Mileage deduction calculator and log (2026)

Turn business miles into a deduction at the 2026 IRS rate of 72.5 cents a mile, or work out a reimbursement at your employer's rate. Then keep the log that proves the miles, and download it as a PDF or CSV. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

How the deduction is worked out

Business miles times the rate, plus the parking and tolls you paid on business trips. At 72.5 cents, 5,000 business miles is a $3,625 deduction. If you enter your net profit, the calculator also estimates the tax that deduction saves, using the same 2026 federal model as the self-employment tax calculator: a mileage deduction lowers both self-employment tax and income tax. The rate itself, and who can use it, is covered in the 2026 IRS mileage rate.

What a mileage log has to show

For each business trip: the date, where you went, the business purpose and the miles, recorded at or near the time. The IRS also asks, on Schedule C, for the vehicle's total miles for the year alongside the business ones. A log rebuilt from memory at tax time is the weak point in most mileage claims. The full requirements are in IRS mileage log requirements.

Deduction or reimbursement?

If you are self-employed, the miles are a deduction on Schedule C. If an employer pays you back for driving, use the custom rate for whatever they reimburse; many use the IRS rate, and a reimbursement at or below it under an accountable plan is generally not taxable income to you. Whether the standard rate or your actual vehicle costs gives the larger deduction is weighed up in standard mileage vs actual expenses, and the trip from home to a regular workplace does not count, as whether your commute is deductible explains.

Keeping the log without thinking about it

A browser log lives in one browser. Keel logs a trip in seconds on your iPhone at the official IRS rate and keeps the log on the phone, with no always-on tracking and no account. It is free; the only paid part of Keel is the tax package, a one-time $249.99.