2019 Standard Mileage Rate
For 2019, the Standard Mileage Rate is 58¢ (Business use), 14¢ (Charitable service) and 20¢ (Medical or moving).
Effective 2019-01-01Source: Notice 2019-02 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2018
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business use | 54.5¢ | 58¢ | +3.5¢ (+6.4%) |
| Charitable service | 14¢ | 14¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
| Medical or moving | 18¢ | 20¢ | +2¢ (+11.1%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who use a vehicle for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes and elect the optional standard mileage rates instead of deducting actual vehicle expenses.
What changed this year, and why
The 2019 standard mileage rates were set by the IRS in Notice 2019-02. The business rate increased to 58 cents per mile from 54.5 cents in 2018, the medical and moving rate rose to 20 cents per mile from 18 cents in 2018, and the charitable rate held at 14 cents per mile.
Common questions
- Are there restrictions on using the business or moving mileage rate?
- Yes. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the business standard mileage rate generally may not be used to claim an itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, and the moving mileage rate generally may not be used by most taxpayers, for a multi-year suspension period. Certain taxpayers, including Armed Forces reservists, fee-based government officials, qualifying performing artists, and Armed Forces members on active duty moving under military orders, remain eligible to use these rates.
What the rate covers, and what you may add to it
The 2019 standard mileage rate of 58¢ per mile for business use is meant to cover the overall cost of operating a vehicle, including fuel, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. However, two costs are not bundled into the per-mile figure and may be deducted separately: business-related parking fees and tolls. Whenever you pay to park while on a business errand - or pass through a toll booth for a business trip - you add that amount on top of the mileage deduction. The one parking cost that remains off-limits is the fee you pay to park at your regular workplace; the IRS treats that as a personal commuting expense, not a deductible business cost. Keep receipts for parking and tolls so they can be substantiated alongside your mileage log.
Parking fees and tolls. In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can deduct any business-related parking fees and tolls. (Park- ing fees you pay to park your car at your place of work are nondeductible commuting expen- ses.)
Publication 463 (2019), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
You must choose the standard rate in the car's first year
If you own a car and want to use the standard mileage rate for it, you must make that choice in the very first year the car is available for use in your business. This is a one-time election: once you decide to use the standard rate in that initial year, you lock in the ability to alternate between the standard rate and actual expenses in future years. If you skip the standard rate in the car's first year and use actual expenses instead, you lose the option to use the standard rate for that car in any later year. For a leased car, the rule is stricter - you must use the standard mileage rate for the entire lease period if you choose it at all. The choice must be made by the due date of your tax return (including extensions), and it cannot be revoked once made.
Choosing the standard mileage rate. If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your busi- ness.
Publication 463 (2019), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Why a fleet cannot use the standard rate
The standard mileage rate is designed for taxpayers who use a limited number of vehicles for business. If you own or lease five or more cars that are used for business at the same time, you cannot use the standard mileage rate for any of them. Instead, you must track and deduct the actual expenses for each vehicle. However, the rule applies only to cars used simultaneously. If you alternate use of your vehicles - for example, rotating three cars and two vans among your business trips throughout the year - you are not considered to be using five or more cars at the same time, and you may still elect the standard rate for whichever vehicles you choose.
Five or more cars. If you own or lease five or more cars that are used for business at the same time, you can’t use the standard mileage rate for the business use of any car.
Publication 463 (2019), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
The drive to work is never deductible mileage
The IRS treats the trip between your home and your main or regular place of work as a personal expense, not a business one. You cannot deduct the cost of taking a bus, trolley, subway, or taxi, or the cost of driving your own car for that commute - no matter how far your home is from your workplace. This rule holds even if you make business phone calls during the drive or discuss work with a colleague who rides along with you. The trip remains a personal commuting trip regardless of what productive activity you squeeze into it. Only travel that begins at one work location and ends at another, or travel to a temporary work site away from your regular office, may qualify as deductible business mileage.
Commuting expenses. You can’t deduct the costs of taking a bus, trolley, subway, or taxi, or of driving a car between your home and your main or regular place of work.
Publication 463 (2019), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Splitting a car between business and personal use
When a vehicle serves both business and personal purposes, you cannot deduct the full cost of operating it. You must divide your expenses between the two categories. The simplest way to make this division is by mileage: count the total miles driven during the year and the miles driven for business, then apply that ratio to your expenses. For example, if the majority of your driving is for business, you may claim a corresponding majority share of your car's operating costs as a business expense; the rest is personal and not deductible. If you use the standard mileage rate instead, the calculation is even more direct - you simply multiply your business miles by the rate (58¢ per mile for 2019) and claim that amount, with no need to allocate actual vehicle costs. Personal miles earn no deduction under either method.
Business and personal use. If you use your car for both business and personal purposes, you must divide your expenses between busi- ness and personal use.
Publication 463 (2019), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Notice 2019-02 (IRS)
- Business use
The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses is 58 cents per mile for all miles of business use (business standard mileage rate).
- Charitable service
The standard mileage rate is 14 cents per mile for use of an automobile in rendering gratuitous services to a charitable organization under § 170.
- Medical or moving
The standard mileage rate is 20 cents per mile for use of an automobile: (1) for medical care described in § 213; or (2) as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible under § 217(g).