Tax deduction guide

Business mileage and car deduction for 2026

Tax year 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026

When it counts

  • Driving to a customer, a supplier, a business meeting or a job site.
  • Driving between two work locations during the day, or to a temporary work location.
  • Driving from home to those places when your home office is your principal place of business. Then it is a business trip, not a commute.
  • The standard mileage rate. Miles times the rate on the date of the trip. The rate already covers gas, insurance, repairs, lease payments and wear, so you do not deduct those separately. Parking and tolls for the trip can be added.
  • The actual expense method. The business share of your gas, insurance, repairs, lease payments and depreciation. Your business share is business miles divided by all miles for the year. It takes more records and sometimes gives more.
  • A vehicle uses one method for the whole year. The deduction goes on Schedule C, line 9, and Part IV asks about the vehicle.

When it doesn't

  • Commuting. Driving between home and a regular workplace, like an office or a coworking space you go to regularly, is personal. Distance does not change that.
  • With no regular workplace and no home office that qualifies, driving between home and your first stop in your own metro area counts as commuting. Driving from one work stop to the next does not, and neither does driving to a work site outside your metro area.
  • Personal trips.
  • Gas or insurance on top of the mileage rate. The rate already includes them.
  • A purchase price on top of the mileage rate. Depreciation is built into the rate.
  • Buying a car brings special rules. For 2026, the first-year depreciation cap for a passenger car is $12,300, or $20,300 when bonus depreciation applies, then reduced to your business-use share. Section 179 and bonus need business use of more than 50%. A purchase is worth a talk with a tax pro before year end, because the method you pick in the first year can limit your options later.

A worked example

You drive 2,000 business miles from January through June and 2,000 business miles from July through December.

  • January to June: 2,000 miles times 72.5 cents = $1,450.00
  • July to December: 2,000 miles times 76 cents = $1,520.00
  • Total: $2,970.00

Parking and tolls for those trips can be added on top. The total goes on Schedule C, line 9.

What records to keep

  • A mileage log made at the time of each trip: the date, where you went, why, and how many miles.
  • The vehicle you used.
  • Receipts for parking and tolls.
  • If you use actual expenses, receipts for gas, insurance, repairs and lease payments, and your total miles for the year.

Common questions

Do I need to log every trip?

Yes. A log kept at the time of the trip is the record the IRS expects. It needs the date, destination, purpose and miles.

What is the 2026 mileage rate?

72.5 cents per mile for business driving through June 30, 2026, and 76 cents per mile from July 1, 2026.

Can I switch between the mileage rate and actual expenses?

WriteOff treats each vehicle as using one method for the whole year. The method you pick in the first year can limit your options later, and a leased vehicle on the mileage rate must stay on it for the whole lease. Check before you buy or lease.

Sources

Also cited by the WriteOff rules: 26 U.S.C. sections 162, 274 and 280F, and Treas. Reg. section 1.162-2.