IRS Raises 2026 Business Mileage Rate to 76 Cents as Gas Prices Stay 26.7% Higher
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 16
IRS Raises 2026 Business Mileage Rate to 76 Cents as Gas Prices Stay 26.7% Higher
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 16
Summary
Effective July 1, the IRS lifted the optional business mileage rate by 3.5 cents to 76 cents a mile, an unusual midyear change that will apply on 2026 tax returns filed next year.
Soaring fuel costs in early 2026 — tied to the Iran war and broader inflation — drove the move, even after June gasoline prices fell 9.7% from May; they were still 26.7% above a year earlier.
The update mainly affects employers that reimburse workers for business driving and self-employed taxpayers claiming mileage, while unreimbursed employees generally cannot deduct those expenses under current tax law.
Medical and qualifying military or intelligence moving mileage also rose 3 cents to 23.5 cents a mile, while the charitable-driving rate stays fixed at 14 cents by statute.
Midyear mileage increases are rare: the IRS last made one in 2022 during another fuel-price spike, and before that in 2011.