What a mile actually costs you
Two different questions get called "cost per mile". The first is what your vehicle really costs to run, which is the number you need before you quote a job that involves driving. The second is which way of deducting it leaves you better off at tax time. This page answers both, and it does the arithmetic in your browser, so the figures you type here go nowhere.
The calculation
Annual figures throughout. The defaults are a plausible mid-size car doing average mileage, not a recommendation, so replace them with yours.
What the vehicle costs you a year
How far you drive
The rate changed in the middle of 2026
This is the thing most mileage calculators still have wrong. The IRS set the 2026 business rate at 72.5 cents a mile in Notice 2026-10, then raised it to 76 cents from 1 July in Announcement 2026-11. It was the first mid-year adjustment since 2022, and it happened because the average price of regular gasoline went from $2.819 a gallon on 8 January to $3.890 on 15 July, a rise of 38 per cent.
So a 2026 return needs your business miles split at 30 June. A calculator that multiplies your whole year by one figure will be wrong by up to three and a half cents on every mile driven in the second half. On ten thousand second-half miles that is $350 of deduction you either lose or overclaim.
| Rate | Jan 1 – Jun 30 2026 | Jul 1 – Dec 31 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢ | 76¢ |
| Medical and moving | 20.5¢ | 23.5¢ |
| Charitable | 14¢ | 14¢ |
The 2025 business rate was 70 cents for the whole year. The charitable rate is fixed by statute, which is why it never moves.
Which method you are allowed to choose
The bigger number is not always the one you can take. The rules constrain the choice more than most people realise:
- The first year decides the rest. If you want the option of ever using the standard mileage rate for a particular car, you have to use it in the first year you put that car to business use. Claim actual expenses in year one and you are shut out of the standard rate for that vehicle permanently.
- Having elected the standard rate, you can move between the two. Use it in year one and you may switch to actual expenses later, and switch back again. That flexibility is the whole reason to start with the standard rate even in a year when actual expenses would give you more.
- A lease locks you in. Use the standard rate in the first year of a leased vehicle and you must keep using it for the entire lease. There is no switching.
- You cannot take depreciation twice. Depreciation is already inside the standard rate, so it cannot be deducted separately on top of it.
- Three things stack on either method: interest on a car loan, business parking and tolls, and personal property tax paid on the vehicle's value. Because they apply either way, they never change which method wins.
None of this is tax advice, and none of it is a substitute for someone who knows your return. It is the shape of the rules, so that the number above means something when you take it to your accountant.
What the average actually is
AAA's Your Driving Costs study, published 17 September 2025, put the average annual cost of owning and operating a new vehicle at $11,577, or $964.78 a month. That is 45 models across nine categories, assuming 15,000 miles a year over five years, which works out at roughly 77 cents a mile. A small sedan came in at 55.87 cents.
Two things follow. The first is that the standard rate is not a windfall: at 76 cents it is close to what an average new car genuinely costs to run, and it is well below that cost for anything large or new. The second is that if the figure the calculator gives you is far under 50 cents, check it. Either you are driving something old and paid for, which is genuinely cheap, or you have left depreciation out.
Why this one asks for nothing
Nearly every mileage calculator on the web is a lead magnet with arithmetic attached: you type in your vehicle, your mileage and your income, and it collects your email address. This one runs entirely in the tab. There is no email box, nothing is stored when you close it, and there is nowhere for it to send anything. You can confirm that yourself: open your browser's network tab, press the button, and watch nothing leave.
Questions people ask
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
It changed mid-year. Business miles driven between 1 January and 30 June 2026 are claimed at 72.5 cents a mile, and miles driven from 1 July at 76 cents. It was the first mid-year adjustment since 2022, made because the average price of gasoline rose 38 per cent over the first half of the year.
Should I use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses?
Whichever is larger, subject to the rules. Actual expenses win exactly when your vehicle costs you more per mile than the rate does, so the comparison comes down to your true cost per mile against roughly 74 cents. The standard rate also needs far less record keeping: a mileage log rather than every receipt for the year.
Can I switch between the two methods later?
Only if you used the standard mileage rate in the first year that vehicle was used for business. Claim actual expenses in year one and you are shut out of the standard rate for that car permanently. On a leased vehicle, using the standard rate in year one locks you into it for the whole lease.
Can I deduct my car payment?
No. Loan principal is never deductible. The interest on the loan is, and so is depreciation on the vehicle, but the payment itself is not an expense. This is the most common mistake in working out actual expenses.
What does a car actually cost to run?
AAA put the average for a new vehicle at $11,577 a year over 15,000 miles in its September 2025 study, which is about 77 cents a mile across 45 models. A small sedan came in at 55.87 cents. An older paid-off car is far cheaper because depreciation, the largest single cost, has already happened.
Is anything I type here sent anywhere?
No. The whole calculation runs in your browser. There is no email box, nothing is stored when you close the tab, and there is nowhere for the page to send anything. Open your network tab and watch.
Next
Everything on this page is worked out in your browser. The figures you type are never sent anywhere, there is no email box, and nothing is stored when you close the tab. That is worth saying because most mileage calculators are lead capture with arithmetic attached, and what you earn and drive is not a thing you should have to hand over to find out what a mile costs.