IRS standard mileage rates 2026 — why there are two periods

Last reviewed: 2026-10-02. Confirm figures against official IRS / DIR sources before filing or paying.

Related calculator: 2026 mileage calculator

If you drive for work, volunteer for a charity, or use a car for qualifying medical travel in 2026, you cannot treat the year as one flat cents-per-mile number. The IRS published optional standard mileage rates that apply differently in the first half and second half of the year. Business and medical/military-moving rates rose mid-year; the charity rate stayed the same. Getting the period wrong is one of the most common spreadsheet mistakes we see when people rebuild a year of trips after the fact.

This guide explains what changed, why the IRS split the year, how to apply the correct rate to each trip, and how the mid-year revision interacts with employer reimbursements. For a quick estimate by purpose and date, use the 2026 mileage calculator.

The locked 2026 rate table (two periods)

Use these rates for education and estimation on MileagePayTools. They match the site calculator config (last reviewed 2026-10-02):

*Military (and certain intelligence-community) moving mileage is limited to situations where Internal Revenue Code §217(g) applies. Ordinary civilian household moves generally do not use this rate for a federal moving-expense deduction under current law. Always confirm eligibility in current IRS publications before claiming moving miles.

Official sources to keep bookmarked:

• IRS standard mileage rates page (historical table by year and period)
• Notice 2026-10 — original optional rates for calendar year 2026 (business 72.5¢; medical/moving 20.5¢; charity 14¢)
• Announcement 2026-11 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-29 / related IR-2026-29) — mid-year revision effective July 1, 2026 (business 76¢; medical/moving 23.5¢; charity unchanged at 14¢ under §170(i))

The IRS historical table on the rates page also lists press-release citations IR-2025-128 (H1 2026) and IR-2026-29 (H2 2026). For formal guidance, prefer Notice 2026-10 as modified by Announcement 2026-11.

Why the IRS created two 2026 periods

Optional standard mileage rates are an administrative shortcut. Instead of tracking every gallon of gas, every tire, and a depreciation schedule for a personal vehicle used partly for business (or for medical or qualifying moving travel), you may multiply qualified miles by a published cents-per-mile rate—if you meet the method’s eligibility rules and keep adequate records.

Those rates are grounded in an annual study of vehicle operating costs. When fuel prices move sharply after the annual notice is issued, the IRS has occasionally revised rates mid-year rather than leave taxpayers and employers stuck with an outdated cents-per-mile figure for six more months. Announcement 2026-11 states that the July 1 revision followed recent increases in the price of fuel and modifies Notice 2026-10.

This is not the first mid-year split. The IRS also published separate first-half and second-half rates in 2022 and in 2011. When that happens, the correct mental model is:

1. Each trip (or each day of travel) belongs to a calendar period based on when the transportation expense was paid or incurred.
2. You apply that period’s rate for the purpose of the trip (business, medical, charity, or qualifying military moving).
3. You do not average H1 and H2 rates into one “2026 blended” figure for all miles unless a specific employer policy or software report requires a different presentation—and even then, tax substantiation still cares about when the miles were driven.

Charity mileage is different in one important way: the rate for charitable use of a car is set by statute at 14 cents per mile under IRC §170(i). Fuel spikes do not automatically raise the charity rate the way they can raise the administratively set business and medical/moving rates. That is why the charity column is identical in both 2026 halves.

H1 vs H2: what actually changed

Comparing the two periods side by side:

• Business: 72.5¢ → 76¢ (+3.5¢ per mile)
• Medical / military moving (where allowed): 20.5¢ → 23.5¢ (+3¢ per mile)
• Charity: 14¢ → 14¢ (no change)

On a long year of driving, those pennies add up. Example (business miles only, educational estimate):

• 8,000 business miles entirely in H1: 8,000 × $0.725 = $5,800
• Same 8,000 miles entirely in H2: 8,000 × $0.760 = $6,080
• Difference: $280

If those 8,000 miles were split 5,000 in H1 and 3,000 in H2:

• H1: 5,000 × $0.725 = $3,625
• H2: 3,000 × $0.760 = $2,280
• Year total: $5,905

A single “average” rate of 74.25¢ applied to all 8,000 miles would produce $5,940—close in this particular split, but wrong for substantiation and wrong for any reimbursement policy that follows the IRS period rules. Always bucket miles by date first, then apply the period rate.

Try the same scenarios in the mileage calculator with the H1/H2 toggle (or trip date) so the tool forces the correct period.

How the mid-year notice treats reimbursements

Announcement 2026-11 is careful about two clocks that matter for employers and employees:

1. When the employee paid or incurred the transportation expense (typically when the miles were driven).
2. When the employer paid the mileage allowance.

Under the announcement’s framing, the revised (H2) rates apply to deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred for business, medical, or moving purposes on or after July 1, 2026, and to mileage allowances that are paid both (a) to an employee on or after July 1, 2026, and (b) for transportation expenses the employee paid or incurred on or after July 1, 2026.

Conversely, the Notice 2026-10 rates continue to apply to expenses paid or incurred before July 1, 2026, and to allowances paid to an employee before that date or with respect to expenses paid or incurred before that date.

Practical takeaway for payroll and AP teams:

• Do not blindly re-rate June trips at 76¢ just because the reimbursement check cleared in July.
• Do not leave August trips at 72.5¢ because your spreadsheet “was already built for the year.”
• Document the trip date (or expense-incurred date) in the same system that stores the reimbursement date.

