Compare the 2026 standard mileage rate — 72.5¢ a mile — with the actual expense method side by side, then see the real tax the deduction saves you: income tax and self-employment tax, the part most mileage tools leave out. Built for 1099, gig and freelance drivers who file Schedule C.
Built & maintained by Marcus, freelancer·Figures from IRS (Notice 2026-10 & Topic 510)·Last updated July 2026
2026 rate is up: the business standard mileage rate rose to 72.5¢ per mile (from 70¢ in 2025). Only the self-employed — sole proprietors, 1099 contractors, gig and delivery drivers — can deduct business mileage on Schedule C. The W-2 employee mileage deduction stays gone; the 2017 law's suspension was made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
72.5¢
Business rate — per mile (2026)
20.5¢
Medical & moving rate
14¢
Charitable rate
2
Taxes it lowers: income + SE
mi
mi
Your actual annual vehicle costs (for the actual expense method)
$/ yr
$/ yr
$/ yr
$/ yr
$/ yr
$/ yr
Standard mileage
Deduction
$8,700
12,000 mi × 72.5¢
Business miles × 72.5¢12,000 mi
Parking & tolls (on top)$0
Records neededMileage log
Actual expenses
Deduction
$6,360
60.0% business use
Business use of vehicle60.0%
Costs × business %$6,360
Parking & tolls (on top)$0
$/ yr
%
Include self-employment tax saving the deduction lowers Schedule C profit, so SE tax falls too
I take the 20% QBI deduction if so, a smaller profit also shrinks QBI — we reduce the income-tax saving to match
Estimated tax saved by this deduction
Self-employment tax saved15.3% on 92.35% of the deduction (14.1%)$1,229
Federal income tax saved22% bracket$1,423
State income tax saved0%$0
Total tax saved$2,652
The self-employment saving assumes your net profit is below the $184,500 Social Security wage base. Above it, only the 2.9% Medicare portion applies to the deduction, so the SE saving is smaller. Income-tax savings use your marginal bracket; your true rate may span two brackets.
Uses the miles and vehicle costs from the Standard vs Actual tab. The method that wins comes down to one number — your all-in cost per mile versus the 72.5¢ standard rate.
Your all-in cost / mile
Actual deduction
Standard
Winner
Basis reduction: even on the standard rate, 35¢ of every business mile in 2026 counts as depreciation and lowers your car's tax basis — so a larger taxable gain can show up when you sell or trade it. The actual method depreciates the car directly, with the same effect.
First-year lock-in: to keep both options open, use the standard mileage rate the first year the car is in service. If you start with actual expenses — or claim Section 179 or bonus depreciation — you're locked into actual for that vehicle's life. For a leased car, whichever method you pick applies for the entire lease.
Parking & tolls always count: business parking fees and tolls are deductible on top of either method — so keep those receipts no matter which one you choose.
How the self-employed mileage deduction works in 2026
If you drive for your business, the miles are deductible. For 2026 the IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile — up from 70 cents in 2025 — and it already bundles in gas, depreciation, insurance, repairs, oil and the rest of your running costs. Multiply your business miles by the rate and the deduction goes straight onto your Schedule C, which is why it lowers two taxes at once.
Only the self-employed can take it — sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, 1099 contractors, and rideshare or delivery drivers who file Schedule C. If you're a W-2 employee, you can't deduct unreimbursed mileage: the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended that deduction and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the suspension permanent. This self-employed mileage calculator is built around the Schedule C rules for exactly that reason.
You have two ways to figure the deduction, and you generally pick whichever is bigger. The standard mileage rate is the flat 72.5 cents a mile — simple, and it only needs a mileage log. The actual expense method deducts the business-use share of what your vehicle really costs to run. Business parking fees and tolls are deductible on top of either method, so those receipts always count.
Standard mileage vs actual expenses — which saves more?
The standard mileage rate is the easy one: business miles × 72.5 cents. Drive 12,000 business miles and that's an $8,700 deduction with nothing to track but your trips. It tends to win for drivers who rack up a lot of miles in a fuel-efficient, paid-off car, where the per-mile rate outruns their real costs.
The actual expense method adds up everything the car costs for the year — gas, insurance, repairs, tires, registration, and depreciation or lease payments — then multiplies by your business-use percentage (business miles ÷ total miles). It usually wins for an expensive or heavily depreciating vehicle, a big truck or SUV, or someone who drives fewer business miles but has high fixed costs. The catch is paperwork: you keep every receipt and, for an owned car, a depreciation schedule.
There's a clean way to know which wins before you do the math both ways: compare your all-in cost per mile to 72.5 cents. Take your total yearly vehicle costs, divide by total miles, and if that number is above the standard rate, actual expenses give the bigger deduction; below it, the standard rate does. The Which Method Wins tab lays that break-even out for you.
One rule locks the choice in: to keep both methods open, use the standard rate in the first year the car is in service. Start with actual expenses — or claim Section 179 or bonus depreciation — and you're stuck with actual for that vehicle's life. You also can't use the standard rate if you run five or more cars at once, or for a leased car unless you use it for the whole lease.
