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2026 IRS Business Mileage Rate, by Period
The IRS sets the standard business mileage rate per period, not per calendar year — see the exact rate for 2019 through the split 2026 rates.
In this article
Updated: Sources: 1
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What matters now
- The 2026 business mileage rate is 72.5 cents/mile through June 30, then 76 cents from July 1.
- Each rate period is tied to its own numbered IRS announcement, not just a year label.
- The IRS split the business rate mid-year in both 2022 and 2026, not just once.
- The rate table doesn't cover trip deductibility, medical/moving/charity rates, or recordkeeping.
For 2026, the IRS standard business mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile from January 1 through June 30, then rises to 76 cents per mile from July 1 through December 31. The rate is not a single number for the year — it is set per period, and each period is anchored to its own IRS announcement. Twice since 2019 — in 2022 and again in 2026 — the IRS has split a calendar year into two rate periods instead of holding one rate for all twelve months, according to the IRS’s own “Standard mileage rates” table (IRS Standard Mileage Rates).
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
Source for all four points below: IRS Standard Mileage Rates.
- The 2026 business mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile from January 1 to June 30, then 76 cents per mile from July 1 to December 31.
- Each rate period is tied to a specific IRS announcement number (an “IR-” release), not just a year label.
- The IRS has changed the business rate mid-year in 2022 and again in 2026, showing the rate is not fixed for an entire calendar year.
- The IRS’s mileage-rates page was last reviewed or updated on July 28, 2026, the same page this article cites for every rate below.
Why the 2026 rate splits
The IRS’s table states: “2026 (Jan. 1 – June 30): Business use 72.5 cents/mile, IR-2025-128” and “2026 (July 1 – Dec. 31): Business use 76 cents/mile, IR-2026-29” (IRS Standard Mileage Rates). That means a business mile driven on June 30, 2026 and a business mile driven on July 1, 2026 are valued differently under the same calendar year, because each half of the year was announced separately.
Mileage Rates
The IRS’s table lists the business rate for each period as follows, each tied to its own announcement:
| Period | Business rate | Announcement |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 58 cents/mile | IR-2018-251 |
| 2020 | 57.5 cents/mile | IR-2019-215 |
| 2021 | 56 cents/mile | IR-2020-279 |
| 1/1/2022–6/30/2022 | 58.5 cents/mile | IR-2021-251 |
| 7/1/2022–12/31/2022 | 62.5 cents/mile | IR-2022-124 |
| 2023 | 65.5 cents/mile | IR-2022-234 |
| 2024 | 67 cents/mile | IR-2023-239 |
| 2025 | 70 cents/mile | IR-2024-312 |
| 2026 (Jan. 1 – June 30) | 72.5 cents/mile | IR-2025-128 |
| 2026 (July 1 – Dec. 31) | 76 cents/mile | IR-2026-29 |
(All figures: IRS Standard Mileage Rates)
Reading down this table, most years carry one rate for all twelve months (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), each traceable to a single IRS announcement. Two years — 2022 and 2026 — carry two rates each, one for the first half of the year and one for the second half, each traceable to its own separate IRS announcement. That pattern is the direct answer to whether the rate can change mid-year: it can, and the IRS’s own table is where that change is recorded when it happens.
How the IRS announces rates
The IRS’s page describes the purpose of the mileage rate this way: “If you use your car for business, charity, medical or moving purposes, you may be able to take a deduction based on the mileage used for that purpose” (IRS Standard Mileage Rates). Each rate on that page — whether it covers a full year or half a year — is issued through its own numbered IRS release (for example, IR-2026-29 for the second half of 2026), which is how a reader can confirm which announcement set the rate for any specific driving date. The page itself carries a currency marker, “Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 28-Jul-2026,” which is the same page every rate in this article is drawn from.
What this article does not answer
This article answers only which business mileage rate applies to a given period and whether that rate can change mid-year. It does not address whether a specific trip qualifies as deductible business mileage, since that depends on facts about the trip itself that the rate table does not settle. It does not cover the medical mileage rate or the moving mileage rate, both of which appear on the same IRS table but are separate figures from the business rate discussed here. It also does not cover the charitable mileage rate, which is present on the IRS’s table but was not read out for this article. Finally, it does not cover the substantiation requirements — such as recordkeeping — that the IRS expects before a mileage deduction can actually be claimed; readers who need that detail should consult the IRS page directly for current guidance.