Cost Per Mile Calculator

What cost per mile measures

Cost per mile is the one figure that lets you compare two different cars on the same basis: a paid-off sedan against a new one with a payment, a gas car against an EV, a cheap beater against something that needs fewer repairs. It is the yearly cost of running the car, divided by the miles you drive.

Two kinds of numbers get confused here, and keeping them apart is the whole point of this page:

• Your real cost per mile: every dollar your car takes from you, spread over the miles you drive. Fuel, insurance, maintenance, tires, registration and depreciation all count.
• The IRS standard mileage rate: a flat, national figure the tax code uses to stand in for the cost of driving. For 2026 it is 72.5 cents a mile for business use in the first half of the year and 76 cents for the second half, up from 70 cents in 2025.

The two are close for an average car and far apart for an unusual one. A lightly used new vehicle can cost you 80 cents a mile or more, well above the standard rate. A well-worn car driven hard can land under 40 cents. The IRS standard mileage rates page publishes the current figures, and the US Department of Energy fuel economy site gives a realistic MPG for your exact model and year.

One more reason to know both numbers: the flat rate is what a mileage app or a payroll system will pay you, while your real cost is what the car takes. When the two drift apart, the gap is either a windfall or a slow leak, and you only see it if you run both.

Worked example: 12,000 miles on a $30,000 car

A car bought for $30,000, driven 12,000 miles a year, getting 30 MPG on gas at $3.10 a gallon, with $1,800 insurance, $600 of maintenance, $200 of tires, $150 of registration and $3,000 of depreciation a year.

• Fuel: 12,000 divided by 30, times $3.10 = $1,240.00
• Insurance: $1,800.00
• Maintenance: $600.00
• Tires: $200.00
• Registration: $150.00
• Depreciation: $3,000.00

Total: $6,990.00 a year. Divide by 12,000 miles and your real cost is $0.5825, or 58.25 cents a mile.

Now stack it against the tax figures. The 2026 IRS business rate of 72.5 cents covers $8,700 over the same 12,000 miles, which is $1,710 more than the car costs you. A typical employer reimbursement of 67 cents a mile comes to $8,040, or $1,050 above your cost. In both cases the per-mile payment is generous for this car, which is why so many people who drive for work treat the difference as the point.

When the IRS rate beats your real cost, and when it does not

The standard mileage rate is not a measurement of your car. It is a national average used to save everyone the trouble of tracking every receipt. That makes it a good deal for some drivers and a poor one for others.

• It tends to win for a paid-off, economical car driven a lot, because the fixed rate covers fuel, wear and depreciation, and an efficient old car spends less than the average on all three.
• It tends to lose for a thirsty new vehicle, because a large depreciation bill and low MPG push the real cost past the flat rate.
• It leaves out insurance, registration and loan interest, which you cannot add on top if you take the standard rate.

If you are self-employed, you generally pick one method for a car and stick with it, so the choice matters for years, not weeks. For a car you plan to keep a long time, the actual-expense method can win later even if the standard rate wins early, because depreciation slows while the flat rate keeps rising with inflation. This page shows both sides of that comparison. It is general information, not tax advice, and a tax professional can tell you which method fits your situation.

Your cost per mile against the flat rate

Per-mile figures are abstract, so here is the same $6,990 of yearly cost spread across different annual mileages, next to the 2026 IRS business rate of 72.5 cents.

Reading down the last column is the whole lesson. At 8,000 miles a year the flat rate does not cover a car like this: it falls 9.7 cents a mile short, because the fixed costs are spread over too few miles. At 20,000 miles the rate is 33.4 cents a mile generous. The rate does not change with your driving, but your cost per mile does, and that is why the same deduction is a win for one driver and a loss for another.

It also explains why the choice of method should be made with your own mileage in mind. A low-mileage driver on the standard rate leaves money on the table, and a high-mileage driver on actual expenses often does too. The IRS rate table is the source for the official figures, and the EIA weekly gasoline survey is where the fuel price comes from.

The flat rate and your real cost, in dollars

Take the same car at 12,000 miles and compare three per-mile numbers that all describe the same driving.

• Your real cost: 58.25 cents a mile, or $6,990 for the year.
• 2026 IRS business rate, second half: 76 cents a mile, or $9,120 for the year. That is $2,130 above your cost.
• A 67 cent employer reimbursement: $8,040, or $1,050 above your cost.

The gap is the reason mileage rates are worth understanding even if you never file a business deduction. If your employer reimburses below your real cost, every work trip quietly costs you money, and the calculator turns that into a number you can take to a conversation. A driver covering 12,000 business miles at 50 cents a mile against a real cost of 58.25 cents is $990 out of pocket over the year, and that is before insurance and registration, which the reimbursement never touches.

This page is general information about how mileage rates and car costs work. It is not tax advice, and deductibility depends on your situation. Confirm the current rate with the IRS and talk to a tax professional before you rely on any figure here.

Record keeping matters here too. If you claim the standard rate, a simple log of date, destination and miles is enough. If you claim actual expenses, you need receipts for every cost and a record of the business share of your mileage. Either way, the numbers on this page are the ones to compare.