Business miles into deductions at the current IRS rate — plus the log the IRS expects
| Category | 2026 rate | Miles | Deduction |
|---|
Mileage is the most valuable deduction that evaporates for lack of a log: at the 2026 rate of $0.70 per business mile, a modest 6,500 miles is a $4,550 deduction — worth ~$1,600 of actual tax to a self-employed 22%-bracket filer, because business miles cut SE tax too. This calculator converts your miles into deduction and real-tax-saved figures across all three IRS categories, and covers the two rules that decide audits: what counts as a business mile, and what a log must contain.
| Category | Rate | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Business | $0.70/mile | Self-employed on Schedule C; rental-property owners on Schedule E |
| Medical (and military moving) | $0.21/mile | Itemizers above the 7.5%-of-AGI medical floor |
| Charity | $0.14/mile (set by statute, unchanged for decades) | Itemizers doing volunteer driving |
The standard rate replaces everything — gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation. The alternative deducts actual costs × business-use percentage. Rules of thumb: standard wins for efficient cars and high mileage; actual can win for expensive, heavy or low-MPG vehicles driven mostly for business. Two constraints: choose standard in the vehicle's first business year to keep both options open, and never claim gas on top of the standard rate (the classic double-dip error).
The IRS requires contemporaneous records: date, destination, business purpose, and miles for each trip, plus the year's starting/ending odometer. In practice: a mileage app (automatic trip detection, $0–60/yr — deductible itself, and it pays for itself 50× over) or a glovebox notebook. Reconstructed logs after an audit letter fail; apps make the whole issue disappear for approximately zero effort.
Not currently — unreimbursed employee expenses are suspended through at least 2025's framework. Ask your employer for reimbursement at the IRS rate (tax-free to you). Self-employed and gig income qualifies fully.
Per-trip miles (app-tracked or noted) plus the year's start/end odometer readings satisfy the rule. The four elements per trip: date, destination, purpose, miles. Apps capture all four automatically.
Deductible ON TOP of the standard mileage rate — the rate covers vehicle costs, not fees. Keep those receipts separately; they're commonly forgotten free money.
From going online to going offline in your work area: pickup drives, delivery/passenger miles, and repositioning between gigs. Personal detours don't. Cross-check the app's summary against a dedicated tracker — platforms systematically undercount dead miles.
Standard for most: simpler, and generous for efficient vehicles. Actual (gas, insurance, depreciation, repairs × business %) can beat it for trucks, luxury or low-MPG vehicles with high business use. First-year choice matters — standard first preserves flexibility.
Annually from national vehicle-cost studies (fuel, depreciation, insurance, maintenance). It's a safe-harbor average: efficient-car drivers profit from it, gas-guzzler drivers may prefer actual costs.
Yes — all figures compute locally in your browser.
Install a mileage app today and this becomes the easiest four-figure deduction you'll ever claim — automatic, audit-proof, and paying your bracket-plus-SE rate on every logged mile. The deduction was always yours; the log is what makes it real.