Mid-year IRS Mileage Rate Increase

If you deduct vehicle expenses using the standard mileage method, there's an important change for 2026.

The IRS increased the business mileage rate from 72.5 cents per mile to 76 cents per mile, effective July 1, 2026.

The increase itself isn't huge. What's more important is that there are now two different mileage rates for the same tax year.

For 2026:

• Business miles driven January 1–June 30 use the 72.5¢ rate.

• Business miles driven July 1–December 31 use the 76¢ rate.

For most business owners, the bigger impact isn't the rate increase itself. When it's time to prepare your 2026 tax return, we'll need your business mileage broken into those two periods so the correct rates can be applied.

If you're using a mileage tracking app, this will likely be an easy adjustment. If you're keeping a manual log or spreadsheet, now is a good time to make sure you're tracking mileage by date and keeping up with your entries throughout the year.

As a reminder, a good mileage log should include:

• The date

• Where you traveled

• The business purpose

• The number of miles driven

One of the easiest things you can do to maximize your deduction and support it in the event of an IRS audit is to keep accurate mileage records throughout the year.