2021 Standard Mileage Rate
For 2021, the Standard Mileage Rate figures are 56¢ (Business use), 16¢ (Medical or moving) and 14¢ (Charitable service).
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Notice 2021-02 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-04
Compared with 2020
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business use | 57.5¢ | 56¢ | -1.5¢ (-2.6%) |
| Medical or moving | 17¢ | 16¢ | -1¢ (-5.9%) |
| Charitable service | 14¢ | 14¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who use the standard mileage rate to compute deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.
What changed this year, and why
The IRS published the 2021 optional standard mileage rates for calculating deductible automobile operating costs.
Common questions
- What are the 2021 standard mileage rates?
- Effective January 1, 2021, the rate for business use is 56 cents per mile, the rate for medical or moving use is 16 cents per mile, and the rate for charitable service is 14 cents per mile.
- How do the 2021 rates compare with 2020?
- The business rate decreased from 57.5 cents to 56 cents per mile. The medical and moving rate decreased from 17 cents to 16 cents per mile. The charitable rate remained at 14 cents per mile.
What the rate covers, and what you may add to it
The standard mileage rate of 56¢ per mile for business use in 2021 covers the general operating costs of your vehicle, including depreciation, lease payments, maintenance, repairs, gasoline, oil, insurance, and registration fees. However, the rate does not include parking fees and tolls incurred for business purposes. You may deduct these additional expenses on top of the standard mileage rate. Business-related parking fees and tolls are separate deductible items. Note that parking fees you pay to park at your regular workplace are not deductible, as they are considered personal commuting expenses rather than business expenses. This means you can claim your 56¢ per mile for business driving plus any parking fees and tolls you pay while conducting business, but not the parking at your office.
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 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
You must choose the standard rate in the car's first year
The IRS requires a taxpayer to commit to the standard mileage rate at the very start of a car's business life. If you own a vehicle and want to use the 56 cent per business mile rate for 2021, you must elect it in the first year the car is available for use in your business. Missing that window by choosing actual expenses in year one locks out the standard rate for the life of that vehicle. Once the standard rate is properly elected in that first year, the taxpayer gains flexibility: in every later year they may choose between the standard mileage rate and actual expenses as they see fit.
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 yourCAUTION ! Page 14 Chapter 4 Transportation business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses.
Publication 463 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Why a fleet cannot use the standard rate
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 the business use of any of those vehicles. This rule applies to the entire fleet, not just some of the cars. When you have five or more business vehicles operating simultaneously, you must use the actual expense method for all of them. Actual expenses include depreciation, lease payments, registration fees, gas, insurance, repairs, oil, tires, tolls, parking fees, and other operating costs. You then divide these expenses between business and personal use based on the miles driven for each purpose. This rule prevents taxpayers with large vehicle fleets from using the simplified standard mileage rate, which is designed for smaller operations. The IRS requires the actual expense method for larger fleets because it more accurately reflects the costs of operating multiple vehicles. If you have fewer than five business cars, you can choose between the standard mileage rate and actual expenses for each vehicle.
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 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
The drive to work is never deductible mileage
The drive between your home and your main or regular place of work is never considered deductible business mileage, regardless of the circumstances. This applies to all forms of transportation, including driving your own car or taking public transit. Even if you perform work activities during your commute - such as making business phone calls or having business discussions with passengers who ride with you - the trip remains a personal commuting expense and is not deductible. The distance of your commute does not matter; whether you live five miles or fifty miles from work, those miles are personal. The IRS treats commuting as a personal expense because getting from home to your regular workplace is a cost you would incur regardless of your specific job or business. This rule prevents taxpayers from deducting what is essentially the cost of getting to work, which everyone must do. If you have a regular office and travel from there to other business locations, those trips are deductible, but the initial trip from home to that first work location is always personal.
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. These costs are personal commuting expenses.
