2022 Standard Mileage Rate
For 2022, the Standard Mileage Rate figures are 58.5¢ (Business use), 18¢ (Medical or moving) and 14¢ (Charitable service) from 2022-01-01. They change on 2022-07-01.
Effective 2022-01-01Source: Notice 2022-3 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-04
From 2022-07-01Source: Announcement 2022-13 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2021
Figures dated from the start of each year. Later steps are listed above with their dates.
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business use | 56¢ | 58.5¢ | +2.5¢ (+4.5%) |
| Medical or moving | 16¢ | 18¢ | +2¢ (+12.5%) |
| Charitable service | 14¢ | 14¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who use the standard mileage rates to compute deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes for the 2022 tax year. Because two of the rates changed inside the year, the date the miles were driven decides which rate applies to them.
What changed this year, and why
The IRS announced the optional 2022 standard mileage rates for deducting the cost of operating an automobile, and then raised two of them inside the year. The rates set from January 1, 2022 were 58.5 cents per mile for business use and 18 cents per mile for medical care or deductible moving expenses; from July 1, 2022 those became 62.5 cents and 22 cents. The charitable rate is fixed by statute and stayed at 14 cents per mile for the whole year.
Common questions
- What is the business standard mileage rate for 2022?
- 58.5 cents per mile for business miles driven from January 1, 2022, and 62.5 cents per mile for business miles driven from July 1, 2022. The rate changed inside the year, so the date the miles were driven decides which one applies.
- What is the medical and moving mileage rate for 2022?
- 18 cents per mile for miles driven from January 1, 2022, and 22 cents per mile for miles driven from July 1, 2022, for medical care or deductible moving expenses.
- What is the charitable mileage rate for 2022?
- 14 cents per mile for services rendered to a charitable organization, for the whole of 2022. Unlike the business and medical rates, it did not change in July, because it is set by statute rather than adjusted by the IRS.
What the rate covers, and what you may add to it
The standard mileage rate is meant to cover the ordinary cost of operating a vehicle: fuel, oil, maintenance, tires, insurance, registration, and depreciation. It does not, however, cover every expense a driver may incur on a business trip. On top of the per-mile deduction at the business rate of 58.5¢ per mile for 2022, the IRS allows you to separately deduct any parking fees and tolls that are directly related to the business purpose of the trip. For example, a toll charged on a highway used to reach a client's office or a parking fee at a venue where a business meeting is held can each be added to the mileage deduction. One important exception: parking fees you pay to park at your regular workplace are treated as personal commuting costs and are not deductible, no matter whether you use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. The rule means you should keep receipts for parking and tolls on top of your mileage log, because those amounts are deductible additions rather than being bundled into the per-mile figure.
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 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
You must choose the standard rate in the car's first year
Taxpayers who want to use the 2022 standard mileage rate of 58.5¢ per mile for business driving must make their election in the very first year the car is available for business use. If the standard rate is not chosen in that initial year, the opportunity is lost permanently - the car can never qualify for the standard mileage rate in any later year, even if actual expenses were lower. In subsequent years, the taxpayer is free to switch between the standard rate and actual expenses from year to year. The rule also applies to leased vehicles: the standard rate must be used for the entire lease period. A separate provision applies to charitable mileage, which is set at 14¢ per mile and does not carry the same first-year election requirement. The key takeaway is that the first-year decision is irrevocable for owned vehicles, so anyone planning to use the standard rate should be sure to apply it from day one.
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 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Why a fleet cannot use the standard rate
The IRS imposes a hard cap on how many vehicles can use the standard mileage rate simultaneously. 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 switch to the actual expense method - tracking and deducting the true cost of operating each vehicle, including gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. However, the rule hinges on simultaneous use. If you alternate which cars you use for business (using different cars at different times), you are not considered to be using five or more cars at the same time, and the standard mileage rate remains available. For 2022, the business rate is 58.5¢ per mile, but that benefit is off the table once a fleet reaches five vehicles in concurrent business service.
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 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
The drive to work is never deductible mileage
The daily trip from home to your regular workplace is never deductible as business mileage, regardless of distance or circumstances. Whether you drive your own car, take a bus, taxi, or any other form of transit, the costs of traveling between your home and your main or regular place of work are classified as personal commuting expenses. The IRS is explicit that this rule has no exceptions for distance - commuting is nondeductible no matter how far you live from your regular workplace. Even if you work during the commute, such as making business calls on your phone or discussing work matters with a colleague in the car, the trip remains a personal expense. For 2022, the medical or moving rate of 18¢ per mile applies only to qualifying medical travel or a permitted move, not to the routine journey to and from work. The rule is absolute: commuting is personal, not business, and cannot be claimed under any mileage rate.
