2025 Standard Mileage Rate
For 2025, the Standard Mileage Rate is 70¢ (Business use), 21¢ (Medical or moving) and 14¢ (Charitable service).
Effective 2025-01-01Source: IR-2024-312 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2024
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business use | 67¢ | 70¢ | +3¢ (+4.5%) |
| Medical or moving | 21¢ | 21¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
| Charitable service | 14¢ | 14¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
The standard mileage rates are optional. They are used to calculate the deductible costs of operating vehicles for business, charitable and medical purposes, and for active-duty members of the Armed Forces who are moving. Taxpayers may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle. Restrictions narrow who can actually take the deduction: under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, and only taxpayers who are members of the military on active duty may claim a deduction for moving expenses incurred while relocating under orders to a permanent change of station. The rates cover a car, van, pickup or panel truck, and they apply to fully-electric and hybrid automobiles as well as to gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.
What changed this year, and why
Beginning January 1, 2025, the optional standard mileage rate for business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 70 cents per mile. The rate for medical purposes, and for moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, is 21 cents per mile, and the rate for driving in service of charitable organizations is 14 cents per mile. The IRS announced the business increase in December 2024 and left the other rates where they had been. Notice 2025-5 contains the full set of optional 2025 standard mileage rates, along with the maximum automobile cost used to calculate mileage reimbursement allowances under a fixed-and-variable-rate plan.
Common questions
- What is the IRS standard mileage rate for 2025?
- Beginning January 1, 2025, the standard mileage rate is 70 cents per mile for business use, 21 cents per mile for medical purposes and for moving by qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations. The rates cover a car, van, pickup or panel truck, and they apply for the whole of 2025.
- Did the mileage rate change for 2025?
- The business rate rose, to 70 cents per mile. The IRS left the other rates where they were: 21 cents per mile for medical purposes, 21 cents per mile for moving by qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, and 14 cents per mile in service of charitable organizations, each unchanged from 2024. The business rate is the one recalculated each year from a study of vehicle operating costs.
- How does the IRS decide the business mileage rate?
- The rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on only the variable costs from that same study, which is why it sits at 21 cents against the 70 cents business rate. The charitable rate of 14 cents per mile is set by statute rather than by the study, so it does not move with costs.
- Can employees deduct mileage for work in 2025?
- Generally no. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, so an employee who drives for work and is not reimbursed cannot deduct the 70 cents per mile. The rate still appears in employer arrangements: Notice 2025-5 also sets the maximum automobile cost used to calculate mileage reimbursement allowances under a fixed-and-variable-rate plan.
- Who can deduct moving mileage in 2025?
- Only taxpayers who are members of the military on active duty may claim a deduction for moving expenses, and only for a move made under orders to a permanent change of station. For those miles the rate is 21 cents per mile in 2025, the same rate the IRS sets for medical driving and unchanged from 2024. Other taxpayers cannot deduct mileage driven for a move.
- Do I have to use the standard mileage rate?
- No. Use of the standard mileage rates is optional, and taxpayers may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle. There is a timing rule if you want to keep the choice open. A taxpayer using the standard mileage rate for a vehicle they own and use for business must choose to use the rate in the first year the automobile is available for business use; in later years either method is available.
- How does the standard mileage rate work for a leased vehicle?
- For a leased vehicle, a taxpayer using the standard mileage rate must employ that method for the entire lease period, including renewals. There is no switching to actual expenses part-way through a lease, and the requirement carries across a renewal of the same lease. The 70 cents per mile business rate for 2025 applies to a leased car, van, pickup or panel truck on the same terms as an owned one.
- Do the mileage rates apply to electric and hybrid cars?
- Yes. The IRS states that the rates apply to fully-electric and hybrid automobiles as well as gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles. There is no separate rate for an electric vehicle, so business driving in an electric car is figured at the same 70 cents per mile for 2025, and charitable driving at 14 cents per mile. The vehicle types covered are a car, van, pickup or panel truck.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Mileage reimbursement calculator takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
What the rate covers, and what you may add to it
The standard mileage rate covers only the per-mile cost of operating your car. On top of that rate, you may separately deduct any parking fees and tolls that are business-related. For example, a toll you pay on the way to a client meeting or a parking fee at a business site can be added to your mileage deduction. However, the text specifically excludes parking fees you pay to park at your regular place of work - those remain nondeductible commuting expenses, just like the drive itself. So the rate plus parking and tolls together give you the full transportation deduction, but only for trips that qualify as business travel in the first place.
