2026 Standard Mileage Rate
For 2026, the Standard Mileage Rate is 72.5¢ (Business use), 20.5¢ (Medical or moving) and 14¢ (Charitable service) from 2026-01-01. It changes on 2026-07-01.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: IR-2025-128 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
From 2026-07-01Source: Announcement 2026-11, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2025
Figures dated from the start of each year. Later steps are listed above with their dates.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business use | 70¢ | 72.5¢ | +2.5¢ (+3.6%) |
| Medical or moving | 21¢ | 20.5¢ | -0.5¢ (-2.4%) |
| Charitable service | 14¢ | 14¢ | +0¢ (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Use of the standard mileage rates is optional; taxpayers may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle. 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. Who may actually take a deduction is narrower than who may compute one. Taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, except for certain educator expenses, but deductions that are allowable in determining adjusted gross income remain available, including for certain members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, certain state and local government officials, certain performing artists, and eligible educators. Moving mileage is limited to members of the military on active duty and, under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, certain members of the intelligence community.
What changed this year, and why
Beginning January 1, 2026, the optional standard mileage rate for business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 72.5 cents per mile, up from 70 cents per mile for 2025. The rate for medical purposes, and for moving purposes for certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces and certain members of the intelligence community, is 20.5 cents per mile, down from 21 cents per mile. Driving in service of charitable organizations stays at 14 cents per mile. The rates then change again inside the year: from July 1, 2026, business use is 76 cents per mile and medical or moving use is 23.5 cents per mile, while charitable service remains 14 cents per mile. Notice 2026-10 contains the optional 2026 standard mileage rates.
Common questions
- What is the IRS standard mileage rate for 2026?
- From January 1, 2026 the rates are 72.5 cents per mile for business use, 20.5 cents per mile for medical purposes and for moving by certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces and certain members of the intelligence community, and 14 cents per mile in service of charitable organizations. From July 1, 2026 the business rate is 76 cents per mile and the medical or moving rate is 23.5 cents per mile.
- Did the mileage rate change in the middle of 2026?
- Yes. The rates that apply from January 1, 2026 are 72.5 cents per mile for business use and 20.5 cents per mile for medical or moving use. From July 1, 2026 those become 76 cents per mile and 23.5 cents per mile. The charitable rate stays at 14 cents per mile across the whole year. A single annual figure is therefore wrong for part of 2026, and the date a mile was driven decides which rate applies to it.
- How much did the business mileage rate go up for 2026?
- The IRS set the business rate at 72.5 cents per mile from January 1, 2026, against 70 cents per mile for 2025, and it rises again to 76 cents per mile from July 1, 2026. The business rate is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, so it tracks vehicle costs rather than following a fixed formula.
- Why did the medical mileage rate go down for 2026?
- The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on only the variable costs from the IRS annual study of automobile operating costs, so it follows a narrower set of expenses than the business rate. It starts 2026 at 20.5 cents per mile from January 1, 2026, against 21 cents per mile for 2025, and then rises to 23.5 cents per mile from July 1, 2026.
- What is the charitable mileage rate for 2026?
- It is 14 cents per mile, the same as in 2025, and it holds for the whole of 2026 rather than changing part-way through. The charitable rate is set by statute rather than by the annual cost study the IRS uses for the business, medical and moving rates, which is why it stays put while the others move.
- Can employees deduct mileage for work in 2026?
- Generally no. Taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, except for certain educator expenses. Deductions that are allowable in determining adjusted gross income do remain available, including for certain members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, certain state and local government officials, certain performing artists, and eligible educators. Eligible educators may alternatively claim an itemized deduction for certain unreimbursed employee travel expenses.
- Who can deduct moving mileage in 2026?
- Only taxpayers who are members of the military on active duty, and now certain members of the intelligence community under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, may claim a deduction for moving expenses incurred while relocating under orders to a permanent change of station. The rate for those miles is 20.5 cents per mile from January 1, 2026 and 23.5 cents per mile from July 1, 2026.
- Do I have to use the standard mileage rate, and can I switch methods?
