Taxes · Mileage

2026 has two mileage rates. Here's how gig drivers split them.

The IRS raised the standard mileage rate in the middle of the year, so a single number won't give you the right deduction. If you drive for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash or Instacart, here's how to do it correctly.

October 2, 2026 · 5 min read

The short version

Business miles driven January 1 to June 30, 2026 are worth 72.5¢ a mile.
Business miles driven July 1 to December 31, 2026 are worth 76¢ a mile.
Multiply each half of the year by its own rate, then add the two together. Using one rate for the whole year gets the deduction wrong in either direction.

Why 2026 has two rates

Every January the IRS sets a standard mileage rate: a flat amount per business mile that covers gas, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. For 2026 it started at 72.5¢, up from 70¢ in 2025.

In July the IRS raised it to 76¢ for the rest of the year, citing higher fuel prices. That's rare. The last mid-year change was in 2022. Because of it, your 2026 return uses two rates, and which one applies depends on the date you drove the miles. When you got paid doesn't matter.

Miles driven	Rate per mile	Announced in
Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026	72.5¢	IR-2025-128
Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026	76¢	Announcement 2026-11
All of 2025, for comparison	70¢	IR-2024-312

A worked example

Say you drove 18,000 business miles in 2026: 8,400 in the first half and 9,600 in the second, because you picked up more shifts in the fall.

Period	Business miles	Rate	Deduction
Jan–Jun	8,400	72.5¢	$6,090.00
Jul–Dec	9,600	76¢	$7,296.00
Total	18,000		$13,386.00

Here are the two easy mistakes:

Using 72.5¢ for everything gives $13,050. You'd leave $336 of deduction on the table. That's roughly $80 to $120 in actual tax, depending on your bracket, because the deduction lowers both your self-employment tax and your income tax.
Using 76¢ for everything gives $13,680. That claims $294 more than you're allowed, which is the kind of number an audit takes back with interest.

Run your own numbers

It's October, so every business mile you drive from now through December 31 counts at 76¢.

Which miles count for a gig driver

The rate only matters if the miles you multiply by it are right. For most drivers, this is where the real money is.

Usually business: driving to a pickup or a restaurant, driving with a passenger or an order, and driving between trips while you're online and waiting for the next request. Most tax professionals count waiting and repositioning miles while an app is on.

A gray area: the drive from home to your first pickup and from your last drop-off back home. The IRS treats commuting between home and a regular workplace as personal. A gig driver doesn't have a regular workplace in the usual sense, and tax professionals disagree about how the rule applies. Ask yours, write down what you decided, and apply it the same way all year.

Not business: personal errands and trips, even if an app is open in the background.

Your app's tax summary is not a mileage log

Uber's yearly tax summary reports "online miles," but only for Uber and only while the app was on. Each platform reports just the miles it saw, under its own definitions. That causes two problems:

It misses miles. Repositioning before you go online and any miles driven for a different app don't appear.
If you run more than one app, it can count the same mile twice. When Uber and Lyft are online during the same stretch, both report those miles. Add the two summaries together and you've claimed one drive twice.

A dated log of your own fixes both problems. It also gives you the one thing the rate split needs, which is when each mile was driven. If all you have is a total for the year, you can't split it accurately, and that's a sign your records might not hold up anyway.

What your log needs

IRS Publication 463 asks for records made at or near the time of each trip. For each one, record:

the date
the miles driven
where you went
the business purpose (for example, "Uber, online")

Schedule C also asks for your total miles for the year, split into business, commuting and other. That means you need an odometer reading at the start and end of the year, or a log of your personal drives too.

What you can deduct on top, and what you can't

On top of the mileage rate: tolls and parking for business trips. Keep the receipts, or at least a record of each one.

Already included in the rate: gas, oil changes, repairs, tires, insurance, registration and depreciation. If you take the standard rate, you can't deduct these separately as well.

Standard rate or actual expenses?

Most drivers use the standard rate because it's simpler and often the bigger deduction for a fuel-efficient car. One rule catches people out. If you own the car, you have to use the standard rate in the first year you use it for business to keep the option in later years. If you lease, choosing the standard rate commits you to it for the whole lease. If you're driving a new car this year, decide on purpose.

Quick answers

Does 76¢ apply to my whole 2026 return?

No. It applies only to business miles driven on or after July 1, 2026. Miles from January through June use 72.5¢.

Does the date I drove or the date I got paid decide the rate?

The date you drove.

Can I deduct gas as well as the mileage rate?

No. Gas is already part of the rate. Tolls and parking are the main extras you can add.

What was the rate in 2025?

70¢ a mile for the whole year.

Navia does the split for you

Navia logs every drive automatically with its date and applies the IRS rate in effect that day, so a March shift is figured at 72.5¢ and a September shift at 76¢. The year-end PDF and CSV show your business miles at each rate, plus tolls and parking. Coming soon to iPhone.

See what you actually make per hour →

Sources

This article is general information, not tax advice. Your situation may differ, so check with a tax professional before you file.