2026 IRS Standard Mileage Rates
The IRS raised the 2026 business standard mileage rate to 76 cents per mile for miles driven on or after July 1, 2026 (Announcement 2026-11, 2026-29 I.R.B. 49), citing increases in fuel prices. Miles driven January 1 – June 30, 2026 still use the original 72.5 cents rate from Notice 2026-10. Your 2026 return uses both rates — split your mileage by trip date.
Mid-year revisions are rare but not unprecedented — the IRS did the same thing in July 2022 when fuel prices spiked. The practical effect is that "the 2026 rate" is two numbers, and which one applies depends on when you drove, not when you file.
| Purpose | Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 (Notice 2026-10) | Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026 (Announcement 2026-11) |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢/mile | 76¢/mile |
| Medical / Moving (active-duty military only) | 20.5¢/mile | 23.5¢/mile |
| Charitable | 14¢/mile | 14¢/mile |
For context, the business rate started 2025 at 70 cents, rose to 72.5 cents on January 1, 2026 (+2.5¢), and then to 76 cents on July 1, 2026 (+3.5¢).
The charitable mileage rate is set by statute (26 U.S.C. §170(i)) and is not adjusted for inflation. The business and medical rates are based on an annual study of fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle.
2025 vs 2026 Rate Comparison
| Purpose | 2025 Rate | 2026: Jan 1 – Jun 30 | 2026: Jul 1 – Dec 31 | Change vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | 70.0¢/mile | 72.5¢/mile | 76¢/mile | +6.0¢ |
| Medical / Moving | 21.0¢/mile | 20.5¢/mile | 23.5¢/mile | +2.5¢ |
| Charitable | 14.0¢/mile | 14.0¢/mile | 14.0¢/mile | — |
The business rate is now 6 cents higher than it was in 2025. A freelancer driving 15,000 business miles entirely in the second half of 2026 deducts $900 more than the same miles would have earned at the 2025 rate — and $525 more than at the 72.5¢ rate that applied through June.
Note the medical/moving rate moved in both directions this year: it dipped half a cent to 20.5¢ in January, then jumped to 23.5¢ in July. If you're claiming medical mileage for 2026, check which side of July 1 each trip falls on.
Federal Mileage Rate vs IRS Mileage Rate — Is There a Difference?
No. They are the same number. "Federal mileage rate," "IRS mileage rate," and "standard mileage rate" are three names for one figure: the IRS standard mileage rate.
Two names exist for a simple reason — the IRS is a federal agency, so the rate it publishes each year is a federal rate. Employers, universities, and state agencies tend to write "federal mileage rate" or "federal mileage reimbursement rate" in their expense policies, while the IRS's own notices call it the "standard mileage rate." Nobody is quoting a different number; they are quoting the same notice.
The phrase "federal mileage reimbursement rate" usually appears in an employer context. It refers to the same figure, used as the reimbursement ceiling most employers adopt — pay at or below it under an accountable plan and the reimbursement is tax-free (see reimbursement vs the Schedule C deduction below for how that differs from a self-employed deduction).
Federal Mileage Rate 2026 (a split year — two rates)
Never quote a single 2026 federal mileage rate without saying which half of the year it covers. The IRS revised the rate mid-year, so a 2026 return uses both figures, split by the date each trip was driven.
| Purpose | Jan 1 - Jun 30, 2026 (IRS Notice 2026-10) | Jul 1 - Dec 31, 2026 (IRS Announcement 2026-11) |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢/mile | 76¢/mile |
| Medical / Moving (active-duty military only) | 20.5¢/mile | 23.5¢/mile |
| Charitable | 14¢/mile | 14¢/mile |
The charitable figure is fixed by statute (26 U.S.C. §170(i)) rather than recalculated each year, which is why it sits unchanged at 14¢ across both halves.
Federal Mileage Rate 2025
For the 2025 tax year the federal business mileage rate was 70¢/mile for the full year (IRS Notice 2025-05) — no mid-year split. Medical and moving mileage was 21¢/mile and charitable mileage 14¢/mile.
