charitable organization. Also, you can't deduct repair and maintenance costs, depreciation, registration fees, tires, or insurance.
» MORE: See what else counts as a charitable deduction

IRS standard mileage rate for moving

Only active-duty military members can deduct mileage related to moving on their federal income tax returns. The move must be related to a permanent change of station. Several states do, however, allow some nonmilitary people to deduct moving expenses on their state tax returns.

IRS standard mileage rate for medical

If you used your car for medical reasons, you may be able to deduct the mileage. "Medical reasons" include:
  • Driving to the doctor, hospital or other medical facility.
  • Driving a child or other person who needs medical care to receive medical care.
  • Driving to see a mentally ill dependent if the visits are recommended as part of treatment.
You can deduct parking fees and tolls as well.
If you don’t want to deduct your mileage, another option is to deduct your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, such as gas and oil. The expenses must relate directly to the use of your car for medical purposes, and you can't deduct repair and maintenance costs, depreciation or insurance.
Mileage isn’t the only transportation cost you might be able to deduct as a medical expense. IRS Publication 502 has the details. Here’s a big caveat: In general, you can deduct qualified, unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
» MORE: See what else you might be able to deduct as a medical expense

How to claim tax deductions for eligible mileage

If you're deducting mileage for moving, medical or charity purposes, you'll need to itemize on your tax return in order to claim the tax deduction. Itemizing means you’ll need to set aside extra time when preparing your returns to fill out tax forms Form 1040 and Schedule A, as well as supporting schedules that feed into those forms.
If you're self-employed, you’ll claim your mileage deduction as a business expense on Schedule C. If you file your taxes online, the software will ask about your mileage during the interview process and calculate the deduction.

Tracking your mileage

This is important because if you’re audited, you may need to show a log of the miles you drove to substantiate your deduction.
There are many ways to track your mileage. Something as simple as keeping a pen and paper in the glove compartment can suffice, but a quick trip to Google or your phone's app store will reveal a variety of tools that can streamline things.
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