IRS Mileage Rate 2026: What It Is and How to Use It

The 2026 IRS standard mileage rates

The IRS sets a standard mileage rate each year so you can deduct the cost of driving without tracking every gas and repair receipt. For 2026, the rates are:

• Business: 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from the 2025 rate of 70 cents
• Medical and moving: 20.5 cents per mile (moving applies only to active-duty members of the Armed Forces)
• Charitable: 14 cents per mile (this one is fixed by law, not adjusted for inflation)

These rates take effect January 1, 2026, and come from IRS Notice 2026-10. The business rate is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle, which is why it moves with fuel, insurance, and maintenance costs.

Tip: The 2.5 cent bump from 2025 to 2026 sounds small, but on 12,000 business miles it's an extra $300 of deduction. Logging your miles is worth the few seconds it takes.

Who can use the standard mileage rate

You can use the standard mileage rate if you drive a car, van, pickup, or panel truck that you own or lease for a qualifying purpose:

• Self-employed people and business owners deducting business driving
• Employees in limited cases (most unreimbursed employee mileage isn't deductible for federal tax through 2025, so check the current rules)
• Taxpayers deducting qualified medical travel
• Active-duty military with qualified moving expenses
• Volunteers driving for a registered charity

There are exceptions. You generally can't use the standard rate if you operate five or more cars at once (a fleet), or if you've already claimed certain depreciation methods on the vehicle. Commuting from home to your regular workplace doesn't count as business mileage either.

Standard mileage vs actual expenses

You have two ways to deduct vehicle costs, and you pick one:

Standard mileage rate

You track your miles and multiply by the rate. Simple, fast, and it bakes in gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. Most people with an ordinary car come out fine here, and the recordkeeping is just a mileage log.

Actual expenses

You track every cost of running the vehicle: gas, oil, repairs, tires, insurance, registration, lease payments or depreciation, and deduct the business-use percentage. This can beat the standard rate if your vehicle is expensive to own or you drive a lot of business miles in a pricey car.

The catch: the IRS has rules about switching between methods. If you want the option to use actual expenses later, you usually need to choose the standard mileage rate in the first year you use the car for business. Run the numbers both ways and keep the bigger deduction. When in doubt, talk to a tax pro.

Mileage is one of the most overlooked deductions. For the bigger picture, see what you can write off on your taxes.

What your mileage log needs

The deduction is only as good as your records. A mileage log should capture, for each trip:

• The date of the trip
• The miles driven (or start and end odometer readings)
• The destination
• The business purpose (the meeting, client, or job)

Keep it contemporaneous, meaning you write it down at or near the time of the drive, not reconstructed from memory in April. You should also note your odometer reading at the start and end of the year to show total miles. An app, a notebook, or a spreadsheet all work, as long as it's consistent and you actually keep it up.

Is mileage reimbursement taxable?

This comes up a lot, and the short answer is usually no. If your employer reimburses your mileage under an accountable plan, the reimbursement is generally not taxable and isn't reported as wages. An accountable plan means three things: the expense has a business connection, you substantiate the miles (with a log), and you return any amount paid beyond what you actually drove.

Where it gets taxable: if the reimbursement is paid under a non-accountable plan (no substantiation, no return of excess), or it's paid above the IRS standard rate without backup, the extra can be treated as taxable income. Reimbursing at or below 72.5 cents per mile in 2026 with a proper log keeps it clean and tax-free. This is general information, not tax advice; your situation may differ.

The faster way: keep your tax records ready with Mylo

Mileage is one piece of your write-offs. The rest is receipts, and that's where things usually fall apart. Mylo puts receipts and expenses on autopilot: it finds them across your email inboxes and the stores you shop at, itemizes them, matches each to the card you already use, and syncs clean, categorized expenses to QuickBooks.

That means when you pair your mileage log with Mylo's organized expense records, your deductions are documented and ready, not scattered across a glovebox and three inboxes. No new card needed. Free on iOS, Android, and the web.

Sources: IRS, "IRS sets 2026 business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile" and IRS Standard Mileage Rates. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm current rules with the IRS or a tax professional.