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 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Splitting a car between business and personal use
When a single vehicle serves both business and personal purposes, the IRS requires you to split the vehicle's expenses between the two uses. The most common method is to divide total miles into business miles and personal miles, then apply the business-use percentage to your costs. You claim only the business portion of the vehicle's operating expenses. If you elect the standard mileage rate, the calculation is simpler: you multiply your business miles by the applicable rate - 58.5¢ per mile for business use in 2022 - and the rate already assumes mixed use. However, if you choose the actual expense method, the business-use percentage becomes critical for determining your deductible share of gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation. The rule ensures that personal miles never generate a business deduction, and it applies whether the vehicle is owned or leased.
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 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Your mileage log has to be kept close to when you drove, not written up later
The IRS requires that the elements of each business mile you claim - the date, the destination, the business purpose, and the number of miles - be entered into a log at or near the time you actually drive. A weekly mileage log updated as you go counts as timely; a diary reconstructed months later from memory does not. Timely records carry more weight than statements written up after the fact because your recall is less accurate. You do not have to write every trip down on the very day you drive it, but the log must be current enough that it reflects what happened rather than what you think happened. If an auditor asks for proof of a deduction, a contemporaneous mileage record is the strongest evidence you can offer, and an estimate or a log created long after the year ends will generally not satisfy the substantiation rules.
You should record the elements of an expense or of a business use at or near the time of the expense or use and sup- port it with sufficient documentary evidence. A timely kept record has more value than a state- ment prepared later when there is generally a lack of accurate recall. You don’t need to write down the elements of every expense on the day of the expense. If you maintain a log on a weekly basis that ac- counts for use during the week, the log is con- sidered a timely kept record.
Publication 463 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
If your employer pays less than the standard rate, the gap is not just lost
If your employer reimburses you at a rate below the standard mileage rate, the difference between the reimbursement and the full standard rate is deductible as an itemized expense on Form 2106 - but only for certain taxpayers. A fee-basis state government official is one such taxpayer. In one IRS example, a fee-basis official drives 10,000 miles during 2022, accounts for each trip under an accountable plan, and receives an employer mileage allowance of 40¢ per mile, totaling $4,000 in reimbursement. The official's full expense at the applicable standard mileage rates is $6,050. Because the reimbursement is less than the expense, the official itemizes deductions, completes Form 2106 showing all expenses and reimbursements, and claims the $2,050 excess as an itemized deduction. This rule applies only to Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses - the only categories still permitted to use Form 2106.
Example 3. A fee-basis state government official drives 5,000 miles during January through June 2022 and 5,000 miles during July through December 2022 for business. Under their employer's accountable plan, they account for the time (dates), place, and business pur- pose of each trip. Their employer pays them a mileage allowance of 40 cents (0.40) a mile. Since their $6,050 expense figured under the standard mileage rate ((5,000 miles x 58.5 cents (0.585) per mile) + (5,000 miles x 62.5 cents (0.625) per mile)) is more than their $4,000 reimbursement (10,000 miles × 40 cents (0.40)), they itemize their deductions to claim the excess expense. They complete Form 2106 (showing all their expenses and reimburse- ments) and enter $2,050 ($6,050 − $4,000) as an itemized deduction.
Publication 463 (2022), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
How much of the standard rate is depreciation, and the FAVR maximum vehicle cost
For 2022, the IRS treats 26 cents per mile of the business standard mileage rate as the depreciation portion. Taxpayers who use the standard rate to deduct business miles must reduce the basis of their automobile by this amount each year. The notice also addresses fixed and variable rate (FAVR) plans, which are an alternative way to reimburse employees for vehicle expenses using both fixed and variable components. Under a FAVR plan, employers must establish a standard automobile cost, and for 2022, this standard automobile cost may not exceed the limit specified in the notice for automobiles, including trucks and vans. This cap applies to the cost value assigned to the vehicle when determining the FAVR allowance.
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 2018, 26 cents per mile for 2019, 27 cents per mile for 2020, 26 cents per mile for 2021, and 26 cents per mile for 2022. 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 $56,100 for automobiles (including trucks and vans). See section 6.02(6) of Rev. Proc. 2019-46.
Notice 2022-3 (IRS)
A guessed mileage figure is not deductible
The IRS requires that your mileage records reflect the actual miles driven, not a guess or a rough estimate. You cannot deduct approximate figures or round numbers pulled from memory. The documentation must show the specific number of miles for each business trip, supported by evidence such as a logbook, odometer readings, or other contemporaneous records. If you cannot provide adequate records proving the exact mileage, you may lose the deduction entirely unless you can supply other sufficient evidence to establish the amount.
You can’t deduct amounts that you ap- proximate or estimate.
Publication 463 (2022), 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 2022-3 (IRS)
- Business use
The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses is 58.5 cents per mile for all miles of business use
- Medical or moving
The standard mileage rate is 18 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.
Announcement 2022-13 (IRS) · figures from 2022-07-01
- Business use
(1) Business 62.5 cents per mile
- Medical or moving
(2) Medical and moving 22 cents per mile
- Charitable service
mileage rate that applies to the deduction for charitable contributions is fixed under § 170(i) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) at 14 cents per mile.