Self-employed taxpayers usually care most about when the expense was incurred. Employees under accountable plans should still keep trip-date records so employer reimbursements line up with the correct rate period.

Purpose still matters as much as period

Applying the right half-year rate is useless if you used the wrong category. Business, medical, charity, and qualifying military moving miles are not interchangeable buckets. A volunteer drive to a food bank is charity mileage at 14¢—not business mileage at 72.5¢ or 76¢—even if you drive the same car you use for client visits. A trip to a specialist appointment may be medical mileage (subject to medical-expense rules), not business. Commuting from home to your regular workplace is generally personal, not a business mileage deduction.

For a deeper category breakdown, see Business vs medical vs charity mileage. For recordkeeping that holds up when someone asks how you got the number, see How to keep a mileage log that survives questions.

Standard rate vs actual expenses (short contrast)

The optional standard mileage rate is one method. The other common approach is actual expenses (gas, oil, repairs, insurance, depreciation or lease costs, etc.), allocated by business-use percentage. You generally cannot mix methods for the same vehicle in ways the IRS disallows, and first-year choices can constrain later years. This article does not walk every election rule—Publication 463 (Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses) is the primary IRS reference for car-expense methods and substantiation themes.

If you use the standard rate, you still need miles and purpose, not a vague annual guess. The rate replaces the detailed operating-cost math; it does not replace the need to show the travel happened and why.

Worked mini-examples across purposes

Example A — consultant, mixed year (business). Maya drives 1,200 business miles in March and 900 in September. Estimate:

• March (H1): 1,200 × $0.725 = $870
• September (H2): 900 × $0.760 = $684
• Total estimate: $1,554

Example B — volunteer coordinator (charity). Same mile counts for qualified charitable service driving:

• March: 1,200 × $0.14 = $168
• September: 900 × $0.14 = $126
• Total estimate: $294

Charity dollars are much smaller per mile; do not “upgrade” charity trips to the business rate.

Example C — medical miles straddling July 1. Sam drives 40 medical miles on June 28 and 40 on July 3 (assume otherwise deductible medical transportation under current rules):

• June 28: 40 × $0.205 = $8.20
• July 3: 40 × $0.235 = $9.40
• Combined: $17.60, not 80 × one blended rate

Common mistakes with split-year rates

1. Using only the July–December rate for the whole year because it is what the IRS homepage “current rates” box highlights after the revision.
2. Ignoring trip dates and dividing annual odometer growth by two.
3. Treating charity miles as business miles because “I drove my work car.”
4. Claiming civilian moving miles at the medical/moving rate without checking §217(g) / military-moving limits.
5. Reimbursing June miles at the July rate solely because the expense report was approved in July.
6. Skipping a contemporaneous log and reconstructing thousands of miles from memory in April of the following year.

How to structure a 2026 workbook (practical)

A durable spreadsheet or app export usually needs at least:

Add a column that auto-assigns H1 vs H2 from the date (date < 2026-07-01 → H1). Lock the rate table on a separate sheet so you update once if the IRS revises again—not once per row by hand.

If you also track California wage-and-hour questions for employees who drive on the clock, that is a separate topic from IRS mileage deductions. See How California daily overtime works and the CA overtime calculator.

Related tools on MileagePayTools

• 2026 mileage calculator — purpose + period → dollar estimate
• 1099 vs W-2 educational comparison — paperwork/tax-burden contrasts (not a classification determination)
• Sales tax estimator — SMB purchase tax estimates by state

FAQ

Do I have to use the standard mileage rate?

No. It is optional when you qualify to use it. Some taxpayers use actual expenses instead. Eligibility and switching rules are in IRS publications (especially Pub. 463). This site does not choose a method for you.

Why didn’t the charity rate increase in July 2026?

The charitable mileage rate is fixed by statute at 14 cents per mile (§170(i)), not set solely by the same administrative cost study that drives the business and medical/moving optional rates. Announcement 2026-11 restates that the charity rate remains 14¢.

What if I drove on June 30 and July 1?

Treat them as two days in two periods. June 30 miles use H1 rates; July 1 miles use H2 rates for the applicable purpose.

Does “military moving” include my permanent-change-of-station household move as a civilian contractor?

Do not assume yes. The IRS pairs “medical” and “moving” in the rate table, but deductible moving mileage under current law is narrowly framed; military (and certain intelligence-community) moves under §217(g) are the scenario the rate page highlights. Confirm with current IRS moving-expense guidance before claiming.

Are these rates “IRS-approved” for my exact return?

No marketing line on this site claims your return is approved. The IRS publishes optional standard mileage rates for taxpayers who properly use them. Whether your miles qualify is a facts-and-records question.

Where should I verify if rates change again?

Start with the IRS standard mileage rates page and the Internal Revenue Bulletin. Our calculator pages show a last-reviewed date; re-check that date against IRS sources before year-end filings.

Bottom line

2026 has two IRS standard-mileage periods because Announcement 2026-11 revised the optional business and medical/moving rates effective July 1 while leaving charity at 14¢. Bucket every trip by date and purpose, apply the matching cents-per-mile figure, and keep a log that shows how you got there. Use the 2026 mileage calculator for estimates, then verify against the official IRS pages linked above before you file or reimburse.