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IRS Mileage Rates 2023-2024: What It Is, How It Works

The IRS allows qualified taxpayers to deduct vehicle mileage related to business, charity, medical or moving purposes — but there are several important rules to know.
Tina Orem
By Tina Orem 
Updated
Edited by Chris Hutchison

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Nerdy takeaways
  • Certain taxpayers can deduct mileage from vehicle use related to business, charity, medical or moving purposes

  • To take the deduction, taxpayers must meet use requirements and may have to itemize on their returns if claiming certain types of mileage.

  • For 2023, the IRS' standard mileage rates are $0.655 per mile for business, $0.22 per mile for medical or moving, and $0.14 per mile for charity.

Nerdy takeaways
  • Certain taxpayers can deduct mileage from vehicle use related to business, charity, medical or moving purposes

  • To take the deduction, taxpayers must meet use requirements and may have to itemize on their returns if claiming certain types of mileage.

  • For 2023, the IRS' standard mileage rates are $0.655 per mile for business, $0.22 per mile for medical or moving, and $0.14 per mile for charity.

If you drive for your business or plan to rack up some miles while volunteering this year, you might be eligible to deduct some of that mileage on your tax return.

To qualify for this deduction, the miles must have been driven for qualifying business, medical, moving or charity purposes, and you may have to itemize on your return to claim the tax break. Rates are valid for electric, PHEV, gas, and diesel-fueled cars.

IRS mileage rates for 2023

For the 2023 tax years (taxes filed in 2024), the IRS standard mileage rates are:

  • 65.5 cents per mile for business.

  • 14 cents per mile for charity.

  • 22 cents per mile for medical and moving purposes.

IRS issues mileage rates for 2024

On Dec. 14, 2023, the agency announced the forthcoming tax year's optional mileage rates. Business rates will increase by 1.5 cents, charity miles will remain the same at 14 cents per mile, and medical and moving miles will decrease by 1 cent.

  • 67 cents per mile for business.

  • 14 cents per mile for charity.

  • 21 cents per mile for medical/moving.

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IRS standard mileage rate for business

If you’re self-employed or work as a contractor, you might be able to deduct the cost of the use of your car for business purposes. Your tax deduction depends on how you use your vehicle. Commuting to work is generally not deductible mileage, but you may be able to deduct mileage for business-related trips, such as those made to clients, meetings or temporary workplaces

.

You can also choose whether to deduct standard mileage using the rates above versus actual expense (e.g., repairs, depreciation, gas, and so forth), but you can't deduct both. Expenses for tolls or parking fees related to business use, however, are separately deductible regardless of which method you use

Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 510, Business Use of Car. Accessed Jan 17, 2024.
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Calculating standard mileage vs. actual expenses for business

There are two options for calculating the business deduction for the use of your vehicle.

1. Standard mileage deduction

This is the most straightforward way of calculating your driving expense: simply multiply the number of business miles by the IRS mileage rate. However, you’ll need to keep a record of your business-related mileage.

To use the standard IRS mileage deduction method, you must own or lease the car. But the rules for business mileage deductions can be complex, especially if you use lots of vehicles for business. The IRS website has more details

Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 510, Business Use of Car. Accessed Jul 18, 2023.
.

2. Actual expenses

If you don’t want to track your mileage, you could track and deduct the actual expenses you incur while using your vehicle for business purposes. These expenses may include:

  • Depreciation.

  • Licenses.

  • Lease payments.

  • Registration fees.

  • Gas and oil.

  • Insurance.

  • Repairs.

  • Tires.

Other IRS mileage rate types

IRS standard mileage rate for volunteering and charitable activities

If you used your car to help a charity or to go somewhere to volunteer, the mileage can be deductible. You can deduct parking fees and tolls as well.

If you don’t want to deduct your mileage, you can deduct your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, such as gas and oil. However, the expenses have to relate directly to the use of your car in giving services to a charitable organization. Also, you can't deduct repair and maintenance costs, depreciation, registration fees, tires or insurance

.

IRS standard mileage rate for moving

Only active-duty members of the military can deduct mileage related to moving. The move has to be related to a permanent change of station

.

IRS standard mileage rate for medical

If you used your car for medical reasons, you may be able to deduct the mileage. "Medical reasons" include:

  • Driving to the doctor, hospital or other medical facility.

  • Driving a child or other person who needs medical care to receive medical care.

  • Driving to see a mentally ill dependent if the visits are recommended as part of treatment.

You can deduct parking fees and tolls as well.

If you don’t want to deduct your mileage, you can deduct your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, such as gas and oil. However, the expenses have to relate directly to the use of your car for medical purposes. Also, you can't deduct repair and maintenance costs, depreciation or insurance.

Mileage isn’t the only transportation cost you might be able to deduct as a medical expense. IRS Publication 502 has the details. Here’s a big caveat: In general, you can deduct qualified, unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

How to claim tax deductions using IRS mileage rates

If you're deducting mileage for moving, medical or charity purposes, you'll need to itemize on your tax return in order to claim the tax deduction. Itemizing means you’ll need to set aside extra time when preparing your returns to fill tax forms Form 1040 and Schedule A, as well as supporting schedules that feed into those forms.

If you're self-employed, you’ll claim your mileage deduction as a business expense on Schedule C. If you file your taxes online, the software will ask about your mileage during the interview process and calculate the deduction.

Tracking your mileage

This is important because if you’re audited, you may need to substantiate your deduction by showing a log of the miles you drove.

There are lots of ways to keep track of your mileage. Something as simple as keeping a pen and paper in the glove compartment can suffice, but a quick trip to Google or your phone's app store will reveal a variety of tools that can streamline things.

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