If you drive your own car for business, the IRS standard mileage rate is one of the simplest and most valuable deductions available. For 2026, it’s gone up again.
The headline number
For 2026, the IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile. The rate is set each year to reflect the average cost of owning and operating a vehicle — fuel, maintenance, insurance, registration and depreciation.
| Purpose | 2026 rate per mile |
|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢ |
| Medical & qualified moving (military) | 20.5¢ |
| Charitable | 14¢ |
Who can use it?
- Self-employed people and sole proprietors can deduct business miles on Schedule C.
- Business owners can reimburse themselves and employees tax-free at the standard rate under an accountable plan.
- Landlords can deduct miles driven to manage and maintain rental properties.
- W-2 employees generally can’t deduct unreimbursed mileage on their federal return — but their employer can reimburse them tax-free.
Standard rate or actual expenses?
Instead of the standard rate, you can deduct the business share of your actual vehicle costs, including depreciation. Actual expenses can produce a bigger deduction for expensive or heavily used vehicles — especially with 100% bonus depreciation available on qualifying vehicles. If you want to use the standard rate for a vehicle you own, you generally need to choose it in the first year the vehicle is used for business.
What counts as business mileage?
Trips between work locations, to meet clients, to pick up supplies or to visit job sites all count. Your regular commute from home to your main place of business does not. If your home office is your principal place of business, trips from home to other work locations usually qualify.
Parking fees and tolls for business trips are deductible in addition to the standard rate.
Keep records that hold up
The IRS expects a contemporaneous log showing the date, destination, business purpose and miles for each trip, plus your total miles for the year. A mileage-tracking app makes this almost effortless — and without records, the deduction can be disallowed in an audit.
A contractor who drives 15,000 business miles in 2026 can deduct $10,875 using the standard rate.
What should you do now?
Business owners should update reimbursement policies to the 2026 rate. Self-employed clients should make sure their mileage log is complete and up to date. If you’re not sure whether the standard rate or actual expenses is better for you, we’ll run the numbers.