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If you drive for your freelance work, those miles are a tax deduction — and there are two ways to claim them. This calculates both: the simple standard mileage rate and the receipts-based actual-expense method, then recommends whichever writes off more.
Nothing you type leaves your browser. This is an estimate, not tax advice — confirm your numbers with a CPA or enrolled agent.
If you use your own car for freelance work, the IRS lets you deduct the cost of that business driving — and you choose one of two methods to value it. Most freelancers come out ahead with the standard mileage rate: you simply multiply your business miles by a flat per-mile rate the IRS sets each year. For 2026 that rate is 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 2025. No receipts to total up — just a reliable mileage log.
The other option is the actual-expense method: you add up everything the car cost for the year — gas, oil, insurance, registration, repairs, maintenance, tires, and lease payments or depreciation — then deduct the share that matches your business use. Your business-use percentage is your business miles divided by your total miles. Here is the exact math this calculator uses:
The standard rate tends to win for fuel-efficient, paid-off, or high-mileage cars; the actual-expense method tends to win for expensive vehicles, heavy depreciation, or low annual mileage with big repair bills. This tool runs both at once so you can see the gap instead of guessing. Add your marginal tax rate and it also shows the income tax the deduction saves — and because the write-off lowers your Schedule C profit, it trims your self-employment tax on top of that.
There's one catch worth knowing. To use the standard mileage rate on a car you own, you generally must choose it in the first year you use that car for business. If you do, you can switch between the two methods in later years. But if you take the actual-expense method (with depreciation) in year one, you're locked into actual expenses for that vehicle for as long as you own it. So even when actual expenses win a little today, picking the standard rate first can keep your options open. This is exactly the kind of call worth a quick word with a tax pro.
Whichever method you use, the deduction is only as good as your records. The IRS expects a contemporaneous log: date, miles, and business purpose for each trip — a notebook in the glovebox or a mileage app both work. Reconstructing a year of driving from memory at tax time is where deductions get disallowed in an audit.
The IRS business standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents per mile, an increase of 2.5 cents from the 2025 rate of 70 cents. You multiply your business miles for the year by this rate to get your deduction. The rate field above is pre-filled with it and editable for other tax years.
It depends on your car. The standard rate usually wins for fuel-efficient, paid-off, or high-mileage vehicles. The actual-expense method often wins for pricey cars, heavy depreciation, or low annual mileage with large repair bills. This calculator computes both and recommends the larger, so you can see the difference instead of guessing.
Generally no. Driving from home to a regular place of work is a personal commute and isn't deductible. Business miles are trips between job sites or clients, drives to pick up supplies, and other work errands. If your home is your principal place of business, more of your driving can qualify — a point worth confirming with a tax professional.
Only if you used the standard mileage rate in the first year you used the car for business — then you may switch between methods in later years. If you started with the actual-expense method on a car you own, you're generally locked into actual expenses for that vehicle. That's why the first-year choice matters even when the numbers are close.
Yes. A vehicle deduction reduces your net Schedule C profit, which is the base for both income tax and the 15.3% self-employment tax. So the savings are larger than the income-tax figure shown here alone — use the Self-Employment Tax Calculator to see the SE-tax portion.
No. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to a server or stored. The link in your address bar updates so you can bookmark or share a scenario, but it only contains the numbers you chose.
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