Calculate your IRS mileage deduction for business, medical and charity driving using 2025 standard rates — plus compare standard mileage vs actual vehicle expenses.
The IRS standard mileage rates for 2025 are: 70 cents per mile for business use (up from 67 cents in 2024), 21 cents per mile for medical and qualifying moving expenses, and 14 cents per mile for charitable purposes (set by statute, unchanged for many years). These rates are set by the IRS to reflect the costs of operating a vehicle. Business mileage is fully deductible for self-employed individuals and is claimed on Schedule C. Employees who use their personal vehicle for business generally cannot claim the deduction under current law (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated this deduction for employees through 2025).
Deductible business mileage includes: driving to meet clients or customers, driving between two work locations, driving to a temporary work site (not your regular workplace), driving to purchase business supplies, driving for real estate showings (for agents), driving for rideshare or delivery work (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart), and driving to business-related educational events or conferences. Commuting from home to your regular office is NOT deductible. However, if your home is your primary place of business (you have a qualifying home office), all trips from home to client locations may be deductible as business miles. Keep a mileage log for every trip.
The standard mileage method (70¢/mile in 2025) is simpler and often better for high-mileage drivers in fuel-efficient vehicles. The actual expense method tracks real costs: fuel, oil, tires, insurance, registration, depreciation, and lease payments — then multiplies total costs by your business-use percentage. The actual method is often better for: expensive vehicles with high operating costs, low-mileage drivers who spend a lot on their vehicle, or vehicles depreciating rapidly. You must choose a method in the first year you use a vehicle for business; switching from standard to actual is allowed but switching back has restrictions. Run both calculations each year to see which is higher.
Rideshare and delivery drivers (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon Flex, etc.) report income and expenses on Schedule C. Your deductible business miles include: miles driven with a passenger or delivery in the car, miles driven to pick up the first passenger or delivery after going online, and miles driven between deliveries or rides while still on the platform. Miles driven from home to your first trip of the day and from your last trip back home are generally not deductible (commuting). Drivers typically log 20,000-40,000 business miles per year, generating $14,000-$28,000 in deductions at the 2025 rate — a significant tax savings. Use a mileage tracking app (MileIQ, Stride, Gridwise) to automate this.
The IRS requires a 'contemporaneous' mileage log — recorded at or near the time of each trip, not reconstructed at year-end. Each entry should record: the date of the trip, the starting and ending odometer reading, the total miles driven, the destination (address or general location), and the business purpose of the trip. A simple spreadsheet, notebook, or mileage tracking app all work. The IRS may disallow mileage deductions without adequate records. Also keep your January 1st odometer reading to calculate your total annual mileage and business-use percentage if using the actual expense method.
Yes. Medical mileage is deductible at 21 cents per mile in 2025, but only if you itemize deductions on Schedule A (rather than taking the standard deduction) AND only for the portion of medical expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Given that the standard deduction is $15,000 (single) or $30,000 (married) in 2026, most people don't benefit from itemizing medical expenses. However, if you have very high medical costs in a given year, it may be worth tracking. Qualifying trips include: driving to doctor, dentist, hospital, physical therapy, mental health counseling, and pharmacy visits for prescriptions. Trips to a gym for general fitness are not deductible.
Your mileage deduction reduces your taxable income, not your tax bill directly. The actual tax savings depends on your marginal tax rate. For a self-employed driver at a 22% federal tax rate with a 15.3% SE tax: every $1,000 in mileage deductions saves approximately $270-$330 in total federal taxes (because the deduction reduces both income tax and self-employment tax). For example, 15,000 business miles at 70¢ = $10,500 deduction, saving roughly $2,700-$3,300 in federal taxes. Add state income tax savings of $300-$700 depending on your state rate. This is why mileage tracking is one of the highest-value tax actions for gig workers and freelancers.
The IRS adjusts the standard mileage rate annually to reflect the average cost of operating a vehicle. For 2025, the business rate increased to 70 cents per mile (from 67¢ in 2024). This rate covers fuel, oil, tires, insurance, registration, and depreciation in a single per-mile figure.
Self-employed individuals, gig workers, freelancers, and small business owners can deduct business mileage on Schedule C. Employees generally cannot deduct unreimbursed mileage under current tax law (suspended through 2025). Qualified reservists, performing artists, and fee-basis government officials have some exceptions.
Standard mileage is simpler — multiply your business miles by the IRS rate. Actual expense requires tracking all vehicle costs and multiplying by your business-use percentage. You must choose your method in the first year you use a vehicle for business. Standard mileage is generally better for high-mileage, fuel-efficient vehicles; actual expense may be better for newer, expensive vehicles depreciating rapidly.
For Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and similar drivers: your deductible miles include time with a passenger or delivery, plus miles driving to your first pickup after going online. Miles between trips while on the platform are also deductible. Use a mileage tracking app and run it every time you go online — manually reconstructing mileage at tax time is unreliable and may not hold up in an audit.