Mileage Deduction
A tax deduction for business, medical, moving (military), or charitable miles driven. The IRS changed the 2026 rates mid-year: business miles are worth 72.5¢/mile through June 30 and 76¢/mile from July 1.
The mileage deduction allows taxpayers to deduct the costs of driving for qualifying purposes by using either the IRS standard mileage rate or actual vehicle expenses. The IRS revised the 2026 rates mid-year (Announcement 2026-11): for miles driven January 1 – June 30, 2026 the rates are 72.5¢/mile business, 20.5¢/mile medical or qualifying military moving; for miles driven July 1 – December 31, 2026 they are 76¢/mile business and 23.5¢/mile medical/moving. The charitable rate is 14¢/mile all year, fixed by statute (IRC §170(i)). The date the miles were driven — not the reimbursement date — determines which rate applies. For 2025 returns, the rates were 70¢ business, 21¢ medical/moving, and 14¢ charity.
Business mileage deductions are available to self-employed individuals and apply to driving for client meetings, business errands, traveling between work locations, and similar business purposes. Commuting from home to a regular work location does not qualify. W-2 employees generally cannot deduct business mileage under current law (the TCJA suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions, made permanent by the OBBBA). The actual expense method — deducting the business-use percentage of gas, insurance, depreciation, repairs, and registration — is an alternative to the standard rate.
Meticulous recordkeeping is essential for mileage deductions. The IRS requires contemporaneous records showing the date, destination, business purpose, and number of miles for each trip. A mileage log (physical or digital) is the standard documentation method. Auditors routinely scrutinize vehicle expense deductions, making accurate records critical for supporting the claimed deduction.
How it works
The mileage deduction lets you write off the cost of driving for qualifying purposes using either the IRS standard mileage rate or the actual expense method. For 2026, the IRS changed the standard rates mid-year: miles driven January 1 through June 30 use 72.5¢ per mile for business and 20.5¢ per mile for medical or qualifying military moving, while miles driven July 1 through December 31 use 76¢ per mile for business and 23.5¢ per mile for medical or moving. The charitable rate stays fixed by statute at 14¢ per mile all year. What matters is the date you actually drove the miles, not when you got reimbursed.
Self-employed taxpayers claim business mileage on Schedule C for things like client meetings, business errands, and travel between work locations — ordinary commuting from home to a regular workplace never qualifies. W-2 employees generally can't deduct unreimbursed business mileage at all under current law, since the TCJA's suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions was made permanent by OBBBA. As an alternative to the standard rate, you can instead deduct the business-use percentage of your actual costs — gas, insurance, depreciation, repairs, and registration.
Because the 2026 rate changed mid-year, you need to track which miles fall in the January–June period versus the July–December period separately rather than applying one flat rate to the whole year. For 2025, by contrast, a single rate applied all year: 70¢ business, 21¢ medical/moving, and 14¢ charity. Whichever year and method you use, the IRS expects contemporaneous records — date, destination, business purpose, and miles for each trip — since vehicle expense deductions are routinely scrutinized on audit.
Example: splitting 2026 mileage across the mid-year rate change
A self-employed consultant drives 4,000 business miles between January and June 2026, and another 3,500 business miles between July and December 2026.
The first-half miles are deducted at 72.5¢: 4,000 × $0.73 = $2,900. The second-half miles use the higher 76¢ rate: 3,500 × $0.76 = $2,660. Total 2026 mileage deduction: $5,560.
Compare that to simply applying the flat 2025 rate of 70¢ to the same 7,500 total miles, which would have produced only $5,250 — showing why tracking the split correctly is worth an extra $310 here.
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Related Terms
Business Expenses
Costs incurred in running a business that are deductible on your tax return if they are ordinary (common in your industry) and necessary (helpful and appropriate for your trade).
Schedule C
The IRS form (Schedule C of Form 1040) used by sole proprietors and single-member LLCs to report business income and expenses. The net profit flows to your personal tax return.
Home Office Deduction
A deduction for the business use of your home, available to self-employed individuals. You can use the simplified method ($5 per square foot, up to 300 sq ft) or the regular method based on actual expenses.
Depreciation
A tax deduction that spreads the cost of a business asset over its useful life. Section 179 and bonus depreciation may allow full first-year expensing for qualifying assets.