IRS Mileage Rate History (1997 to 2026)

The IRS standard mileage rate has changed almost every year since 1997, when it stood at 31.5 cents per business mile. The 2026 rate of 72.5 cents is more than double that. Here is the full history, plus what drives the changes.

How the IRS sets the rate

The IRS contracts an independent firm (currently Motus) to study the cost of operating a personal vehicle for business across the country. The study factors in fuel, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, registration, and other ownership costs. The IRS publishes the resulting per-mile figure as the standard rate.

The medical and moving rate (22 cents in 2026) tracks variable costs only. Primarily fuel. The charitable rate (14 cents) is set by statute and rarely changes.

Annual rates 1997 to 2026

• 2026: 72.5 cents per business mile
• 2025: 70 cents
• 2024: 67 cents
• 2023: 65.5 cents
• 2022 (Jul-Dec): 62.5 cents (mid-year increase due to fuel spike)
• 2022 (Jan-Jun): 58.5 cents
• 2021: 56 cents
• 2020: 57.5 cents
• 2019: 58 cents
• 2018: 54.5 cents
• 2017: 53.5 cents
• 2016: 54 cents
• 2015: 57.5 cents
• 2014: 56 cents
• 2013: 56.5 cents
• 2012: 55.5 cents
• 2011 (Jul-Dec): 55.5 cents (mid-year fuel spike)
• 2011 (Jan-Jun): 51 cents
• 2010: 50 cents
• 2009: 55 cents
• 2008 (Jul-Dec): 58.5 cents (mid-year fuel spike)
• 2008 (Jan-Jun): 50.5 cents
• 2007: 48.5 cents
• 2006: 44.5 cents
• 2005 (Sep-Dec): 48.5 cents (Hurricane Katrina fuel spike)
• 2005 (Jan-Aug): 40.5 cents
• 2004: 37.5 cents
• 2003: 36 cents
• 2002: 36.5 cents
• 2001: 34.5 cents
• 2000: 32.5 cents
• 1999: 31 cents
• 1998: 32.5 cents
• 1997: 31.5 cents

When the IRS uses mid-year adjustments

The IRS has issued mid-year rate increases three times in the period: 2005 (Hurricane Katrina), 2008 (oil price spike), and 2022 (post-pandemic fuel inflation). Mid-year changes are rare and reserved for sudden, sustained cost shocks. If the rate goes up mid-year, you split your year-to-date business mileage between the two rates.

What this history tells us

Three patterns: rates trend upward over time as vehicle costs rise, rates correlate strongly with fuel prices in the short term, and rate changes lag actual cost changes by 6-12 months because the methodology uses prior-year data. This means in fast-moving cost environments (rising fuel prices), the standard rate may underestimate your actual costs and the actual expenses method may produce a larger deduction.

How to file with the right rate

Use the rate in effect during the period you drove. See the filing guide for where mileage goes on Schedule C. Schedule C, line 9 is your destination.

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