The 2025 rate still matters to plenty of drivers: anyone filing late, amending a 2025 return, or reconciling an employer's 2025 reimbursement needs the rate that was in effect when the miles were driven — not the current one. Rates are tied to the trip date in every case.
To put either year's rate against your own mileage, the mileage reimbursement calculator does the arithmetic for you, and ExpenseBot's mileage tracker builds the dated log behind it from your Google Calendar — free for 60 days.
Now that you know the rate — are you tracking your miles?
At 76¢/mile, 10,000 business miles = $7,600 in deductions
Start Tracking My Miles Free →Google Maps auto-calculates distances · IRS-ready mileage log · 60-day free trial
How to Calculate Your Mileage Deduction
Calculating your mileage deduction is straightforward: multiply the number of business miles you drove during the tax year by the standard mileage rate.
Formula:
Business Miles × $0.76 = Mileage Deduction
You report this deduction on:
- Schedule C (Line 9) if you're self-employed
- Form 2106 for employee business expenses (limited cases — most W-2 employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed expenses after TCJA)
Example Calculation
Sarah is a freelance graphic designer who drives to client meetings, the post office, and office supply stores. In 2026, she drove 12,000 business miles — 6,000 before July 1 and 6,000 after. Because the rate changed mid-year, she has to split them:
| Period | Miles | Rate | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | 6,000 | × $0.725 | $4,350 |
| Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026 | 6,000 | × $0.76 | $4,560 |
| Total | 12,000 | — | $8,910 |
That $8,910 directly reduces Sarah's taxable income on Schedule C, Line 9. Had she applied the old 72.5¢ rate to the whole year, she'd have claimed $8,700 and left $210 on the table — which is exactly why the split matters.
How to Handle the Mid-Year Rate Change in Your Log
Because the rate changed on July 1, your 2026 mileage log has to do one thing it normally doesn't: split your miles by trip date. There's no proration and no blended rate — every mile driven January 1 through June 30 is worth 72.5¢, and every mile from July 1 onward is worth 76¢. The mechanics are simple:
- Total your business miles for Jan 1 – Jun 30 and multiply by $0.725.
- Total your business miles for Jul 1 – Dec 31 and multiply by $0.76.
- Add the two figures. That combined total is your deduction — it goes on Schedule C, Line 9 as a single number.
The rate is tied to when you drove, not when you file or when you get reimbursed. That's why a dated log matters this year more than most: without a trip date on each entry, you can't prove which side of July 1 a mile falls on.
This is where a log that timestamps every trip earns its keep. ExpenseBot's mileage tracker imports each drive from your Google Calendar with its date attached, so separating pre-July and post-July miles is a matter of reading the log rather than reconstructing dates from memory. For a full 2026 tax-year total, keep the two periods separate and add their deductions together; the mid-year change cannot be represented by one blended rate.
Mileage Reimbursement vs the Schedule C Deduction
"Mileage rate" means two different things depending on who's driving. If you're a W-2 employee, your employer reimburses you for business miles. If you're self-employed, nobody reimburses you — you take a deduction on your own return. The 76¢ (from July 1) / 72.5¢ (before) figure is the same, but how it reaches your pocket is not.
| Employee reimbursement | Self-employed deduction | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | Your employer | Nobody — it lowers your taxable income |
| Where it lands | Your paycheck (not taxed if done right) | Schedule C, Line 9 |
| The rate is | The most an employer can pay tax-free | The amount you deduct per mile |
For employees, a reimbursement paid under an IRS "accountable plan" — at or below the standard rate for the period, with each trip substantiated by date, destination, purpose, and miles — is tax-free and never shows up as wages. If an employer pays above the standard rate, the excess is taxable and lands on your W-2. If an employer pays below the rate or nothing at all, W-2 employees can no longer deduct the shortfall — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act removed that deduction and it hasn't been restored.
Self-employed drivers skip all of that: you don't get "reimbursed," you multiply your business miles by the rate and deduct the total. Either way, the record-keeping standard is identical — a contemporaneous, dated log — which is the whole reason the mid-year split above is worth getting right. Estimates here are educational; confirm your specific situation with a tax professional.
