The 2026 mileage rate changed on July 1. Here is what it does to your deduction.

For 2026 there are two standard mileage rates, not one: 72.5 cents a mile for January through June and 76 cents a mile for July through December. A gig driver's log has to keep the two halves apart, and the difference is real money on a full year of driving.

What changed, and when

The IRS sets the standard mileage rate each December for the year ahead. For 2026 it published 72.5 cents a mile in Notice 2026-10. In the summer it did something it rarely does: Announcement 2026-11 raised the business rate to 76 cents a mile for miles driven from July 1, 2026, citing recent increases in the price of fuel.

A mid-year revision is unusual. The last one was in 2022, when the rate went from 58.5 to 62.5 cents on July 1. Most years have one rate, and most mileage advice online is written as if 2026 does too. It does not.

Your year is two halves

If you use the standard mileage method, your 2026 deduction is two sums added together: your eligible business miles from January 1 to June 30 multiplied by 72.5 cents, plus your eligible business miles from July 1 to December 31 multiplied by 76 cents.

Applying one rate to the whole year is wrong in both directions. Using 72.5 cents throughout understates the second half by 3.5 cents a mile. Using 76 cents throughout overstates the first half by the same amount. Neither is a rounding error on a driver's year.

What it means for your log

The rate is decided by the date the miles were driven, so a log that records dates is all you need. A weekly entry works: the IRS treats a log covering that week's driving as timely kept, and a week never straddles the change unless it contains July 1 itself.

If you kept a single total for the year with no dates, you cannot split it honestly after the fact. A reconstruction is weaker evidence than a contemporaneous record, and the Which miles count question below explains what the record has to show.

Record the date with every entry. The rate follows the date; nothing else about the entry changes.
Do not average the two rates. A blended figure is a planning shortcut, not how a return is prepared.
If your app or spreadsheet applies one rate for the year, check which one and split the total before filing.

How RoadKept handles it

Every mile you log carries its date, and RoadKept values each one at the rate in force on that date. A shift on June 30 and a shift on July 1 are priced differently without you doing anything. The year-end report shows the two periods separately, which is how a preparer wants to see them.

A whole-year estimate with no dates behind it, like the calculator on the front page, uses a day-weighted blend of the two rates and says so. That is the right tool for a forecast and the wrong tool for a return, and RoadKept keeps the two apart.

The same miles, either side of July 1

Take 1,000 business miles driven in June and the same 1,000 driven in July, valued at the rate in force on each date.

1,000 miles in June, at 72.5¢	$725.00
1,000 miles in July, at 76¢	$760.00
The difference, on the same miles 3.5¢ a mile.	$35.00
12,000 undated miles at the day-weighted blend of 74.3¢ A forecast figure. A return uses the two dated sums, never a blend.	$8,911.73

The dated sums are what goes on Schedule C. The blend exists for an estimate made before the miles are driven, and RoadKept labels it as one.

Work it out from your own log — free

No card. Log a week and RoadKept shows the figure for your miles, at the right rate for each date.

Work it through with your own figures

The Mileage Deduction Calculator takes the numbers from your own log and does this arithmetic for you, free and without an account.

Questions drivers ask

What is the IRS standard mileage rate for 2026?

There are two. If you are eligible for and use the standard mileage method, 2026 business miles are deductible at 72.5 cents for expenses paid or incurred from January 1 through June 30 (Notice 2026-10), and 76 cents from July 1 through December 31 (Announcement 2026-11). Keep the two periods separate and use both rates on the same return. The result is a deduction, not a dollar-for-dollar credit or a refund.

Why did the mileage rate change in the middle of 2026?

The IRS made an unusual midyear adjustment for 2026 because of recent increases in fuel prices. Midyear revisions are not automatic and not common — the last one was in 2022, when the business rate went from 58.5 to 62.5 cents on July 1.

My mileage log spans July 1. What do I do?

Split it. If you are using the standard mileage method, total your eligible business miles from January 1 through June 30 and multiply by $0.725, total the miles from July 1 through December 31 and multiply by $0.76, then add the two. Keep records showing when the miles were driven. Do not apply one rate to the whole year — that is wrong by up to 3.5 cents on every affected mile.

Which miles count as business miles?

Generally, driving from one business stop to another — between pickups, deliveries, customers or supply stops. Personal driving is not deductible, and neither is commuting between home and a regular or main work location. This part catches drivers out: if you have no regular office and no qualifying home office, the drive from home to your first business contact in your metropolitan area, and from your last one home, is generally commuting rather than business. If a home office qualifies as your principal place of business, travel from it to another work location in the same business may be deductible. It depends on the facts, so review those first and last legs carefully rather than assuming.

Do I need a mileage log?

Yes. Vehicle expenses carry a strict substantiation rule. Keep an account book, diary, app log, trip sheet or similar record showing the date, the destination or route, the business purpose and the business mileage. Record it at or near the time of use — the IRS treats a weekly log covering that week's driving as timely kept, so a same-day entry is not required. A reconstruction made later can be considered if you have enough other evidence, but it is much weaker than a record kept as you drove.