Publication 463 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Splitting a car between business and personal use
When you use a car for both business and personal purposes during the year, you cannot deduct all of your vehicle expenses. You must divide your expenses between business and personal use. The most common way to make this division is based on mileage. You determine the total miles driven during the year and the miles driven specifically for business purposes. The ratio of business miles to total miles determines what percentage of your car expenses you can deduct. If your records show that business miles represent a certain percentage of your total driving, you can deduct that same percentage of your car expenses. This rule applies whether you use the standard mileage rate of 56¢ per mile or if you choose to deduct actual expenses instead. Personal miles include commuting to your regular workplace, running personal errands, vacation driving, and any other non-business travel. Keep detailed records of your business miles, total miles, and the business purpose of each trip to support the percentage you claim on your return.
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. You can divide your ex- pense based on the miles driven for each pur- pose.
Publication 463 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Your mileage log has to be kept close to when you drove, not written up later
For a mileage log to support a deduction, it must be created close to when the driving actually happened. If you are a sales representative who calls on customers along an established route, you can meet the requirement by recording the route’s length once, the date of each trip at or near the time of the trips, and the total miles driven during the year. A receipt, delivery record, or similar document can also establish the date of each trip. If you have incomplete records, you must prove the missing element with your own written or oral statement containing specific details, plus other supporting evidence sufficient to establish that element of the expense.
If you are a sales representative who calls on customers on an established sales route, you don’t have to give a written explana- tion of the business purpose for traveling that route. You can satisfy the requirements by re- cording the length of the delivery route once, the date of each trip at or near the time of the trips, and the total miles you drove the car dur- ing the tax year. You could also establish the date of each trip with a receipt, record of deliv- ery, or other documentary evidence.
Publication 463 (2021), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
How much of the standard rate is depreciation, and the FAVR maximum vehicle cost
Notice 2021-02 gives taxpayers two numbers that live behind the standard mileage rate. First, when a driver uses the business standard mileage rate of 56¢ per mile for 2021, the IRS treats 26¢ of every mile as depreciation. Taxpayers must use that 26¢ figure to reduce their basis in the vehicle - it is the part of the rate that stands in for the car's wear, and it is the amount the taxpayer cannot also claim as a separate depreciation deduction. Second, for employers or self-employed taxpayers who use a fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plan instead of the standard mileage rate, the IRS caps the "standard automobile cost" that goes into the FAVR calculation at $51,100 for 2021, covering automobiles as well as trucks and vans. The cap applies only to the FAVR computation, not to the standard mileage rate itself, and it is set in Section 5 of the notice by reference to section 6.02(6) of Rev. Proc. 2019-46.
For automobiles a taxpayer uses for business purposes, the portion of the business standard mileage rate treated as depreciation is 25 cents per mile for 2017, 25 cents per mile for 2018, 26 cents per mile for 2019, 27 cents per mile for 2020, and 26 cents per mile for 2021. See section 4.04 of Rev. Proc. 2019-46. SECTION 5. MAXIMUM STANDARD AUTOMOBILE COST For purposes of computing the allowance under a FAVR plan, the standard automobile cost may not exceed $51,100 for automobiles (including trucks and vans).
Notice 2021-02 (IRS)
A guessed mileage figure is not deductible
You cannot deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate. The IRS requires you to keep adequate records to prove your actual expenses, including the specific miles you drove for business, medical, moving, or charitable purposes. Your records must show the actual amounts with dates, distances, and destinations. You cannot simply guess at the number of miles driven or estimate your total mileage for the year. Written records are considered more reliable than oral evidence alone, though records prepared on a computer are acceptable. If your records are incomplete, you may need to provide a written statement with specific details plus other supporting evidence to establish the missing information. For 2021, the standard mileage rates are 56¢ per mile for business use, 16¢ per mile for medical or moving purposes, and 14¢ per mile for charitable service, but these rates can only be applied to miles you can actually document.
You can’t deduct amounts that you ap- proximate or estimate. You should keep adequate records to prove your expenses or have sufficient evidence that will support your own statement. You must gen- erally prepare a written record for it to be con- sidered adequate. This is because written evi- dence is more reliable than oral evidence alone.
Publication 463 (2021), 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 2021-02 (IRS)
- Business use
The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses is 56 cents per mile for all miles of business use (business standard mileage rate).
- Medical or moving
The standard mileage rate is 16 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).
- 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.