The 2026 IRS Mileage Rate Is $0.725/Mile: How to Track and Deduct It

Published: April 9, 2026 · Reading time: 8 min

TL;DR: The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate is $0.725 per business mile. Every 1,000 business miles = $725 in deductions. You need a log showing date, destination, business purpose, and miles for each trip. CentSense tracks all of this automatically on the Solo plan.

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Every January, the IRS sets the standard mileage rate for the year. For 2026, the business mileage rate is $0.725 per mile.

If you drive for your business — visiting clients, attending meetings, traveling to job sites — this deduction adds up fast. A freelancer who drives 8,000 business miles in 2026 deducts $5,800 off their taxable income.

2026 IRS Mileage Rates

The business rate applies to:

• Driving to client meetings
• Traveling to job sites
• Driving to pick up supplies for your business
• Any other trip with a direct business purpose

What Qualifies as Business Mileage

Deductible:

• Driving from your office (or home office) to a client's location
• Driving from one client site to another
• Driving to a business supply store, bank, or post office for business purposes
• Driving to a required professional development event

Not deductible:

• Commuting — home to your regular office and back
• Personal errands, even on a day when you also had business driving
• Mixed-use trips: you can only deduct the business-use portion

The home office exception: If you have a qualified home office (dedicated space used exclusively and regularly for business), your home qualifies as a business location. This means driving from home to your first client of the day is deductible, and so is driving from your last client home at the end of the day.

What the IRS Requires in Your Mileage Log

A contemporaneous mileage log — one kept at or near the time of each trip — is the IRS's preferred documentation. Each entry must include:

What "contemporaneous" means: The IRS prefers records kept at the time of the trip, not reconstructed from memory months later. Apps that log trips in real time are far better than end-of-year estimates.

Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses

You must choose one method per vehicle per year. You cannot switch mid-year.

Standard Mileage Rate ($0.725/mile)

How it works: Multiply total business miles by $0.725. Done.

Pros:

• Simple — no tracking of gas, oil, repairs, insurance
• Works well for high-mileage drivers
• IRS accepts it without detailed vehicle cost records

Cons:

• Can undervalue a high-cost, low-mileage vehicle

Actual Expenses

How it works: Deduct a percentage of all vehicle costs based on business-use percentage.

Eligible costs: gas, oil changes, tires, insurance, registration, lease payments, repairs, and depreciation (Form 4562).

Business-use percentage = business miles ÷ total miles for the year

Example: 8,000 business miles ÷ 20,000 total miles = 40% business use. You can deduct 40% of all vehicle costs.

Pros:

• Can produce a larger deduction for high-cost vehicles driven relatively few business miles

Cons:

• Requires tracking every vehicle expense all year
• Requires calculating depreciation (Form 4562)
• Much more complex

Which Method Wins?

Standard mileage usually wins for most freelancers — especially those who drive 10,000+ business miles per year in a typical-value car. Run the math in November and choose the method that produces the larger deduction.

Can I Deduct Commuting Miles?

No. This is one of the most common mistakes on Schedule C.

• Home → your regular office = commuting (not deductible)
• Home → client's office = business travel (deductible, if you have a home office)
• Office → client's office = business travel (deductible)
• Office → home at end of day = commuting (not deductible)

The home office exception: If you have a qualifying home office (dedicated space, used exclusively and regularly for business), your home counts as a place of business. This makes:

• Home (home office) → first client of the day = deductible
• Last client of the day → home (home office) = deductible

How to Track Mileage for Taxes

Option 1: Automatic GPS App (Most Reliable)

Apps like CentSense, TripLog, or MileIQ use your phone's GPS to detect when you're driving. You classify each trip (business or personal) and the app maintains your IRS-compliant log.

CentSense Solo ($5/month) includes mileage tracking at the $0.725/mile rate, auto-calculated, with all IRS-required fields logged per trip. Your mileage log and receipt expenses are in the same export — one file for your accountant.

Option 2: Manual Log

Keep a notebook or spreadsheet in your car. Log each trip immediately:

• Date, start/end odometer, destination, business purpose
• Total miles at year-end

Risk: Easy to forget entries. A gap in a manual log weakens your documentation if audited.

Option 3: Reconstruct from Google Maps

Google Timeline (if enabled) shows your location history. Some apps (like MileageWise) can generate a mileage log from this data.

IRS caution: Reconstructed logs are allowed but are considered less reliable than contemporaneous records. If audited, you'll face more scrutiny.

How to Claim the Mileage Deduction

Business mileage for sole proprietors (including freelancers and 1099 workers) goes on Schedule C, Part II, Line 9 (Car and truck expenses).

You also must complete Part IV of Schedule C (Information on Your Vehicle), which asks:

• Date vehicle was placed in service
• Total miles driven in the year
• Business miles driven in the year
• Commuting miles
• Other personal miles
• Do you have evidence to support the business-use claim?

CentSense's mileage export provides all the numbers you need to fill in Part IV.

2026 Mileage Deduction Calculator

Use this to estimate your deduction:

Start Tracking Mileage Today

CentSense Solo ($5/month) includes mileage tracking at $0.725/mile for 2026, auto-calculated per trip. Every trip is logged with the 4 IRS-required fields. Your year-end export includes your full mileage log alongside your receipt expenses — one clean file for Schedule C.

Start free → — Free plan includes 10 AI receipt scans/month. Upgrade to Solo for mileage tracking.