Mileage Deduction Calculator
Miles driven, and the rates that apply
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- United States unless the calculator explicitly says otherwise
- Rules and time period
- Tax years supported by the selected calculator
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only, not a tax return or filing determination. U.S. statutory-threshold tools use USD. Confirm current law and your facts with the relevant authority or a qualified tax professional.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter your business miles for each half of 2026 separately. The standard rate changed on 1 July, so a single figure at one rate is wrong for anyone who drove on both sides of it.
- 02
Enter medical and charitable miles if you have them. They are deductible in a different place on the return and are kept separate here for that reason.
- 03
Add your AGI, your marginal rate and your self-employment tax rate.
- 04
To compare methods, enter your actual vehicle costs for the year and the business share of your driving in the advanced panel.
- 05
Read the business deduction, the tax it really saves, and which method comes out larger.
Formula
Business deduction = miles before July × 72.5 cents + miles from July × 76 cents. SE tax saved = deduction × 92.35% × your SE rate. Income tax saved = (deduction − half the SE tax saved) × your marginal rate.
Example
5,200 miles through June and 5,800 from July: $3,770 plus $4,408, a $8,178 deduction. At 15.3% on 92.35% of it, that saves $1,156 of self-employment tax; the income-tax base falls by $8,178 less half of that, so a 22% bracket saves $1,672 more — $2,828 in all, or about 26 cents kept per mile. Actual costs of $9,400 at 65% business use come to $6,110, so the standard rate wins by $2,068.
Definitions
- Standard mileage rate
- A per-mile figure covering fuel, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. Two of them in 2026: 72.5 cents to June, 76 cents after.
- Above the line
- A deduction taken before AGI, on Schedule C for a business — available whether or not you itemize.
- Contemporaneous log
- Dates, miles and business purpose recorded as you drive. It is what substantiates the deduction if the IRS asks.
Good to know
A year with two rates
The IRS normally sets one standard mileage rate for the whole year, and 2026 is not a normal year. The rate opened at 72.5 cents a mile, and Announcement 2026-11 raised it to 76 cents from 1 July after fuel prices rose. Miles are deducted at the rate in force when they were driven, so a year of driving has to be split at 30 June and each half valued separately — a calculator applying one rate to the whole year is wrong for everyone who drove on both sides of it. The medical rate split the same way, from 21 cents to 23.5. Only the charitable rate held still, at 14 cents, because it is fixed by statute rather than set by the IRS and has not moved since 1998.
Three kinds of miles, three places on the return
Business, medical and charitable miles are commonly added into one figure and multiplied by one tax rate. That is wrong in kind, not just in precision. Business mileage is a Schedule C expense, taken above the line, available whether or not you itemize, and it reduces self-employment tax as well as income tax. Medical mileage is an itemized deduction and only counts to the extent all your medical expenses exceed 7.5% of AGI. Charitable mileage is itemized too, and from 2026 it faces a new 0.5%-of-AGI floor under the OBBBA. Blending the three overstates the refund for the large majority who take the standard deduction and never reach either floor, which is why this page keeps the headline to business miles alone.
The deduction most drivers no longer have
The single most important sentence on this page is about who cannot use it. Unreimbursed mileage on a W-2 job is not deductible: the 2017 tax act suspended the miscellaneous itemized deduction it fell under, and the 2025 OBBBA made that suspension permanent, so the reinstatement once scheduled for 2026 will not arrive. Five groups are still excepted — armed forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis government officials, employees with impairment-related work expenses, and eligible educators. Everyone else on a payroll needs an employer reimbursement under an accountable plan, which is tax-free to receive and deductible to the employer. Moving mileage narrowed the same way and now survives only for active-duty Armed Forces moving under permanent-change-of-station orders, where it is claimed above the line on Form 3903 with no AGI floor at all.
What the deduction is really worth
A Schedule C deduction saves more than income tax, and slightly less than the obvious arithmetic suggests. It cuts self-employment tax as well, but that tax applies to 92.35% of net earnings rather than to the full amount — and because roughly half the self-employment tax is itself an above-the-line deduction, saving SE tax shrinks that deduction and puts part of the money back into taxable income. Multiplying the deduction by your bracket and adding the whole SE saving on top charges the federal tax twice, overstating the result by about 4.5%. Two further caveats: anyone claiming the 20% qualified business income deduction recovers only around four-fifths of the income-tax figure, because the write-off cuts qualified business income too; and above the Social Security wage base — $184,500 in 2026 — only the 2.9% Medicare part of the self-employment saving is left. None of it survives an audit without a contemporaneous log: dates, miles and business purpose, recorded as you drive.
Frequently asked questions
Why does 2026 have two business rates?
Because the IRS revised them mid-year. The rate was 72.5 cents a mile from January, and Announcement 2026-11 raised it to 76 cents from 1 July after fuel prices rose. Miles are valued at the rate in force when they were driven, so the year is entered in two halves.
Can I deduct mileage as a W-2 employee?
Almost certainly not. The 2017 tax act suspended the miscellaneous itemized deduction that unreimbursed employee expenses fell under, and the 2025 OBBBA made that permanent. The exceptions are armed forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis government officials, impairment-related work expenses and eligible educators. Outside those, an employer reimbursement under an accountable plan is the only route.
Do commuting miles count?
No — never, however long the drive. Home to a regular workplace is personal. Travel between work locations, to a client, or from a home office that is your principal place of business does count.
Why is my tax saving lower than my bracket times the deduction?
Because half the self-employment tax is itself deductible. Cutting SE tax also shrinks that deduction, which puts part of it back into taxable income. Multiplying the whole deduction by your marginal rate and then adding the full SE saving on top charges the federal tax twice — about a 4.5% overstatement.
Why is my charitable mileage showing nothing?
From 2026 an itemizer deducts charitable contributions only above 0.5% of AGI. On $84,000 that floor is $420, which a few hundred miles at 14 cents does not clear on its own. Cash gifts to the same or any other charity count toward the same floor and push more of it through.
Standard rate or actual expenses?
Whichever is larger, but the choice is not free. If you take actual expenses with accelerated depreciation in the first year a vehicle is in service, you cannot switch back to the standard rate for that vehicle. The standard rate also carries a depreciation component that reduces your basis, which matters when you sell.