Mileage calculator
This page is general information, not tax advice.
A mileage calculator means three different things. The driving distance between two places, the dollar value of miles at a rate, and a car's fuel economy. This page covers the first two, which are the ones that matter for taxes and reimbursement. Fuel economy is a different calculation and a different deduction.
Review note. An interactive calculator for distance and for miles times rate ships on this page at launch. The steps below are what it computes.
The driving distance between two addresses
The distance that counts for a mileage log is the road distance you drove, not the straight-line distance. Three ways to get it.
- Odometer readings. The reading at the end of the trip minus the reading at the start. This is the method Publication 463 Table 5-2 is laid out for, and it is the hardest to argue with.
- Apple Maps or Google Maps. Enter the two addresses and read the distance on the route you drove. Both apps show the distance for each route option, and both let you add stops for a multi-stop trip. Save a screenshot if the trip is one you may need to prove later.
- A tracking app. The distance from the GPS track of the drive itself.
A map distance is a reconstruction of a specific trip, and Publication 463 accepts it with the date and place it supports. A guessed distance is an estimate, and estimates are not deductible. See mileage log requirements.
Miles times the rate
The deduction under the standard mileage rate, and a reimbursement at the IRS rate, are the same arithmetic. Business miles multiplied by the rate for the period in which they were driven.
For 2025 the business rate is 70 cents a mile, from Publication 463. For 2026 it is 72.5 cents from January 1 to June 30 under Notice 2026-10 and 76 cents from July 1 to December 31 under the July 13, 2026 announcement. The current rates are on the IRS standard mileage rates page.
Mileage calculator 2025. 10,000 business miles × $0.70 = $7,000.
Mileage calculator 2026. 4,800 business miles from January to June × $0.725 = $3,480. 5,200 business miles from July to December × $0.76 = $3,952. Total for the year $7,432.
Add business parking fees and tolls to either figure. They are deductible on top of the rate.
The 2026 example shows why a year total is not enough. A log that only knows you drove 10,000 miles in 2026 cannot be split at June 30. A log with a date on each trip can.
How to calculate mileage for work
If your employer reimburses you, the calculation is business miles times the rate your employer pays. Many employers use the IRS rate. Some pay less, and a few pay more.
- At or below the IRS rate, under an accountable plan, the reimbursement is not wages.
- Above the IRS rate, the amount up to the rate is reported under code L in box 12 of your W-2 and the excess is wages in box 1.
Free mileage reimbursement calculator. 640 business miles in March 2026 × $0.725 = $464.00 at the IRS rate. The same miles at a company rate of 60 cents = $384.00.
Commuting miles between home and your regular workplace are never included, whichever rate applies. The plan rules and the deadlines are on mileage reimbursement.
Why a per-trip log beats a year-end calculation
A calculator gives you a number. The IRS asks for the record behind it. Publication 463 Table 5-1 requires the date, destination, business purpose, and miles of each business trip, plus the total miles for the year, and it gives more weight to a record kept at or near the time of the trip. A year-end calculation from a guessed total has none of that. A per-trip log gives you the same total, split by rate period, with the evidence attached.
How Miles handles this
Miles measures each drive from its GPS track. For a drive it was not running for, Add drive takes two addresses and computes the driving distance with Apple Maps directions, and the record shows when it was added. The tax summary applies the rate for each period to the trips driven in it, so a 2026 year is two lines that add up, and a reimbursement report does the same at the IRS rate or a custom rate. Parking and tolls attached to each drive are totaled on their own line.
Miles is coming soon.
For Canada, where the self-employed have no per-kilometre rate and employers use the CRA allowance rates, see CRA automobile allowance rates.