United States · Internal Revenue Service
IRS mileage rate 2026
Business useEffective Jan 1, 2026
72.5¢ / mile
Up 2.5¢ from 2025 — the highest business rate the IRS has ever set.
All 2026 rates at a glance
| Purpose | 2026 | 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢ | 70¢ | Self-employed deduction; ceiling for tax-free employer reimbursement |
| Medical | 20.5¢ | 21¢ | Travel for medical care, if you itemize and clear the AGI threshold |
| Moving | 20.5¢ | 21¢ | Active-duty military moves under orders; extended to certain intelligence community members for 2026 |
| Charitable | 14¢ | 14¢ | Set by statute, not the IRS — which is why it hasn't moved in decades |
Two figures from Notice 2026-10 that matter to payroll and fleet teams but rarely make the headlines: the depreciation component of the business rate is 35¢ per mile for 2026 (you reduce the car's basis by this amount for every business mile claimed at the standard rate), and the maximum standard automobile cost for FAVR plans rose to $61,700.
2026 deduction calculator
Example: 10,000 business miles × 72.5¢ = $7,250. Trips before January 1, 2026 use the 2025 rate (70¢) — see the full rate history.
Who actually uses this rate
Three groups, with very different stakes:
Self-employed people deduct business miles directly on Schedule C. This is the group with the most money on the table — a rideshare driver or contractor logging 30,000 business miles deducts $21,750 at the 2026 rate.
Employers use the rate as the ceiling for tax-free reimbursement. Pay employees at or below 72.5¢ per mile under an accountable plan and the payment is tax-free; pay above it and the excess is wages.
W-2 employees mostly can't use it. Unreimbursed employee expenses remain non-deductible for the vast majority of employees — if your employer reimburses below the IRS rate or not at all, federal tax law currently gives you no relief (a handful of exceptions exist, such as Armed Forces reservists and qualified performing artists). This is the most common misunderstanding we see, and it differs sharply from the UK, where Mileage Allowance Relief covers exactly this gap.
Standard rate vs. actual expenses
The standard rate replaces tracking every receipt: fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration and depreciation are all baked into the 72.5¢. The alternative is deducting the business-use share of actual costs.
A rough rule that holds up in practice: high business mileage in an economical car favors the standard rate; low mileage in an expensive, rapidly depreciating vehicle favors actual expenses. Two timing rules trip people up. To use the standard rate on a car you own, you must pick it in the first year the car is used for business — switch to actual later and depreciation gets restricted. For a leased car, whichever method you pick applies for the entire lease, renewals included.
Records the IRS expects
A mileage log with the date, destination, business purpose and miles for each trip, kept contemporaneously. "Contemporaneously" is doing real work in that sentence: logs reconstructed from memory during an audit are routinely rejected, and the deduction disallowed in full. A tracking app or a simple dated spreadsheet both satisfy the requirement; what matters is that entries are made at or near the time of travel. Commuting between home and a regular workplace never counts, no matter what's in the trunk.
Questions we actually get
My employer reimburses 60¢ per mile. Can I deduct the 12.5¢ difference?
For most W-2 employees, no — the deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses is suspended. The shortfall is simply a cost you bear, which is why reimbursement policy is worth negotiating. Self-employed contractors are unaffected; they deduct the full rate regardless of what any client pays.
Does the rate change mid-year?
It can, but rarely does. The IRS made a mid-year adjustment in 2022 (58.5¢ → 62.5¢ in July) when fuel prices spiked. Absent something similar, the 72.5¢ rate runs the full calendar year. If a mid-year change happens, the rate in force on each trip's date applies.
Can I claim mileage and gas receipts?
Not for the same vehicle — the standard rate already includes fuel. You can, however, add parking fees and tolls on top of the standard rate; those are separate deductible costs.
What about electric vehicles?
Same rate. The IRS standard mileage rate applies to cars, vans, pickups and panel trucks regardless of powertrain — gasoline, diesel, hybrid or electric.
How the rate got here
The business rate has climbed 16.5¢ in five years — 56¢ in 2021, the unusual split year of 58.5¢/62.5¢ in 2022, 65.5¢ in 2023, 67¢ in 2024, 70¢ in 2025, and now 72.5¢. The full table back to 2014, including the medical and charity rates, is on the rate history page.
Primary sources
- IRS, IR-2025-128: IRS sets 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile (Dec 29, 2025)
- IRS, Notice 2026-10 (rates, depreciation component, FAVR maximum)
- IRS, Standard mileage rates and maximum automobile fair market values for 2026
General information, not tax advice. Your facts may change the answer — when the stakes are real, confirm with the linked IRS documents or a credentialed preparer.