In short
The 2026 standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per business mile, effective January 1, 2026. Multiply your business miles by the rate, or track actual vehicle costs instead. Either way, the IRS wants a log with the date, the trip, the business purpose, and the miles, kept as you go.
In this guide
Not tax advice. This explains how the mileage deduction works in plain terms; talk to a tax preparer about your specific situation.
The 2026 Rate
The IRS standard mileage rate for business use of a vehicle in 2026 is 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 2025. It took effect January 1, 2026, and applies to gas, diesel, hybrid, and fully electric vehicles alike. Source: IRS news release IR-2025-128.
For a contractor putting real miles on a truck between supply houses and job sites, that rate is not a rounding error. 8,000 business miles in a year is a $5,800 deduction. 15,000 is $10,875. The rate is reviewed once a year, so it is worth checking again every January.
Two Ways to Deduct Vehicle Costs, Not Both
You have a choice for a given vehicle in a given tax year, and only one:
- Standard mileage rate. Multiply your business miles by 72.5 cents. Gas, oil changes, and normal wear are already baked into that rate, so you do not also deduct them separately.
- Actual expenses. Add up what the vehicle really cost you: gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation, lease payments, all of it, then take the business-use percentage of the total.
Most solo tradespeople find the standard rate simpler to keep up with, because it only asks for one number per trip: the miles. Actual expenses can come out higher if you drive an expensive truck and keep every receipt, but it is far more bookkeeping. You cannot switch back and forth on the same vehicle year to year without restrictions, so pick a method and be consistent.
What Counts as a Business Mile for a Contractor
Driving between job sites, to the supply house for materials, to pick up or drop off a trailer, and to a client meeting all count as business mileage. The trip from home to your very first stop of the day, and from your last stop back home, is where the rules get specific to your situation (it depends on whether you have a qualifying home office). That distinction is worth five minutes with a tax preparer the first time you set up your log, because it changes your total by a real amount.
How to Calculate the Deduction
A worked example: you drove 9,400 business miles in 2026.
That is the deduction, full stop, if you use the standard method. No receipts for gas or oil changes needed, because the rate already covers them.
What a Mileage Log Actually Needs
The IRS does not take your word for the total. It wants a log kept close to the time of each trip, not reconstructed in April from memory. At minimum, each entry needs:
- The date of the trip
- Where you started and where you ended
- The business purpose (which job, or "supply run for [job]")
- The miles driven
A log with gaps, or one written up all at once at year end, is the first thing that falls apart in an audit. The habit that actually survives is logging the trip the same day you make it, attached to the job it was for.
How VanReceipts Logs Mileage
VanReceipts logs each trip with the date, the from and to locations, the job it belonged to, and the miles, calculated automatically from where you actually drove rather than typed in from memory. You set your own per-mile rate (use the IRS rate if that is your method), and the cost rolls straight into that job's profit. At tax time, export the period as a CSV with exactly those fields, date, from, to, job, miles, cost, ready to hand to a preparer or keep as your record.
For the fuller picture on getting your numbers straight as a solo trade, start with the complete guide to job costing and what a self-employed contractor can deduct.
Mileage is one line of many. Schedule C deductions for self-employed contractors walks through where each expense goes on the form.
What did that job really make?Profit and margin for any job in seconds.FAQ
What is the IRS standard mileage rate for 2026?
72.5 cents per mile for business use, up 2.5 cents from 2025's rate. It took effect January 1, 2026, and applies to cars, vans, pickups, and panel trucks, including electric and hybrid vehicles.
Can I deduct mileage and gas receipts at the same time?
No, not for the same vehicle in the same year. The standard mileage rate already includes gas, maintenance, and normal wear. If you want to deduct actual gas and repair receipts instead, you use the actual expense method, not both.
Do I need a mileage log for taxes?
Yes. The IRS expects a log kept at or near the time of each trip: the date, the route, the business purpose, and the miles. A total pulled together at year end without records is the first thing questioned in a review.
What miles count as business mileage for a contractor?
Driving between job sites, to the supply house, to pick up materials or equipment, and to client meetings. Trips from home to your first job and back are a specific case that depends on your setup; check that one with a tax preparer.
Download VanReceipts on the App Store and log every trip against the job it was for.
