2026 IRS Mileage Rate and Mileage Reimbursement Rate
The official 2026 standard mileage rates for business, medical, military moving and charity driving — and a mileage reimbursement calculator that splits your miles at the July 1 rate change.
The 2026 mileage reimbursement rate is the IRS business standard mileage rate: 72.5¢ a mile to June 30 and 76¢ a mile from July 1, 2026, and federal employees are reimbursed the same 76¢ for a privately owned car (GSA POV rates). The IRS business mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5¢ a mile for miles driven January 1 to June 30 and 76¢ a mile from July 1, 2026. Medical and military moving miles are 20.5¢, then 23.5¢; charity miles are 14¢ all year. Sources: IRS Notice 2026-10 and IRS Announcement 2026-11.
Official The IRS set the January rates in news release IR-2025-128 (December 29, 2025) and raised the business and medical/moving rates for the rest of the year in Announcement 2026-11, published in the July 13, 2026 Internal Revenue Bulletin, “from recent increases in the price of fuel.” When is the 2027 rate announced? →
2026 standard mileage rates by purpose
| Purpose | Jan. 1 – June 30 | July 1 – Dec. 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 72.5¢ | 76¢ |
| Medical, and moving (moving: active-duty military and certain intelligence community members only) | 20.5¢ | 23.5¢ |
| Charitable (set by statute) | 14¢ | 14¢ |
The charity rate is written into the tax code at 14 cents (26 U.S.C. § 170(i)), so it does not move with fuel prices; only Congress can change it. The business rate comes from an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of running a car; the medical and moving rate uses only the variable costs (IR-2025-128). The rates apply to electric and hybrid cars as well as gasoline and diesel ones.
2026 mileage deduction and reimbursement calculator
Enter the miles for one purpose and read that purpose’s row. Miles are split at July 1 because the rate changed that day; leave a box empty if you drove none in that half.
Mileage reimbursement: what your employer pays, and what is taxable
Paid a set amount per mile? Enter it. Under an accountable plan, reimbursement up to the IRS business rate is not wages; anything above it is taxable wages in box 1 of your W-2 (IRS Publication 463). Uses the business miles above.
Self-employed? See what the deduction saves
For drivers who report the car on Schedule C. It takes the business miles above (medical, moving and charity miles are itemized deductions and are left out) and figures your 2026 federal return, and your state return, twice: at your profit before the car, and at that profit less the mileage deduction. The difference is what the deduction saves.
Other wages are yours on a single, head-of-household or separate return, your spouse’s on a joint one. Figured for filers under 65 with the standard deduction and no dependents.
How it is figured: the same federal and state tax engines as our other 2026 calculators, run on both profits. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of the profit up to the Social Security wage base ($184,500 for 2026), 2.9% above it, plus the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax over the threshold; the engine also takes the deduction for half of it and the 20% qualified business income deduction (§ 199A; taken as for a business that is not a specified service business, with no employees and no qualified property, which matters only above $201,750 of taxable income, $403,500 joint), and the earned income credit where it applies, so all of them move with the profit. A deduction larger than the profit is a business loss, which this block does not figure: it stops at zero profit. Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Alabama, Michigan and Arkansas tax business income by their own rules, which the state line does not yet model, so it is left out there.
Employees: this block is for the self-employed. Unreimbursed job mileage is not deductible on the 2026 federal return: the 2017 law suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions through 2025, and the 2025 law (Public Law 119-21, § 70110) made that permanent, as IRS Notice 2026-10 notes, with exceptions for certain Armed Forces reservists, fee-basis state or local officials, certain performing artists and eligible educators. Mileage reimbursed under an accountable plan is not income, so there is nothing to deduct.
Estimate your 2026 return
The return you file in early 2027 is for tax year 2026. Free calculators:
- Estimated tax calculator — how much estimated tax to pay by the January deadline, the safe harbor, and the underpayment penalty if you skip it.
- Federal income tax calculator — your 2026 federal income tax, your tax bracket and your effective rate.
- 2026 Return Preview — what you owe or get back on your 2026 federal and state returns, with Social Security, IRA withdrawals, pensions and Roth conversions; free, with the line-by-line return in the Tax Season Pass.
Using the standard rate is optional: you can deduct actual vehicle costs instead. For a car you own, you must choose the standard rate in the first year the car is used for business; for a leased car, you must keep it for the whole lease (IR-2025-128). Employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed mileage; the exceptions (certain Armed Forces reservists, fee-basis state or local officials, certain performing artists, eligible educators) are listed in Notice 2026-10.
IRS mileage rates, 2021–2026
| Period | Business | Medical / moving | Charity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1 – Dec. 31, 2026 | 76 | 23.5 | 14 | Ann. 2026-11 |
| Jan. 1 – June 30, 2026 | 72.5 | 20.5 | 14 | IR-2025-128 |
| 2025 | 70 | 21 | 14 | IR-2024-312 |
| 2024 | 67 | 21 | 14 | IR-2023-239 |
| 2023 | 65.5 | 22 | 14 | IR-2022-234 |
| July 1 – Dec. 31, 2022 | 62.5 | 22 | 14 | IR-2022-124 |
| Jan. 1 – June 30, 2022 | 58.5 | 18 | 14 | IR-2021-251 |
| 2021 | 56 | 16 | 14 | IR-2020-279 |
Mileage reimbursement in 2026: employers, accountable plans and what is taxable
No law makes a private employer reimburse mileage at the IRS rate; the IRS rate is the most an employer can pay per mile without the excess becoming wages. Under an accountable plan, where you account for the miles and dates and return any excess, a mileage allowance up to the IRS rate is not taxable income. If the allowance is higher, the employer reports the amount up to the IRS rate under code L in box 12 of your W-2 and the excess in box 1 as wages (IRS Publication 463). Pub. 463’s own example: 10,000 miles reimbursed at 75¢ when the rate was 70¢ puts $7,000 in box 12 (code L, not taxable) and $500 in box 1.