Parking fees and tolls. In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can deduct any business-related park- ing fees and tolls. (Parking fees you pay to park your car at your place of work are nondeductible commuting expen- ses.)
Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
You must choose the standard rate in the car's first year
For a car you own, the choice to use the standard mileage rate is made in the very first year the car is available for business use. If you do not elect the standard rate in that first year, you cannot switch to it later for that same car - you must use actual expenses for its entire life. Once you have used the standard rate in the first year, however, later years give you flexibility: you can alternate between the standard rate and actual expenses as you see fit. A different rule applies to leased cars. If you lease a vehicle and choose the standard mileage rate, you must continue to use it for the full length of the lease. You cannot change your method mid-lease. This first-year election rule exists because the standard rate includes a built-in depreciation component, and the IRS needs to lock in one method of recovering the car's cost from the start.
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 business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you lease, you must use it for the entire lease period.
Publication 463 (2025), 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 in their work. If you own or lease five or more cars that are being used for business at the same time, you are barred from using the standard mileage rate for any of them. The rule applies to the entire group, not just the fifth car. You cannot use 70¢ per mile for four of the cars and actual expenses for the fifth; none of the five or more may use the rate. The IRS requires you to figure your deduction using actual expenses for every vehicle in the fleet. Actual expenses include depreciation, lease payments, gas, insurance, repairs, registration fees, and similar costs, which you must allocate between business and personal miles for each car. This limitation prevents taxpayers with large fleets from using the simplified rate, which is intended as a convenience for smaller operations.
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. However, you may be able to deduct your actual ex- penses for operating each of the cars in your business.
Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
The drive to work is never deductible mileage
The drive between your home and your regular workplace is always classified as a personal expense, regardless of what you do behind the wheel. Even if you make business phone calls during the commute, carry work materials, or give a business associate a ride and discuss work, none of that changes the character of the trip. The IRS treats the commute as a personal cost of getting to and from your regular job, not as a business activity. This means you cannot claim the standard mileage rate - whether at 70¢ per mile or any other amount - for commuting miles, and you cannot deduct actual car expenses for that portion of your driving either. The rule applies no matter how far your home is from your regular workplace, and it applies whether you drive yourself or take a bus, taxi, or subway. Only travel between two business locations, or from home to a temporary work site, qualifies 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 be- tween your home and your main or regular place of work. These costs are personal commuting expenses. You can’t deduct commuting expenses no matter how far your home is from your regular place of work. You can’t deduct com- muting expenses even if you work during the commuting trip.
Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Splitting a car between business and personal use
When a car serves both business and personal purposes, you must split your expenses between the two uses. The most common way to do this is by mileage: divide the miles driven for each purpose to determine the business percentage. The IRS provides an example: if you drive a total of 20,000 miles during the year, with 12,000 miles for business and 8,000 miles for personal use, you can claim only 60% of operating costs as a business expense. The same percentage applies whether you are using the standard mileage rate (applied only to the business miles at 70¢ per mile) or actual expenses (where the total is multiplied by the business-use ratio). Any portion of the expense tied to personal miles is never deductible, so accurate mileage logs for both categories are essential to support the split on your return.
Business and personal use. If you use your car for both business and personal purposes, you must divide your ex- penses between business and personal use. You can di- vide your expense based on the miles driven for each pur- pose. Example. You are a contractor and drive your car 20,000 miles during the year: 12,000 miles for business use and 8,000 miles for personal use. You can claim only 60% (12,000 ÷ 20,000) of the cost of operating your car as a business expense.
Publication 463 (2025), 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.
IR-2024-312 (IRS)
- Business use
70 cents per mile driven for business use
- Medical or moving
21 cents per mile driven for medical purposes
- Charitable service
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations