Issue Number: IR-2026-01
2026 Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced that The optional standard mileage rate for business use of automobiles will increase by 2.5 cents in 2026, while the mileage rate for vehicles used for medical purposes will decrease by half a cent, reflecting updated cost data and annual inflation adjustments.
Tax professionals and their clients can opt to use standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating vehicles for business, charitable and medical purposes. Additionally, they may use the optional standard mileage rate to calculate the deductible costs of operating vehicles for moving purposes for certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces, and now – under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill – certain members of the intelligence community.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:
72.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 2.5 cents from 2025.
20.5 cents per mile driven for medical purposes, down a half cent from 2025.
20.5 cents per mile driven for moving purposes for certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces (and now certain members of the intelligence community), reduced by a half cent from last year.
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations, equal to the rate in 2025.
Use of the standard mileage rates is optional. Taxpayers may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle.
Source: www. irs.gov