Mileage Deduction Calculator

Compare the standard mileage rate against your actual running costs, and keep whichever method gives the larger deduction.

By Clemens AndritschkeUpdated

$

US 2026: 76 cents from 1 July, 72.5 cents before that — the IRS raised it mid-year. Use your own jurisdiction's rate if you are not filing in the US.

$

Fuel, insurance, repairs, depreciation.

Estimate — confirm your local rate

Mileage rates and the rules for the actual-cost method vary by country and year. This compares the two methods; verify the rate and eligibility that apply to you.

Deduction

$9,120.00

Standard rate wins

Standard-rate method$9,120.00
Business-use share80%
Actual-cost method$4,800.00
Deduction$9,120.00

Two ways to deduct a vehicle — pick the bigger one

When you drive for work, most tax systems let you deduct your vehicle in one of two ways. The standard method multiplies your business miles by a flat per-mile rate, which rolls fuel, wear, insurance, and depreciation into a single figure. The actual-cost method instead totals what the vehicle genuinely cost you over the year and deducts the business-use share of that total.

This calculator works out both and keeps the larger one, the same standard-versus-actual comparison used for a home office. The per-mile rate is an editable input rather than an asserted figure, so you enter the rate that applies to you and your year, and nothing is taken on trust.

How the business-use share is worked out

The actual-cost side hinges on how much of your driving is for business. The calculator divides your business miles by your total miles to get that share, then applies it to your total vehicle costs. Drive 8,000 business miles out of 10,000 total and 80% of your running costs become deductible — so 14,000 of costs yields a 11,200 actual deduction.

Keep a contemporaneous mileage log either way. Both methods depend on a defensible business-miles figure, and the standard method needs nothing else, which is often why it wins on convenience even when actual costs are close.

The log is the deduction

A mileage claim without a contemporaneous log is a number you cannot support. Tax authorities generally expect the date, the destination, the business purpose, and the distance for each trip — recorded at the time, not reconstructed at year end from a calendar and a map. Reconstructions are exactly what gets disallowed, and a phone app that logs automatically removes the entire problem for a few pounds a year.

The other rule that catches people is commuting. Travel between home and a regular place of work is normally personal, not business, however inconvenient that feels. Travel between client sites, or from home to a temporary workplace, usually does qualify. If you work from home and it is your principal place of business, the first trip of the day is more likely to count — which is one more reason the home-office position and the mileage position need to be consistent with each other.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, the standard rate or actual costs?
Whichever is larger for your year — that is exactly what this tool shows. The standard rate tends to win when your vehicle is cheap to run and you drive a lot of business miles; actual costs win when the vehicle is expensive, newer, or heavily depreciating. At 10,000 business miles and a 0.67 rate the standard deduction is 6,700, so actual costs only beat it if your business-use share of total costs exceeds that.
What per-mile rate should I enter?
Use the rate that applies in your country and tax year — rates change annually and differ by jurisdiction and vehicle type. The field is editable precisely because there is no single correct figure to assert; check your tax authority's current published rate and enter it.
How do I work out my business-use percentage?
Divide your business miles by your total miles for the year. If you drove 12,000 business miles out of 15,000 total, that is 80%, and 80% of your total vehicle costs are deductible under the actual method. A mileage log is what makes this share defensible.
Embed this calculator on your site

Free to embed. The widget links back to this page.

<iframe src="https://freelancerforge.com/embed/mileage-deduction-calculator" width="100%" height="640" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px" title="Mileage Deduction Calculator" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font:12px/1.5 sans-serif;margin:6px 0 0">Powered by <a href="https://freelancerforge.com/calculators/mileage-deduction-calculator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FreelancerForge</a></p>