How this calculator works
The IRS lets self-employed drivers deduct the business cost of a vehicle in two ways, and this calculator runs both so you can compare. The standard mileage method multiplies your business miles by a fixed per-mile rate that bundles fuel, oil, insurance, repairs, tires, registration, and depreciation into a single number — no receipts required beyond your mileage log. The actual-expenses method totals what the car really cost you all year (gas, insurance, repairs, tires, registration, depreciation) and multiplies that total by your business-use percentage: business miles ÷ total miles driven.
The 2026 standard mileage rate
For 2026, the IRS standard mileage rate for business driving is 76 cents per mile (see the IRS standard mileage rates page for the current figure). At the default 8,000 business miles, that alone is a $6,080 deduction. The rate is reset every year — and occasionally mid-year when fuel prices swing sharply — so confirm the rate in effect for the period you are claiming before you file. Leave the rate field at the published cents-per-mile figure unless you are modeling a different year.
Who qualifies
If you drive for income — client meetings, job sites, deliveries, rideshare shifts — and report that income on Schedule C (Form 1040), the business portion of your car costs is deductible there. That covers freelancers, independent contractors, and gig workers. Commuting from home to a regular workplace does not count, and personal trips never count: only miles driven for business purposes are deductible, and you cannot claim both the mileage rate and actual expenses for the same miles.
Records you must keep
A usable mileage log records the date of each trip, the miles driven, and the business purpose — with starting and ending odometer readings when possible. Log trips contemporaneously; the IRS can disallow mileage it cannot tie to records. A dedicated app or a simple spreadsheet both work. Receipts are only mandatory under the actual-expenses method, where fuel, insurance, repair, and depreciation costs must be substantiated too.
Go deeper
Our mileage deduction guide walks through worked examples, method-switching rules, and gig-driver specifics. To see how the deduction flows through to real take-home money, pair it with the side hustle profit calculator, the break-even calculator, and the late payment interest calculator.
Every figure above is hand-checked: the worked example was recomputed independently of the calculator code, and tax figures track 2026 IRS limits. How we check every page.