If you’re self-employed, a freelancer, an independent contractor, or a gig economy worker, calculating your mileage tax deduction is usually pretty simple.
Unless you’re using the more complicated actual expenses method, just track your business miles, multiply them by the IRS standard mileage rate, and you’re done! For 2026, the IRS standard mileage rate for business use is 72.5 cents per mile.
If you want a simple answer, just track how many business miles you drive, multiply that by the mileage rate, and you have your answer. Still, there are some details you should be aware of.
Related: Self-Employed Worker Mileage Tax Deduction Guide
Who Can Deduct Mileage on Their Taxes?
This article is for self-employed people who use their personal vehicles for business.
That includes people like freelancers, consultants, contractors, rideshare drivers, food delivery drivers, and small business owners.
If you’re an employee at a company (i.e., a W-2 worker, not a 1099 worker), you can’t deduct your mileage on your taxes. Instead, you should be tracking your mileage for reimbursement.
You can find our article on calculating employee mileage reimbursement here.
How to Calculate Your Mileage Tax Deduction - Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Track Your Mileage
One of the key requirements for the IRS to accept your mileage deduction claim is that your mileage is properly substantiated (i.e., proven). That requires you to keep detailed records of your business mileage.
The IRS requires you to be able to prove your total mileage and business use case, as well as the date and destination. You can do this with pen-and-paper mileage log templates that have these fields for you, but those can often be inaccurate and time-consuming.
Related: IRS Mileage Log Requirements
Today, automatic mileage tracker apps do all of the heavy lifting for you, starting a trip when you start driving, stopping when you stop, and auto-categorizing the trip as business or personal based on your rules.
Step 2: Separate Your Commute Miles
It’s important to note that not every mile you drive for work-related reasons is necessarily deductible.
For instance, your regular commute from home to your normal workplace is generally considered personal mileage, not deductible business mileage. Personal errands also don’t count, even if you’re out and about working.
If a trip includes both business and personal mileage, only the business portion should be included.
Step 3: Multiply Your Business Miles by the IRS Rate
Once you know how many qualifying business miles you drove, multiply that number by the 2026 IRS standard mileage rate. Here’s the calculation:
business miles * 0.725 = your mileage deduction
So, if you drove 500 qualifying business miles in 2026, your deduction using the standard mileage method would be:
500 * 0.725 = $362.50
Related: Mileage Tax Deduction Calculator
Step 4: Keep Your Documentation Handy
While the math may be simple, there’s still one more thing to keep in mind.
If the IRS ever questions your deduction, you will need to present them with a mileage log showing when you drove, where you went, how many miles you drove, and why the trip was business-related.
Part of why many people choose to use mileage tracking apps instead of paper logs is because of the convenience of having all of the data permanently secured in the cloud rather than in the form of stacks of paper.
Example Mileage Deduction Calculation
Let’s say a small business owner drove the following in one month:
- 64 miles to meet clients
- 22 miles to pick up materials
- 31 miles to a temporary coworking location
- 40 miles commuting to a regular office lease
Only the first three trips would count toward the deduction. That would give the business owner 117 qualifying business miles (64 + 22 + 31 = 117).
Using the 2026 IRS rate, their deduction from that month would be:
117 * 0.725 = $84.83
Their 40 commuting miles would not count.
Standard Mileage Deduction vs. Actual Expenses
There are two main ways to deduct vehicle costs for business use on your taxes. You can use the IRS standard mileage rate, or deduct each individual vehicle expense one at a time.
Related: Standard Mileage Deduction vs. Actual Expenses Method Explained
Standard Mileage Method Explained
This is the simpler option and is the one most people end up using. You track your business miles and multiply them by the IRS rate and you’re done!
The IRS determines that rate by an annual survey of the various costs that go into owning and using a motor vehicle for work. It’s a national average, so the rate may be more generous in some regions, and not quite as fair in others.
If you think you would be in one of the latter regions, you can consider trying the actual expense method.
Actual Expense Method Explained
Instead of using the IRS mileage rate, with this method, you calculate the business-use share of your actual vehicle expenses. That typically includes things like gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation.
Some people may come out ahead with actual expenses depending on their region, but it is more record-heavy, more complicated, and usually a lot more work.
What Counts as Business Mileage for Tax Purposes?
Common deductible business mileage includes things like:
- Driving to clients or customers
- Traveling between work locations
- Going to temporary job sites
- Running business-related errands
- Picking up supplies or equipment for your business
Business-related parking fees and tolls may also be deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate.
Related: How To Keep Track of Business Expenses for Taxes
Common Mileage Tax Deduction Mistakes
Counting Commute Miles
This is probably the most common mistake. Regular commuting is not deductible.
Failing to Keep a Mileage Log
In case of an audit, you will need to present records of your mileage. A rough estimate is usually not going to be good enough.
Keep a log with the business purpose, date, destination, and mileage of each trip you plan to deduct.
Related: What To Do if You Forget to Track Your Mileage
Confusing Reimbursement With a Tax Deduction
Employer reimbursements and tax deductions are not the same thing. If you are self-employed, you may be able to deduct qualifying business mileage, as per the topic of this article.
If you actually work for a company (i.e., you are a W-2 employee, not a 1099), you generally can’t deduct your business mileage on your taxes. You would be dealing with employee mileage reimbursement instead.
Calculating Mileage for Tax Deductions Frequently Asked Questions
Can W-2 employees deduct mileage on their taxes?
No, most employees of companies cannot deduct unreimbursed business mileage on their federal tax return.
What records should I keep?
At minimum, record the date, number of miles, destination, and business purpose of each trip. If that feels like a lot to keep track of by hand, consider using an automatic mileage tracker app.
Should I use the standard mileage deduction or actual expenses method?
That depends on your situation. The standard mileage method is simpler, while actual expenses can be more detailed and sometimes produce a larger deduction.
Conclusion
Calculating your mileage deduction isn’t too complicated once you know which miles actually qualify. Track your business miles accurately, leave out your commutes and personal trips, and you’ll be good to go!
If you want an easy way to track your mileage, TripLog can help by automatically tracking your trips and categorizing your trips as business or personal for you. You can start tracking unlimited automatic miles for free today on iOS or Android.
