Mileage deduction

What's your mileage deduction worth?

Apply the IRS standard mileage rate to your business miles. Compare against the actual expense method to see which produces a larger deduction.

Your miles

Enter your business miles for the year. The tax-year rate is applied automatically.

Miles driven for income-producing work

Used to compute your business-use percentage

Used to estimate cash savings from the deduction

Compare to actual expense method

Optional — enter annual vehicle costs to see which method gives you the larger deduction.

Roughly 15–20% of the car's value per year

The mileage deduction, in plain English

If you drive a personal vehicle for business — rideshare, delivery, freelance gigs that require travel, etc. — the IRS lets you deduct the cost of that use. You have two ways to do it:

  • Standard mileage rate. Multiply your business miles by a published per-mile rate. For 2026, that's $0.70. Simple, defensible, requires only a mileage log.
  • Actual expense method. Add up every vehicle cost (gas, maintenance, insurance, registration, depreciation, lease payments) and multiply by your business-use percentage. Higher ceiling but a much bigger paperwork burden, and you're locked into this method for the vehicle's life if you start with it.
The 18,000-mile rule of thumb. For most fuel-efficient cars driven 15,000–25,000 business miles a year, the standard rate beats the actual expense method. Below that, actual expense sometimes wins — especially with expensive cars and high insurance. The calculator runs both numbers side by side so you can see for yourself.

Historical IRS rates

  • 2026: $0.70/mile (business)
  • 2025: $0.70/mile (business)
  • 2024: $0.67/mile (business)
  • 2023: $0.655/mile (business, mid-year change July 2022)
  • Medical / military move: $0.21/mile (2024+)
  • Charitable: $0.14/mile (fixed by statute, hasn't changed since 1998)

What goes in a mileage log?

The IRS requires a contemporaneous, written log with: date, business purpose, starting location, ending location, and miles driven (or start and end odometer readings). Reconstructed logs created at tax time are a top audit trigger and often disallowed.

A GPS app like NeighCheck records each trip automatically with timestamps, route, distance, and business purpose tagged by job. Export to CSV at tax time and you're done.

Related guides

FAQ

What's the 2026 IRS standard mileage rate?

For 2026, the IRS standard mileage rate is 70 cents per business mile (up from 67 cents in 2024). For medical or moving purposes (military only), it's 21 cents per mile. For charitable driving, it's 14 cents per mile. The business rate is the one rideshare, delivery, and 1099 workers use.

Standard rate vs. actual expense method — which should I use?

The standard rate is simpler: multiply business miles × $0.70. The actual expense method requires you to log every gas fillup, oil change, repair, insurance payment, registration, and depreciation, then deduct only the business-use percentage. For most rideshare and delivery drivers, the standard rate produces a larger deduction. You can only switch methods if you started with the standard rate; if you start with actual expense, you're locked in for that vehicle.

Do tipped restaurant workers qualify for the mileage deduction?

Only for self-employed activity. A W-2 server commuting to work cannot deduct mileage. A W-2 server driving between two restaurant jobs in the same day might deduct the second leg. A 1099 catering gig or delivery side-hustle? Yes, those miles qualify.

What counts as a business mile?

Miles driven for an active gig (rideshare pickup, en route to a delivery, between drop-offs) count. Driving from your house to your first pickup of the day may or may not qualify depending on whether you have a home office. Personal errands, commuting to a W-2 job, and miles before logging onto a platform are not deductible.

Do I need a log?

Yes. The IRS requires a contemporaneous log: date, miles, business purpose, and start/end locations or odometer readings. A reconstructed log made at tax time is widely audited. Apps like NeighCheck log this automatically with GPS so you have a defensible record.