Track Business Mileage

The 2026 IRS standard mileage rates (US)
Standard mileage rate or actual expenses

To track business mileage, record each business trip when it happens: the date, where you went, why, and the miles driven, ideally from odometer readings. Keep the log in writing, on paper or on a computer, and total the miles for the year. In the US, you then multiply business miles by the IRS standard mileage rate in effect when you drove, or use your actual vehicle costs instead.

Billed publishes this page. The tax rules below are US rules from IRS pages and publications, opened on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not tax advice; ask your accountant how the rules apply to you.

The 2026 IRS standard mileage rates (US)

The IRS changed the business rate partway through 2026, so the rate depends on when you drove.

January 1 to June 30, 2026: 72.5 cents per mile. IRS news release IR-2025-128 (December 29, 2025) set the 2026 rate at "72.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 2.5 cents from 2025." Notice 2026-10 states: "The standard mileage rate for transportation or travel expenses for 2026 is 72.5 cents per mile for all miles of business use".
July 1 to December 31, 2026: 76 cents per mile. Announcement 2026-11, published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 (July 13, 2026), revised the rate to "Business 76 cents per mile". It explains: "This modification results from recent increases in the price of fuel." The new rate applies to "deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred for business, medical, or moving expense purposes on or after July 1, 2026", and the Notice 2026-10 rates "continue to apply" before that date.

The IRS standard mileage rates page lists "Self-employed and business: 76 cents/mile" for July 1 to December 31, 2026, and 72.5 for January 1 to June 30, 2026 (page last updated July 28, 2026). The news release IR-2025-128 has the January rate. Check the rates page before you calculate, in case the IRS changes them again.

Standard mileage rate or actual expenses

IR-2025-128 explains the choice: "Use of the standard mileage rates is optional. Taxpayers may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle."

A car you own: "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. Then, in later years, they can choose to use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses."
A leased car: "For a leased vehicle, taxpayers using the standard mileage rate must employ that method for the entire lease period, including renewals."

Both methods need the same mileage log, because business use has to be shown either way. Ask your accountant which method suits your vehicle before the first year you use it for business.

What to record for each trip (IRS Pub 463)

IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, chapter 5, sets out the records. Its Table 5-1 lists, for car expenses:

Amount: "the mileage for each business use, and the total miles for the year".
Time: "For car expenses, the date of the use of the car."
Place: "Your business destination."
Business purpose: "Business purpose for the expense."

Pub 463 also says:

No estimates: "You can’t deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate."
Written or digital records: "You should keep the proof you need in an account book, diary, log, statement of expense, trip sheets, or similar record." And "if you prepare a record on a computer, it is considered an adequate record."
Record at the time: "You should record the elements of an expense or of a business use at or near the time of the expense or use and support it with sufficient documentary evidence." A weekly log counts: "If you maintain a log on a weekly basis that accounts for use during the week, the log is considered a timely kept record."
Sampling: "You can keep an adequate record for parts of a tax year and use that record to prove the amount of business or investment use for the entire year." But "You must demonstrate by other evidence that the periods for which an adequate record is kept are representative of the use throughout the tax year."
How long to keep it: "you must keep records that support your deduction (or an item of income) for 3 years from the date you file the income tax return on which the deduction is claimed." For a fuller explanation, Pub 463 refers to Pub 583.

Pub 463 includes a sample "Daily Business Mileage and Expense Log" (Table 5-2) with columns for date, destination, business purpose, odometer start and stop, and miles for the trip. A spreadsheet or app with the same columns works the same way.

Commuting, parking and tolls

Commuting isn't business mileage: Pub 463 says "You can’t deduct the costs of taking a bus, trolley, subway, or taxi, or of driving a car between your home and your main or regular place of work." If you work from home or have more than one work location, ask your accountant how this applies; see also home office expenses.
Parking and tolls: "In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can deduct any business-related parking fees and tolls." Pub 463 adds: "(Parking fees you pay to park your car at your place of work are nondeductible commuting expenses.)" Keep receipts for these, separately from the mileage.

Worked example: two weeks of a mileage log

The person, trips and figures here are a sample, invented for this example. A self-employed photographer uses the standard mileage rate and logs trips from odometer readings. Two trips are in late June 2026 and two in July 2026, so two different rates apply.

The log:

June 23: Client A, site visit before a shoot. Odometer 41,210 to 41,236: 26 miles.
June 29: Client B, deliver prints. Odometer 41,301 to 41,343: 42 miles.
July 7: supplier, pick up a lighting rental. Odometer 41,520 to 41,548: 28 miles.
July 14: Client C, on-site shoot. Odometer 41,610 to 41,665: 55 miles.

The calculation:

June miles: 26 + 42 = 68 miles. At 72.5 cents: 68 × $0.725 = $49.30.
July miles: 28 + 55 = 83 miles. At 76 cents: 83 × $0.76 = $63.08.
Mileage amount: $49.30 + $63.08 = $112.38 for 151 business miles.
Parking: $12.00 at the July 14 shoot, from a receipt, recorded separately.
Total for these trips: $112.38 + $12.00 = $124.38.

Using one rate for all 151 miles would give a different figure: 151 × $0.76 = $114.76, or 151 × $0.725 = $109.48 (rounded). That's why the log needs dates: each mile takes the rate in effect on the day it was driven.

Reimbursing employees

Announcement 2026-11 says the standard rates are also used "for determining the reimbursed amount of these expenses that is deemed substantiated", and it covers mileage allowances paid to employees for driving on or after July 1, 2026. Employees still need to log the same details. Set the rules in your reimbursement policy and expense policy, and ask your accountant whether your plan meets the IRS requirements.

Where Billed fits

Billed publishes this page. Billed's expense and receipt tracking page (opened October 29, 2026) says an expense in Billed records "who you paid, when, how much and which category it belongs to, with the receipt attached to the same entry." That fits the parking fees and tolls that go alongside your mileage. If you bill clients for travel, show it as a line on the invoice; see how to create a professional invoice.

When this guide isn't for you

This page covers mileage records and the standard mileage rate for US small business owners and the self-employed. If you're an employee claiming your own vehicle costs, use the actual expense method with depreciation, run five or more vehicles at once, or drive outside the US, ask your accountant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IRS standard mileage rate for business in 2026?

In the US, it's 72.5 cents per mile for business driving from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents per mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026. The IRS raised the rate in Announcement 2026-11 because of higher fuel prices. Check the IRS standard mileage rates page for any later change.

What should a business mileage log include?

For each trip: the date, your business destination, the business purpose and the miles driven. Also record the total miles for the year. IRS Publication 463 accepts a paper or computer record kept "at or near the time of the expense or use", and a weekly log counts as timely.

Can I estimate my business miles at the end of the year?

No. IRS Publication 463 says: "You can’t deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate." Record trips as you go, or at least weekly.

Is driving from home to my office business mileage?

No. Pub 463 treats driving "between your home and your main or regular place of work" as personal commuting, however far it is. Trips from your workplace to clients or suppliers are different. Ask your accountant if you work from home or at several locations.

Can I deduct parking and tolls as well as the standard mileage rate?

Yes, for business trips. Pub 463 says: "In addition to using the standard mileage rate, you can deduct any business-related parking fees and tolls." Parking at your regular place of work is a commuting cost and isn't deductible.

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How to Track Mileage for Business 2026