For 2026 the business rate is 72.5¢ for miles to June 30 and 76¢ from July 1 (IRS Announcement 2026-11), so a 2026 log is reimbursed tax-free at those two rates. A reimbursement below the IRS rate is not deductible by most employees in 2026 (see below); the self-employed deduct business miles themselves.
Fuel reimbursement vs. mileage. A cents-per-mile allowance at the IRS rate is meant to cover fuel and every other cost of the car: depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires. An employer that pays for fuel only (a fuel card or fuel receipts) is reimbursing an actual expense, which is not wages when accounted for under an accountable plan, but it should not also pay the full mileage rate on the same miles (Pub. 463).
Government (GSA) mileage rate 2026 for federal employees
Federal employees on official travel are reimbursed at the GSA privately owned vehicle (POV) rates, which for a car follow the IRS business rate (GSA POV mileage rates):
| Vehicle | Jan. 1 – June 30 | From July 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Automobile (authorized, or no government car available) | $0.725 | $0.76 |
| Automobile, government car available but you chose your own | $0.205 | $0.235 |
| Motorcycle | $0.705 | $0.74 |
| Airplane (statute miles) | $1.78 | $1.935 |
| Automobile, work-related move | — | $0.235 |
GSA’s example: 100 miles in your own automobile at $0.76 a mile is $76.00 (GSA). Lodging and meals on the same trip are paid at the GSA per diem rates: FY2027 GSA per diem rates →
Self-employed and planning retirement? QuantCalc runs your whole retirement — withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year, on the 2026 tax figures.
Run the free tax-aware simulation →Common questions
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
The 2026 business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for miles driven January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents a mile for miles driven on or after July 1, 2026. The IRS raised it mid-year because of higher fuel prices. Sources: IRS Notice 2026-10 and IRS Announcement 2026-11.
What is the 2026 mileage rate for medical, moving and charity driving?
Medical driving and deductible military moving use 20.5 cents a mile through June 30, 2026 and 23.5 cents from July 1, 2026 (IRS Announcement 2026-11). Driving for a charity is 14 cents a mile all year; that rate is fixed by law (26 U.S.C. § 170(i)) and only Congress can change it.
Which rate do I use for 2026 mileage reimbursement?
Use the rate in force on the day the miles were driven: 72.5 cents for business miles through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents for business miles from July 1, 2026. A full-year log is split at July 1. Under IRS Announcement 2026-11 the higher rate applies to allowances paid on or after July 1 for expenses incurred on or after July 1.
How much is mileage reimbursement for 100 miles in 2026?
At the IRS business rate, 100 miles driven before July 1, 2026 come to $72.50 and 100 miles from July 1 come to $76.00. A federal employee driving an authorized personal car gets the same $76.00 for 100 miles under the GSA rate (GSA).
Is fuel reimbursement the same as mileage reimbursement?
No. The cents-per-mile rate covers all the costs of running the car, fuel included; a fuel reimbursement pays for fuel only, as an actual expense. Under an accountable plan neither is wages up to the allowed amount; mileage paid above the IRS rate is wages (IRS Publication 463).
Can employees deduct unreimbursed mileage in 2026?
Generally no. IRS Notice 2026-10 notes that unreimbursed employee travel is not deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, with exceptions for certain Armed Forces reservists, fee-basis state or local officials, certain performing artists and eligible educators. Self-employed people deduct business miles on their business return.
Is mileage a deductible expense?
For the self-employed, yes: business miles are a car expense on Schedule C, figured at the standard mileage rate or as actual costs, and statutory employees deduct theirs the same way on their Schedule C. Commuting between home and a regular workplace is never deductible. Medical miles count as a medical expense if you itemize, and miles driven for a charity are a charitable deduction at 14 cents a mile. Employees cannot deduct unreimbursed business miles for 2026 (IRS Publication 463, Notice 2026-10).
Sources
- IRS Notice 2026-10 — 2026 rates from January 1
- IRS Announcement 2026-11, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 — rates from July 1, 2026
- IRS news release IR-2025-128
- 26 U.S.C. § 170(i) — the statutory charity rate
- IRS standard mileage rates, all years
- GSA — Privately owned vehicle (POV) mileage reimbursement rates
- IRS Publication 463 — Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (allowances above the federal rate)
Every figure on this page was checked against the text of the documents above on September 24, 2026; the GSA rates and the reimbursement rules on November 4, 2026. Every figure with its source: JSON. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax advice.
Related
2027 mileage rate → FY2027 GSA per diem rates → 2026 tax brackets → 2026 standard deduction → Estimated-tax underpayment penalty → Statutory employee → QBI deduction 2026 →