A guide for self-employed people who track, manage, and deduct their mileage
Business mileage is the distance you drive for work purposes, like visiting clients, traveling between job sites, or running business errands. As of July 1, 2026, the IRS lets you deduct or reimburse business miles at 76 cents per mile, a rare mid-year increase from the 72.5-cent rate that applies to miles driven January 1 through June 30, 2026. At the new rate, every 1,000 business miles is worth $760 in deductions or tax-free reimbursement. To claim it, you need a mileage log that records the date, purpose, and distance of each business trip.
This hub is your complete resource for getting every one of those miles back. Below you’ll find the current IRS mileage rates, the rules for what qualifies, IRS-compliant mileage log requirements, free calculators, and dedicated guides for self-employed workers, employees, and employers.
Business mileage means different things depending on how you work. Pick your situation to jump straight to the guide written for you — or keep reading for the rules that apply to everyone.Now that we've covered the fundamentals, let's dive deeper into the various aspects of IRS mileage reimbursement.
Self-employed & 1099 contractors
Customize reimursements to each employee's costs where they lve, and keep up with changing gas prices
Employees who drive for work
If you use your personal car for work, your employer can reimburse you tax-free at the IRS rate. Learn what you’re entitled to and how to document it.
Employers & team managers
Reimburse your drivers fairly, deduct the cost as a business expense, and stay compliant — without spreadsheets.
According to IRS guidelines, deductible business trips include:
Driving between workplaces — traveling from one job site or work location to another within your tax home area.
Client and customer visits — meetings, deliveries, showings, service calls, and sales appointments.
Business meetings away from your regular workplace — conferences, trainings, and off-site meetings.
Trips to a temporary workplace — driving from home to a short-term work location, even if you also have a regular workplace.
Business errands — supply runs, bank deposits, post office trips, and other errands done for work.
Real-world examples: a rideshare driver can deduct the miles with a passenger and the miles between trips. A realtor can deduct the drive from the office to an open house — and the trip to pick up refreshments for it.
The big exception: commuting. Driving from home to your regular workplace and back is considered personal, not business — no matter how far it is. The details matter, though, and home-office workers follow different rules.
Quick answer: The IRS standard mileage rate is 76 cents per mile for business miles driven July 1 through December 31, 2026 — up from 72.5 cents in the first half of the year. The IRS made this rare mid-year increase (Announcement 2026-11) in response to rising fuel prices. Medical and military moving miles rose to 23.5 cents; charitable miles stay at 14 cents.
72.5 (Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026) | 76 (Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026) cents per mile for business purposes
20.5 (Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026) | 23.5 (Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026) cents per mile for medical purposes
20.5 (Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026) | 23.5 (Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026) cents per mile for moving (active-duty military) purposes
14 (no change) cents per mile for charitable purposes
70 cents per mile for business purposes
21 cents per mile for medical purposes
14 cents per mile for charitable purposes
67 cents per mile for business purposes
21 cents per mile for medical purposes
14 cents per mile for charitable purposes
Which rate do I use? The rate is set by the date you drove, not the date you file or get reimbursed. A trip on June 28 uses 72.5¢ even if you submit the expense in July; a trip on July 2 uses 76¢. Your 2026 mileage log needs to keep the two periods separate — one more reason automatic, dated trip records matter this year.Our in-depth guides will help you learn more about the 2025 IRS Mileage Rate as well as historical IRS mileage rates and how they are determined
Mid-year rate changes are rare — before 2026, the IRS had only done it a handful of times, most recently in 2022. The standard rate is based on a national study of vehicle ownership and operating costs, and this revision was driven specifically by fuel prices. Get the full details in the 2026 IRS mileage rate guide, or look up a prior year in historical IRS mileage rates (2016–2025) — including the 2025 rates if you’re amending last year’s return.
Driving in Canada? The CRA sets its own per-kilometre rates. See the 2026 CRA automobile allowance rate and historical CRA mileage rates.
Quick answer: You can track business mileage with an automatic mileage tracking app, a spreadsheet, or a paper logbook. Whichever you choose, the IRS requires contemporaneous records — logged at or near the time of each trip, not reconstructed at tax time.
Four habits separate drivers who capture every deductible mile from those who leave money on the road:
Pick one system and stick with it. An automatic mileage tracking app uses GPS to log every trip in the background — no start/stop buttons, no forgotten drives. Prefer paper? Start with our free IRS-compliant mileage log template.
Classify trips promptly. Swipe business or personal while the drive is fresh. Contemporaneous records carry far more weight with the IRS than a log rebuilt months later.
Reconcile regularly. Cross-check your mileage log against your calendar, invoices, and expense reports once a month to catch missed trips.
Keep supporting documents. Parking receipts and tolls are deductible on top of the mileage rate — save them alongside your log.
Forgot to track last year? You may still be able to reconstruct a defensible mileage log from calendars, work records, and location history.
Quick answer: The IRS allows two ways to deduct vehicle costs: the standard mileage rate (miles driven × the IRS rate) or the actual expense method (your real vehicle costs × your business-use percentage). Either way, you must keep a mileage log showing the date, purpose, and distance of every business trip.
The standard mileage rate: Multiply your business miles by the IRS standard mileage rate for the tax year. It’s the simpler method, and the rate already bakes in gas, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation. One rule to know: to use it, you generally must choose it in the first year you use the car for business.
The actual expense method: Track every vehicle cost — fuel, repairs, insurance, lease payments, depreciation — then deduct the percentage that matches your business use. More paperwork, but it can win for expensive vehicles or heavy business use.
Not sure which saves you more? Run your numbers through our standard mileage vs. actual expenses calculator and see the comparison side by side.
Whichever method you choose, the IRS expects a log that records, for each business trip:
Date of the trip
Business purpose
Starting point and destination
Miles driven
Odometer readings at the start and end of the year are also strongly recommended to establish total annual mileage. (Wondering if they’re required per trip? Here’s what the IRS actually says about odometer readings.) A complete log is your best protection in an audit — and your proof for every dollar you claim. Get the full breakdown in our guide to IRS mileage log requirements, then see how to claim mileage on your taxes when you file.
Quick answer: Yes. The IRS standard mileage rate applies to electric and hybrid vehicles exactly as it does to gas vehicles — the same 76 cents per business mile as of July 1, 2026, covering charging costs in place of fuel.
For EV drivers: Deduct business miles at the standard rate, or use the actual expense method to deduct real charging and operating costs — worth comparing, since EVs are often cheaper per mile to run.
For employers: You can reimburse EV drivers at the standard IRS rate tax-free, or set a custom rate that reflects lower EV operating costs.
Bonus savings: EVs may also qualify for federal and state tax credits and incentives — separate from, and stackable with, your mileage deduction.
Quick answer: Multiply your business miles by the IRS rate in effect when you drove them. For 2026: miles driven July 1 or later × $0.76, plus miles driven January–June × $0.725.
At the new 76-cent rate:
1,000 business miles × $0.76 = $760
5,000 business miles × $0.76 = $3,800
15,000 business miles × $0.76 = $11,400
Split-year example: Say you drove 6,000 business miles from January through June and another 6,000 from July through December. Your 2026 deduction is (6,000 × $0.725) + (6,000 × $0.76) = $4,350 + $4,560 = $8,910.
For a full-time delivery or rideshare driver, that’s often a five-figure deduction — which is why an accurate, dated mileage log matters even more in a split-rate year. Plug your own miles into the free IRS mileage calculator to see what your driving is worth, then estimate your total tax picture with the quarterly tax calculator.
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