Last updated: October 5, 2026.

If you drive your own vehicle for qualifying business activity, 2026 has an unusual detail: the IRS standard mileage rate changed halfway through the year.

Why the Date of the Trip Matters

For qualifying business miles driven in the first half of 2026, the published standard rate is 72.5 cents per mile. For the second half of the year, beginning July 1, the rate is 76 cents per mile.

That means a year-end total with no dates can create unnecessary work. A simple mileage log that records the trip date, business purpose, starting point, destination, and miles makes the split much easier to handle.

What the Standard Mileage Rate Actually Is

The IRS mileage rate is a tax calculation method for eligible vehicle use. It is not a promise that an employer must reimburse every worker at that rate, and it is not a cash payment from the IRS.

Whether you can use the standard mileage method depends on your tax situation and the vehicle-use rules that apply to you. Employees and self-employed people can face different deduction rules, so do not assume that driving for work automatically creates a federal deduction.

A Simple Split-Year Example

Suppose an eligible self-employed person documents 2,000 qualifying business miles from January through June and another 3,000 from July through December.

• First-half calculation: 2,000 × $0.725 = $1,450
• Second-half calculation: 3,000 × $0.76 = $2,280
• Total standard-mileage amount in this simplified example: $3,730

This is only an illustration of the rate calculation, not personalized tax advice. Eligibility and other rules still apply.

What Records Are Worth Keeping?

A practical mileage record should make it possible to answer basic questions later without relying on memory:

• Date of the trip
• Business destination
• Business purpose
• Miles driven
• Parking or toll records when relevant

A phone app can make logging easier, but a spreadsheet or written log can also work if it is maintained consistently.

Do Not Count Commuting as Business Mileage by Default

Driving between home and a regular workplace is generally treated differently from qualifying business travel. The details can become more complicated for self-employed people, home offices, multiple work locations, and temporary assignments.

If your situation is not straightforward, use the IRS vehicle-expense guidance or ask a tax professional before building a deduction around miles that may not qualify.

Other 2026 Mileage Rates Also Changed Midyear

The IRS lists a 23.5-cent rate for medical and qualifying military moving miles from July 1 through December 31, 2026, up from 20.5 cents in the first half. The charitable rate remains 14 cents per mile.

Those categories have their own eligibility rules, so they should not be mixed into a business-mileage log without a clear purpose.

Related reading: What to compare before switching auto insurance · How vehicle service contracts work · How to compare prices more carefully

The Bottom Line

For 2026, save the trip date along with the mileage. The business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents for the first six months and 76 cents for the second six months. Good records are more useful than trying to reconstruct a year’s driving at tax time.

Source: Internal Revenue Service — Standard Mileage Rates.