How much tax does the mileage deduction actually save?
A deduction isn't cash back — it's income that never gets taxed, so the real question is what rate applies. Most mileage calculators stop at the deduction amount and never tell you the dollars. For someone self-employed it's worth more than the headline income-tax rate suggests, because the deduction sits on Schedule C and lowers net profit — which drives both income tax and self-employment tax.
Self-employment tax is 15.3% on 92.35% of your net profit, an effective 14.1% per dollar. Income tax is your marginal bracket — 22% for a lot of freelancers earning $50k–$106k in 2026. Stack them and an $8,700 mileage deduction can be worth roughly $1,200 in SE tax plus about $1,400 in income tax — around $2,600 back, versus the ~$1,900 you'd guess from the income bracket alone.
Two honest caveats the Tax Savings tab builds in. Reducing your profit also shrinks the deductible half of your SE tax, so the income-tax saving is a touch below your straight bracket rate. And if you claim the 20% QBI deduction, a smaller profit means a smaller QBI deduction too — clawing back about a fifth of the income-tax saving. Toggle both so the total isn't overstated.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 2026 IRS mileage rate for the self-employed?
For 2026 the business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 70 cents in 2025. You multiply your business miles by that rate to get your deduction — it already covers gas, depreciation, insurance, repairs and the rest of your running costs. The IRS also sets 20.5 cents a mile for medical or moving use and 14 cents for charitable driving, but those aren't business deductions. The rate applies to gas, diesel, hybrid and fully electric vehicles alike, and the deduction goes on Schedule C.
Standard mileage or actual expenses — which is better?
Whichever gives the bigger deduction. The standard rate is simple — business miles times 72.5 cents — and usually wins for higher-mileage drivers in fuel-efficient cars. Actual expenses (your real gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation and lease costs times your business-use percentage) tend to win for expensive vehicles, heavy depreciation or lower annual mileage. The honest rule of thumb: compare your all-in cost per mile to 72.5 cents — if your car costs more than that to run, actual expenses win. The Standard vs Actual tab does both; the Which Method Wins tab shows your break-even.
Does the mileage deduction lower self-employment tax too?
Yes — that's what most mileage tools miss. Business mileage is a Schedule C expense, so it lowers your net profit, which drives both your income tax and your self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of profit, an effective 14.1% per dollar). An $8,700 deduction for someone in the 22% bracket is worth roughly $1,200 in SE tax plus about $1,400 in income tax — around $2,600 back, not just a line on a form. The Tax Savings tab splits out each part.
What counts as a business mile versus commuting?
Business miles are driving between work locations for your business — to a client, a job site, the bank, the post office, to pick up supplies, or between two gigs. Regular commuting from home to a fixed workplace is personal and never deductible. If your home is your principal place of business, though, trips from there to clients or job sites usually do count. Keep a log with the date, purpose and miles for each business trip — the IRS expects contemporaneous records.
Can I switch between the standard mileage rate and actual expenses?
Only if you start with the standard rate. To keep both options open, use the standard mileage rate in the first year the car is available for business; after that you can switch year to year. If you use actual expenses in year one — or claim Section 179 or bonus depreciation — you're locked into actual for that vehicle's life, and if you later switch from standard to actual you must use straight-line depreciation. For a leased car, whichever method you pick applies for the whole lease.
Do rideshare and delivery drivers get the mileage deduction?
Yes. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other gig drivers are self-employed and file Schedule C, so business mileage is usually their single biggest deduction — often larger than the platform's own reported figure, which typically only counts miles with a passenger or order. You can also deduct the miles spent driving to a busy area or between trips while working. Once you know your deduction, the self-employed tax calculator and the quarterly estimated tax calculator show what you'll actually owe.
Do I still reduce my car's basis if I use the standard rate?
Yes. For 2026, 35 cents of every business mile is treated as depreciation and reduces your car's tax basis, even though the standard rate bundles it in. That matters when you sell or trade the vehicle: a lower basis can mean a larger taxable gain. It's rarely a reason to skip the deduction — the yearly tax saving almost always outweighs it — but it's worth knowing so a sale doesn't surprise you.
Sources & how we calculate
The standard deduction is your business miles × the 2026 rate of 72.5 cents, plus business parking and tolls. The actual-expense deduction is your total yearly vehicle costs (gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation or lease, registration) times your business-use percentage — business miles ÷ total miles — again plus parking and tolls. For the tax saving we treat the deduction as a Schedule C business expense: self-employment tax falls by 15.3% × 92.35% (about 14.1%) of the deduction, federal income tax falls by your marginal bracket applied to the reduced profit — trimmed slightly because a lower profit also lowers your deductible half of SE tax, and again if you claim the 20% QBI deduction. State income tax uses the rate you enter. Everything runs in your browser from the figures you type; nothing is sent anywhere.
Estimate only, not tax advice. Your real saving depends on your bracket, state, other income, your business-use percentage and whether you own or lease. Keep a contemporaneous mileage log and talk to a CPA or EA before filing your Schedule C.
Related Tools
More calculators for US freelancers and the self-employed.