Mileage Reimbursement Calculator

Enter your miles and pick the rate that applies: the current 76 cent IRS business rate, the first-half 72.5 cent rate, a full-year split, or your employer's own rate. You'll get the reimbursement with every step shown, plus the taxable portion if the rate tops the IRS standard.

Data reviewed: July 2026. Figures here come from published sources and change over time. How we verify

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How mileage reimbursement works

The IRS standard mileage rate is not a gas allowance. It comes from an annual study of the full cost of running a car: fuel, yes, but also depreciation, insurance, maintenance, and tires, which is why it is so much higher than what the trip's gas cost. One number, applied per mile, settles all of it without receipts for every oil change.

2026 needs one extra sentence of care: the IRS raised the business rate mid-year, from 72.5 cents to 76 cents on July 1 (Announcement 2026-11, a response to fuel prices). The rate that applies is the rate on the day you drove, not the day you filed the expense report. This calculator carries both halves, and a full-year mode that splits your miles across them, because a year-end total priced at a single rate is quietly wrong in a year like this one.

The formula

Reimbursement = Miles × Rate (+ parking and tolls at cost)

For 2026: business miles at 72.5 cents through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1; medical and military-moving miles at 20.5 then 23.5 cents; charitable miles at a statutory 14 cents all year. Parking fees and tolls are reimbursed at actual cost on top of the rate; they are not baked into it.

Worked example

A consultant drives 340 miles to client sites in September 2026 and pays $18 in parking. At the current 76 cent rate: 340 × $0.76 = $258.40, plus $18 = $276.40 on the expense report.

A self-employed designer logs the whole year for the tax return: 6,200 miles from January through June and 5,800 miles from July through December. The halves price separately: 6,200 × $0.725 = $4,495.00 and 5,800 × $0.76 = $4,408.00, so the deduction is $8,903.00. Pricing all 12,000 miles at 76 cents would claim $217 too much; at 72.5 cents it would leave $203 on the table.

Commuting, records, and paying above or below the rate

The rule that surprises people most: the drive from home to your regular workplace is never reimbursable or deductible, no matter how long it is. Commuting is a personal cost. The miles that count start once work does: office to client, client to client, or home to a client site if your home is your principal place of work. An expense report that starts the odometer in the driveway for a trip that began at the office is the most common honest mistake in mileage logs.

The record the IRS expects is simple but contemporaneous: date, destination, business purpose, and miles, kept as you go rather than reconstructed in April. A dated calendar entry plus the miles is enough; a year-end guess is not.

Employers are not required to use the IRS rate, or federally to reimburse mileage at all, though some states (California, Illinois, and Massachusetts among them) require reimbursement of actual vehicle expenses. Paying less than the rate is legal in most states; the gap simply goes unreimbursed, and employees generally cannot deduct it on a federal return. Paying more works too, but the excess above the IRS rate is taxable wages even under an accountable plan, which is why this calculator prices the excess for you the moment your custom rate goes over 76 cents.

Your next step: the log is the money

Every dollar this page computes rests on one record: a mileage log kept at the time of driving, because the IRS standard for substantiation is contemporaneous, and a log reconstructed in April protects nothing. The format is your choice, and both ends of the spectrum work: an automatic GPS mileage-tracking app that logs every drive and lets you swipe business or personal, or a notebook in the glovebox with date, destination, purpose and odometer. What matters is that it exists before anyone asks for it. Start it today, with today's odometer reading, and this calculator's answer becomes defensible instead of hopeful.

Sources

Where the numbers on this page come from. We go to the body that publishes the figure, not to another calculator. Figures on this page were checked against these sources in July 2026. See how we verify.

Frequently asked questions

What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?

Two answers, because the IRS changed it mid-year: 72.5 cents per business mile from January 1 through June 30, and 76 cents from July 1 through December 31 (Announcement 2026-11). Medical and military-moving miles went from 20.5 to 23.5 cents on the same date, and the charitable rate stayed at its statutory 14 cents.

Why did the mileage rate change in the middle of 2026?

Fuel prices. The IRS normally sets the rate once each December, but it has made mid-year adjustments in high-fuel-cost years before (2022, 2011, and 2008), and 2026 joined the list. The rate that applies to a trip is the rate in effect on the day it was driven, not the day the expense report was filed.

Is mileage reimbursement taxable income?

Not if it is paid under an accountable plan at or below the IRS rate with a proper mileage log; then it is simply a tax-free expense repayment. Anything paid above the IRS rate is taxable wages, even with perfect records, which is why this calculator prices the excess whenever a custom rate tops 76 cents.

Does my commute count as business miles?

No, and there is no mileage at which it starts to. Home to your regular workplace is a personal cost in the eyes of the IRS regardless of distance. Deductible or reimbursable miles begin once work does: office to client, client to client, or home to a work site when your home is your principal place of business.

Can my employer pay less than the IRS rate?

Under federal law, yes; the IRS rate is a tax ceiling, not a wage floor, and some employers reimburse nothing at all. A few states (California, Illinois, and Massachusetts among them) require reimbursement of actual vehicle expenses. Employees generally cannot deduct the shortfall on a federal return, so the gap is simply a cost of the job.

What records do I need for mileage?

A contemporaneous log: the date, where you went, the business purpose, and the miles, recorded as you go. A calendar entry with the destination plus the trip miles satisfies it; a single estimated number produced at tax time does not, and reconstructed logs are a classic audit loss.

Which rate applies to a trip near the July 1 changeover?

The date of the drive decides. Miles driven June 30, 2026 price at 72.5 cents and miles driven July 1 price at 76, even on the same expense report. For a full year of logged miles, split them at June 30 and price each half at its own rate, which is what the full-year mode here does.

Can self-employed people use the standard mileage rate?

Yes, on Schedule C, and for many it beats tracking actual expenses. The main rules: choose the standard rate in the vehicle's first business year to keep the option, and remember the alternative (actual costs: gas, insurance, depreciation, repairs, prorated by business use) is worth checking for expensive or thirsty vehicles.

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