- Use of the standard mileage rates is optional, and you may instead calculate the actual costs of using your vehicle. If you own the vehicle and want the standard rate, you must choose it in the first year the automobile is available for business use; in later years you can use either the standard rate or actual expenses. For a leased vehicle the standard mileage rate must be used for the entire lease period, including renewals.
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 2026 standard mileage rates of 72.5¢ per mile for business, 20.5¢ per mile for medical or moving, and 14¢ per mile for charitable service are meant to cover the general costs of operating your car for those purposes, such as gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. However, the rates do not cover everything. In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can separately deduct any business-related parking fees and tolls you actually pay during the trip. These out-of-pocket costs are added on top of the mileage deduction and are not already baked into the per-mile figure. One important exception: parking fees you pay to park your car at your regular place of work are treated as nondeductible commuting expenses and cannot be claimed, even though other business parking fees and all tolls remain fully deductible.
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
The standard mileage rate is not an automatic election you can flip year to year at will. For a car you own, you must choose the standard mileage rate in the first year the car is available for use in your business. That first-year choice is binding in a specific sense: if you skip the standard rate in the car's first year of business use and instead use the actual-expense method, you lose the option to switch to the standard rate for that car in any later year. In later years, after having used the standard rate in the first year, you may alternate freely between the standard rate and actual expenses. For a leased car, the rule is even stricter - you must use the standard mileage rate for the entire lease period; you cannot switch to actual expenses mid-lease. So the decision in year one determines your flexibility for the life of that vehicle. For 2026, the business rate is 72.5¢ per mile.
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 IRS limits the standard mileage rate to taxpayers who are using a modest number of vehicles. 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 them. The rule applies to the whole fleet: once the threshold of five vehicles in simultaneous business use is reached, every one of those cars must be accounted for under the actual-expense method, with depreciation, lease payments, fuel, insurance, repairs, and registration tracked separately for each. The policy rationale is that the standard rate is a simplified method intended for individual vehicles; once a taxpayer is operating a fleet, the IRS expects the more precise actual-expense accounting. Note the trigger is "at the same time" - seasonal or staggered use that never puts five cars in service concurrently may keep you under the limit. If you are in the actual-expense method because of this rule, you still keep records of miles driven per 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. 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
No matter what vehicle expenses you claim - whether the standard mileage rate or actual expenses - the miles between your home and your main or regular place of work are never deductible. The IRS treats these as personal commuting expenses, and the rule is absolute: distance does not matter, and working during the trip does not change the character of the miles. Making business phone calls on a hands-free device while driving to the office, or having a business discussion with a passenger who is riding along to work, does not convert a personal commute into a business trip. Only once you arrive at your regular workplace and begin driving to a second, temporary work location, or to a client meeting away from your regular office, do the miles become business miles eligible for the 2026 rate of 72.5¢ per mile. The same bright-line treatment applies to medical, moving, and charitable miles - only the portion of driving beyond the home-to-work commute counts.
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
Most vehicles serve more than one purpose during the year. When a car is used for both business and personal purposes, the IRS requires you to divide your expenses between the two uses. The approved way to make the split is by miles: you total the miles driven for business and the miles driven for all other reasons during the year, and then claim only the business portion. The source document illustrates this with a contractor who drives a mix of business and personal miles and may claim only the business percentage of the car's operating costs. The same logic applies if you use the standard mileage rate rather than actual expenses: you apply the 2026 business rate of 72.5¢ per mile only to the business miles, not to the total odometer reading. Accurate mileage logs - showing the date, destination, purpose, and number of miles for each trip - are what support the business share in the event of an IRS examination.
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.
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-2025-128 (IRS)
- Business use
72.5 cents per mile driven for business use
- Medical or moving
20.5 cents per mile driven for medical purposes
- Charitable service
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
Announcement 2026-11, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (IRS) · figures from 2026-07-01
- Business use
(1) Business 76 cents per mile
- Medical or moving
(2) Medical and moving 23.5 cents per mile
- Charitable service
The mileage rate that applies to the deduction for charitable contributions is fixed under § 170(i) of the Internal Revenue Code at 14 cents per mile.