Updated October 29, 2026

IRS mileage rate for 2026

The IRS business mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile for driving from January 1 through June 30, and 76 cents a mile from July 1 through December 31. So this year you need two numbers: business miles before July, and business miles after.

The IRS rarely changes the rate partway through a year. It did in July, in Announcement 2026-11, because fuel prices went up.

All the 2026 rates

Use	Jan 1 to Jun 30	Jul 1 to Dec 31
Business	72.5¢	76¢
Medical, and moving for active duty military	20.5¢	23.5¢
Charity	14¢	14¢

Cents per mile. The charity rate is set by law at 14 cents, so it didn't move.

A worked example

Say you're self-employed. You drove 4,200 business miles from January through June, and 5,100 from July through December.

Driven	Miles	Rate	Amount
Jan to Jun	4,200	72.5¢	$3,045.00
Jul to Dec	5,100	76¢	$3,876.00
2026	9,300		$6,921.00

Run all 9,300 miles at 76 cents and you get $7,068, which is $147 more than the rates allow. Use the rate for the day you drove.

Who uses it

If you're self-employed, a contractor or a gig driver, you can use the standard rate for business miles on Schedule C instead of adding up what the car actually cost. Employers use it too, to pay back employees tax free.

If you're an employee and your employer doesn't pay you back, you generally can't deduct the miles on your federal return. That deduction hasn't been allowed since 2018. Publication 463 has the details and the few exceptions, like Armed Forces reservists.

The rules that trip people up

You have to choose the standard rate in the first year the car is used in your business. A leased car has to stay on it for the whole lease.
The rate already covers what it costs to run the car, gas and depreciation included. You can't deduct those on top. Business parking and tolls you can add.
Commuting doesn't count. Driving from home to your regular workplace is personal, however far it is.
You can't use it if you run five or more cars at the same time, like a fleet.
You still need a log. The rate is just the price per mile. You still have to show you drove them. Here's what a mileage log needs.

Earlier years

Year	Business rate
2025	70¢
2024	67¢

The 2027 rate usually comes out in December. We'll update this page when it does.

More mileage guides

Sources

This is general information, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional about your own return.

We built both 2026 rates into Milepost, our iPhone app, so every trip lands on the right side of July 1 without you doing the split. It's coming soon to the App Store.