Mileage Reimbursement Calculator

Travel from January 1 through June 30, 2026 uses $0.725 per mile for business and $0.205 for medical care or qualifying moving use. IRS Announcement 2026-11 raises those rates to $0.76 and $0.235 for travel on or after July 1, 2026. The charitable rate remains $0.14 for both periods. Enter the travel date so the calculator applies the correct half-year rate.

The 14-cent charitable mileage rate is set by Congress in statute (26 USC 170(i)) and has not changed since 1998. Unlike the business and medical rates, the IRS does not have authority to adjust the charitable rate annually for inflation or fuel costs. Only an act of Congress can move it. If you drive for a qualifying 501(c)(3) charity and itemize on Schedule A, you can deduct miles at $0.14 each (or your actual unreimbursed gas and oil cost, whichever method you choose for the year).

For most W-2 employees, the federal deduction for unreimbursed business mileage is generally unavailable. The disallowance of miscellaneous itemized deductions for these employee expenses is permanent under current federal law, rather than a rule ending after 2026. Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses remain narrow Form 2106 exceptions. An accountable-plan reimbursement from the employer can also cover qualifying business mileage without treating the payment as wages.

If you are self-employed and file Schedule C (or report business mileage on Schedule F for farming), you can deduct your business miles at the full IRS standard rate against your business income. There is no TCJA suspension on the Schedule C side. You can also choose the actual-expense method instead, deducting your real fuel, oil, repairs, insurance, depreciation, lease payments, and registration fees in proportion to business use. Once you pick a method for a vehicle, the IRS restricts switching: you must use the standard mileage rate in the first year the car is placed in service if you ever want the option to switch later, and you cannot use the standard rate at all if you have already claimed accelerated depreciation or a Section 179 deduction on that vehicle.

Per IRS Publication 463, you need a contemporaneous record that documents each business or charitable trip at the time it happens (or close enough that the IRS considers it timely). For each trip, log the date, the business purpose or charitable organization name, the destination, and the miles driven (ideally captured as starting and ending odometer readings). At year end you should also have your beginning-of-year and end-of-year odometer so you can prove your business-use percentage. Apps like MileIQ, Stride, or your accounting software work; a paper notebook in the glove box works too. Logs reconstructed at tax time from calendars and receipts are routinely challenged in audit and frequently disallowed.