What is the 2026 standard mileage rate for sourcing and shipping trips?
For 2026, the IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for miles driven January 1 through June 30 and 76 cents a mile for miles driven on or after July 1, 2026, after Announcement 2026-11 raised it because of higher fuel prices. Miles before July 1 stay at 72.5 cents, so a 2026 log is totaled in two parts, and business parking fees and tolls are added on top of the rate.
General information from IRS sources, not tax advice. It doesn't say what you should file; check with a tax professional about your own situation.
Checked against the IRS pages listed below on .
What the IRS says
"The revised standard mileage rates set forth in this announcement apply to deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred for business, medical, or moving expense purposes on or after July 1, 2026…"
"Taxpayers using the standard mileage rate for a vehicle they own and use for business must choose to use the rate in the first year the automobile is available for business use."
"You can't deduct commuting expenses no matter how far your home is from your regular place of work."
"If you maintain a log on a weekly basis that accounts for use during the week, the log is considered a timely kept record."
Business mileage rates
The early-release draft of the 2026 Schedule C instructions (dated Oct. 8, 2026, not for filing) applies the two rates by date: business miles from January 1 to June 30, 2026 times 72.5 cents, plus miles from July 1 to December 31, 2026 times 76 cents, plus parking fees and tolls.
| Period | Business rate | IRS source |
|---|---|---|
| July 1-Dec. 31, 2026 | 76 cents | Announcement 2026-11 (IRB 2026-29) |
| Jan. 1-June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents | Notice 2026-10 (announced in IR-2025-128) |
| 2025 | 70 cents | IR-2024-312 |
| 2024 | 67 cents | IR-2023-239 |
Which trips count
Publication 463 says the cost of driving between your home and your main or regular place of work is commuting, which isn't deductible however far it is, and making business calls on the way doesn't change that.
A home office changes the starting point. Publication 463 says that if your home office qualifies as a principal place of business, you can deduct daily transportation between your home and another work location in the same trade or business, and the Schedule C instructions say that kind of trip isn't commuting regardless of distance. Whether a home office qualifies is covered on the home office deduction.
With no regular office and no home office, Publication 463's example treats the trip to the first business contact and the trip home from the last one as commuting, while trips between contacts are deductible.
Standard rate or actual expenses
- For a car you own, the standard rate has to be chosen in the first year the car is available for business use; later you can switch between methods. For a leased car, it applies to the whole lease period, including renewals.
- Publication 334 says the standard rate isn't allowed if you operate five or more cars at the same time, or have claimed depreciation other than straight line, a section 179 deduction or the special depreciation allowance on the car.
- With the standard rate you can't also deduct depreciation, lease payments, repairs, gas, oil, insurance or registration. Business parking fees and tolls are added on top, and Publication 463 says a self-employed person can still deduct the business part of car loan interest and of state and local personal property taxes on the car on Schedule C. The 2026 draft instructions add a new line 16b for that interest.
- Part of the rate is depreciation: Notice 2026-10 treats 35 cents of each 2026 business mile as depreciation that reduces the car's basis (33 cents for 2025), and Announcement 2026-11 left the notice's other provisions in effect.
- Publication 463 suggests figuring it both ways if you qualify for both. Switching to actual expenses later, before the car is fully depreciated, means straight-line depreciation over its remaining estimated useful life.
The log
For car expenses, Publication 463's Table 5-1 asks for the mileage for each business use and the total miles for the year, the date of each use, the business destination and the business purpose.
It says a record made at or near the time is worth more than a statement prepared later, and a weekly log counts as timely. A record kept for part of the year can prove business use for the whole year if you can show that period is representative.
Worked examples
A full year of sourcing and shipping
A seller drives 3,200 business miles from January through June 2026 and 2,900 from July through December. At 72.5 cents, the first half is $2,320.00; at 76 cents, the second half is $2,204.00, for $4,524.00. With $36.00 of business parking and tolls, the total is $4,560.00. The same 6,100 miles at 2025's 70 cents would have been $4,270.00, so the 2026 rates add $254.00.
One sourcing loop
With a home office that qualifies as the principal place of business, a 38-mile loop from home to three thrift stores, the post office and back is $27.55 in March at 72.5 cents and $28.88 in August at 76 cents.
Business share for actual expenses
If 6,100 of a car's 15,250 miles for the year are business miles, business use is 40%, the share of actual car costs that would count under the actual-expense method.
What the miles do to the car's basis
The 6,100 business miles in 2026 above count as $2,135.00 of depreciation (6,100 times 35 cents), which reduces the car's basis, the figure used later for its gain or loss when you sell it or for depreciation if you switch to actual expenses.
Edge cases
- IR-2025-128 says the rates apply to fully electric and hybrid cars as well as gas and diesel ones.
- Publication 463 says that if you are self-employed and eligible to deduct car loan interest either as qualified passenger vehicle loan interest or as business interest, you can report it on either Schedule 1-A or Schedule C, but you can't deduct the same amount more than once.
- Publication 463 says hauling tools in your car while commuting doesn't make the trip deductible, and parking at your own place of business is a nondeductible commuting expense.
- For W-2 jobs, IR-2025-128 says unreimbursed employee travel can't be claimed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, apart from certain educator expenses; this page is about business driving by the self-employed.
- The 2025 Schedule C instructions say to multiply business miles by 0.70 for 2025 and add parking fees and tolls; the 2026 draft instructions use the two 2026 rates by date.
What to do
- Log each trip: date, destination, purpose and miles, at least weekly.
- Total the log separately for January 1-June 30 and July 1-December 31, 2026.
- Keep parking and toll receipts apart from the mileage.
- Figure both methods with a tax professional if you qualify for both.
Questions
Is it 76 cents for all of 2026?
No. Announcement 2026-11 applies 76 cents to transportation expenses paid or incurred on or after July 1, 2026; miles before July 1 stay at 72.5 cents.
Can I deduct gas on top of the mileage rate?
No. Publication 463 says that with the standard mileage rate you can't deduct actual car expenses such as gasoline, oil, repairs, insurance or depreciation. Business parking and tolls can be added.
Are post office trips business miles?
It depends on the commuting rules above. If your home is your principal place of business, the Schedule C instructions say travel from it to another work location in the same business isn't commuting.
General information, not tax advice
This page summarizes IRS publications, instructions and guidance as read on . It doesn't say what you should file or deduct. Tax rules depend on your facts, and state rules aren't covered here (see state rules). Check with a tax professional.
Sources
Every figure, rule and quote on this page comes from one of these official pages.
- IR-2025-128 (Dec. 29, 2025): 2026 business standard mileage rate (IRS, dated Dec 29, 2025; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Announcement 2026-11, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (July 13, 2026) (IRS, dated Jul 13, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Standard mileage rates (IRS, page reviewed or updated Jul 28, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS, page reviewed or updated Apr 30, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025) (IRS, page reviewed or updated Apr 30, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business (IRS, page reviewed or updated Apr 30, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Notice 2026-10, 2026 standard mileage rates (IRS; read Oct 19, 2026)
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2026), early-release draft, not for filing (IRS, dated Oct 8, 2026; read Oct 19, 2026)
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