IRS mileage calculator

Every mile you drive for work has a dollar value you can deduct, and across a year of running between sites and supply houses it adds up to real money. This calculator works it out at the IRS standard mileage rates. Here is how the rates work, why 2026 needs two sums instead of one, what actually counts as a business mile, and what the IRS expects you to keep.

The IRS standard mileage rates

The IRS publishes a flat rate per mile that stands in for the real cost of running your vehicle. It is meant to cover the lot: gas, oil, maintenance, tyres, insurance, registration and depreciation. You multiply your business miles by the rate and that is your deduction. No receipts for fuel, no working out what share of your insurance premium belongs to work.

Normally the rate is set once a year. 2026 is different. The IRS set the year's rates in Notice 2026-10 and then revised them upward from 1 July in Announcement 2026-11, after fuel prices moved. So a full year of driving splits at 30 June and you run the sum twice, which is exactly what the calculator above does.

The charitable rate is the odd one out. It is fixed in statute rather than reset each year, so it has sat at 14 cents while everything else has moved with fuel. The moving rate is only for active-duty members of the Armed Forces relocating under military orders.

There is no mileage threshold

Worth saying plainly, because plenty of drivers assume otherwise: the US system has no tiered rate. Your ten thousandth business mile is worth exactly the same as your first. Some other countries drop the rate after a set number of miles. The IRS does not. Total your miles for the period, multiply by the rate, done.

What counts as a business mile

A business mile is one you drive for work. For a contractor moving between jobs all week, that is most of your driving, but the line matters and it is worth being clear about.

• Driving from one job to the next in the same day: yes.
• Out to a property to price a job: yes.
• A run to the supply house or lumber yard for materials: yes.
• Driving to the bank or the accountant on business: yes.
• Home to the same shop or yard every morning: no, that is commuting.

Commuting is the trap. Driving between your home and a regular place of business is personal mileage, however early you leave. If your home is your principal place of business, though, the trip from there out to a job site is business mileage rather than a commute, which changes the picture for a lot of sole proprietors working out of a home office.

Standard mileage or actual expenses?

You have a choice. Take the standard rate per mile, or add up what the vehicle really costs you and deduct the business share: gas, insurance, repairs, tyres, registration and depreciation. The standard rate is far less work and often wins for a high-mileage van on a modest purchase price. Actual expenses tend to win for an expensive truck that does fewer miles.

The order you pick matters. If you own the vehicle and want the standard rate ever, you have to use it in the first year the vehicle is available for business use. Start on actual expenses and that door closes for that vehicle. Later years you can switch from the standard rate to actual expenses, though the depreciation then has to be straight line. For a leased vehicle it is stricter: choose the standard rate and you keep it for the whole lease.

A few things rule the standard rate out entirely. You cannot use it if you claimed a Section 179 deduction or a special depreciation allowance on the vehicle, if you depreciated it under MACRS, or if you run five or more vehicles at the same time. A crew with five vans on the road at once is on actual expenses whether it likes it or not.

One point people miss: parking fees and tolls for business trips are deductible on top of the mileage, under either method. The rate covers running the vehicle, not what you feed the meter when you get there.

Keep a mileage log

The rate is generous and the record keeping is the price of it. The IRS expects contemporaneous records, which means written down at the time rather than reconstructed in April from memory and a hopeful look at the odometer. Log four things per trip:

• The date.
• Where you went, and the business reason.
• The miles driven.
• Your odometer reading at the start and end of the year.

A notebook in the door pocket is enough if you actually fill it in. An app that logs drives automatically is easier still. What does not survive an audit is a round number with no detail behind it.

Where it goes on your return

If you are self-employed, car and truck expenses go on Schedule C, and you answer the vehicle questions about total, business and commuting miles that go with it. If you are an employee, unreimbursed mileage is generally not deductible any more. The exceptions are narrow: Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists and fee-basis state or local government officials, who claim on Form 2106. Most employees are better off asking their employer for an accountable mileage reimbursement instead, which is tax free up to the standard rate.

Where mileage fits in your pricing

A deduction is not the same as being paid for the driving. Travel time and vehicle running costs are a real cost of doing the work, and they belong in what you charge, not just in what you claim at year end. Work out where they sit with the day rate calculator, then read how to price a job so you actually make a profit to see how travel and overheads land in a job price.

Snapquo keeps the quoting and invoicing quick so you spend less of the day driving around to sort paperwork. The mileage log stays with your bookkeeping, but getting your rate right is where the two meet.

This tool and guide are for general information and are not tax advice. IRS rates and rules change, sometimes mid-year, and your situation may differ. Check the current standard mileage rate on IRS.gov or speak to a qualified tax preparer before you rely on a figure.