How to Calculate Mileage for Taxes

What Is the IRS Gas Mileage Deduction?

IRS mileage deductions provide a per-mile reduction in taxable income when you drive for business, charitable or medical purposes, or if you're an active-duty service member with moving expenses from a mandatory relocation.

Standard mileage rates adjust yearly for inflation. Here are the standard mileage rates for 2025:

• 70 cents per mile for business use
• 21 cents per mile for travel to and from medical appointments
• 21 cents per mile for active-duty military members with qualified moving expenses
• 14 cents per mile for driving you do in service of a charitable organization

Not all mileage is deductible. If you drive your car as an employee, you generally can't deduct

mileage on your taxes as an unreimbursed employee expense, with narrow exceptions noted below. Any personal driving you do is also not deductible.

Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses

Business owners, self-employed people and independent contractors who drive personal vehicles for business can use standard mileage rates to calculate a business deduction or choose to deduct a portion of their actual vehicle expenses. Vehicle-related expenses like fuel, repairs and maintenance, insurance, license and registration fees, parking, tolls and depreciation (or lease payments) are eligible. To claim a deduction for actual expenses, you would calculate the percentage of your driving that's for business and multiply the percentage by your total expenses.

Types of Eligible Mileage

The IRS offers standard mileage rates for business mileage, very limited employee driving, driving for medical care, charity mileage and relocation-related driving for active-duty members of the military. Here's how these break down.

Business Mileage

​​What qualifies as business mileage? Here are a few examples of eligible business usage:

• Driving from one workplace to another
• Visiting clients or customers
• Going to a business meeting at a location that isn't yours
• Getting from your home to a temporary workplace, such as a construction worksite

Among the uses that aren't included in deductible business mileage:

• Commuting to and from your home to your office, store or other regular place of business
• Traveling for an overnight trip, which counts as a travel expense rather than business mileage

Select Employees

Most employees can't claim a deduction for work mileage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated unreimbursed mileage deductions for all employees except armed forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, or employees with impairment-related work expenses. If you're in this select group, you can deduct 70 cents per mile for your work-related miles.

Medical Care

If you itemize deductions and claim a deduction for medical expenses, you can include a deduction of 21 cents per mile driven to get to and from medical appointments, plus parking and tolls. You can only deduct medical expenses (including mileage) that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

Active-Duty Military

Qualifying members of the military who are required to move due to a military order can deduct unreimbursed moving expenses, including a mileage deduction of 21 cents per mile.

Volunteering

Miles driven while volunteering for a qualified charity count as a non-cash charitable contribution. If you drive your personal vehicle while volunteering, you may deduct 14 cents per mile.

Learn more: Standard vs. Itemized Deductions: Which Saves You Money?

How to Use the Gas Mileage Deduction

To claim a deduction for mileage, you'll need to track and document your miles, meet IRS requirements for deducting business use of your car (if you're a business owner) and claim your deduction using the appropriate tax form. Here's more on how it's done.

Documenting Your Miles

Whether you take the standard mileage deduction or claim actual expenses, the IRS requires you to keep a record of your deductible miles. You can use an app to track your mileage, or use a paper log to record the date, destination, purpose and miles traveled for every deductible trip.

Your record should be "comprehensive and contemporaneous," meaning you should keep an ongoing record as you go, rather than trying to recreate a record at tax time.

Claiming Mileage if You're Self-Employed

To use the standard mileage rate and claim a deduction for business use of your personal car, you need to meet a few IRS requirements, including the following:

• You must own or lease the car.
• To use the standard mileage deduction, you must choose it in the first year you place a vehicle into service. After that, you can switch between using actual expenses or standard mileage if you own the car.
• If you lease and want to use the standard mileage deduction, you have to use standard mileage for the entire lease term.
• You may not operate five or more cars at the same time.
• You must not have claimed depreciation on the car using a method other than straight-line depreciation.
• You must not have claimed a Section 179 (immediate expense) deduction on the car.
• You must not have claimed the special depreciation allowance on the car.
• You must not have claimed actual expenses after 1997 on a car you lease.

How to Claim Mileage Deductions

Different mileage deductions require different tax forms. The table below shows types of mileage, who (or what) is eligible, standard rates for 2025 and how to report your miles to claim the deduction on your Form 1040 tax return.

Source: IRS

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Although calculating and claiming mileage deductions is relatively straightforward, handling taxes and recordkeeping for your small business, or itemizing deductions for charity or medical expenses, can be complex. Tax preparation software—backed up by accounting software, if you have a business—can help you keep your information straight and your tax deductions in order. If you need more help, consider working with a qualified tax advisor for additional support.