Business vs Personal Mileage
The IRS is very specific about what qualifies as deductible business mileage. Your daily commute does not count — but most other business-related driving does.
What Counts as Business Mileage
- Driving from one work location to another
- Visiting clients or customers
- Going to business meetings
- Driving to the bank, post office, or office supply store for business purposes
- Driving to a temporary work location (less than 1 year)
- Driving from home to a temporary work location if you have a home office
- Real estate agents driving between showings
What Doesn't Count
- Commuting from home to your regular office
- Personal errands, even if done during the workday
- Driving to lunch (unless with a client for business purposes)
If you have a home office that qualifies as your principal place of business, then drives from home to client sites, temporary offices, or business errands all count as deductible business mileage — including the first and last drive of the day.
Track mileage automatically with Google Maps
ExpenseBot imports trips from Google Calendar and calculates deductions using the current IRS rate automatically.
Standard Mileage Rate vs Actual Expenses
The IRS gives you two methods to deduct vehicle expenses. You must choose one method per vehicle for the tax year:
| Feature | Standard Mileage Rate | Actual Expense Method |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Multiply miles × rate (76¢ from Jul 1) | Deduct actual costs proportionally |
| What's covered | Gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation — all-in-one | Each expense tracked individually |
| Record-keeping | Mileage log only | Mileage log + every receipt |
| Best for | Most people (simpler, often higher deduction for fuel-efficient cars) | Expensive vehicles with high operating costs |
| Restrictions | Must use in first year of vehicle use for business | Can switch to standard rate later (with depreciation limits) |
Most freelancers and small business owners benefit from the standard mileage rate because it's simpler and the 76 cent rate covers a wide range of vehicle costs. However, if you drive a vehicle with high maintenance costs, the actual expense method may yield a larger deduction.
How to Track Mileage for Tax Deductions
The key to maximizing your mileage deduction is consistent tracking. The IRS requires "contemporaneous" records — meaning you should log trips at or near the time they occur, not reconstruct them at year-end.
Here are your options, from least to most efficient:
- Paper logbook — Write down each trip's date, destination, purpose, and odometer readings. Simple but easy to forget.
- Spreadsheet — Use a Google Sheets template to log trips manually. Better organization but still manual. For a fully automated approach, the Google Sheets expense tracker scans Gmail receipts and populates your spreadsheet automatically.
- GPS tracking apps — Auto-record drives using your phone's GPS. Accurate but drains battery and tracks personal trips too.
- Google Maps + Calendar integration — The ExpenseBot mileage tracker imports appointments from Google Calendar, uses Google Maps to auto-calculate distances, applies the current IRS rate, and generates a tax-ready mileage log — all without background GPS tracking.
Your Google Calendar already contains your meetings, client visits, and appointments with addresses. ExpenseBot reads those entries, calculates the round-trip distance via Google Maps, and adds them to your mileage log with one click. No manual typing, no GPS battery drain.
Skip the manual tracking — ExpenseBot uses Google Maps to log every mile automatically.
Try It Free →IRS Mileage Log Requirements
If you're audited, the IRS will want to see a mileage log that includes these five elements for every business trip. Our free IRS mileage log template captures all of them in a Google Sheets format you can copy in one click:
- Date of the trip
- Destination (where you drove)
- Business purpose (why the trip was necessary)
- Miles driven (odometer start/end or calculated distance)
- Total miles for the year (business + personal, to determine business-use percentage)
Track all five automatically →
Mileage deductions are one of the most commonly audited items on Schedule C. Without a proper mileage log, the IRS can disallow your entire deduction — even if you actually drove those miles. Keep records throughout the year, not just at tax time.
Digital mileage logs (like those generated by ExpenseBot's mileage tracker) are accepted by the IRS and are actually preferable to handwritten logs because they include verifiable data (Google Maps distances, calendar event timestamps). Prefer a paper-style format? Download our free mileage log template for Google Sheets — IRS/CRA-compliant, pre-filled with the 2026 rates. For a quick calculation without tracking every trip, use the mileage reimbursement calculator. Canadian readers — see the 2026 CRA mileage rate guide for the CRA-equivalent rules (73¢/km first 5,000 km, 67¢/km after).