What is the IRS mileage rate for the second half of 2026?

76 cents per mile for business use, for miles driven on or after July 1, 2026. Medical and Armed Forces moving miles are 23.5 cents. The charitable rate stays at 14 cents. For miles driven January 1 through June 30, 2026, the rates were 72.5 cents for business and 20.5 cents for medical and moving.

Do I use one rate or two rates on my 2026 tax return?

Two. Miles driven through June 30, 2026 use the first-half rates and miles driven on or after July 1, 2026 use the revised rates. The split is based on the date you drove, not when you were paid or reimbursed.

Why did the IRS change the mileage rate in the middle of the year?

Because fuel prices rose significantly after the 2026 rates were originally set. The business standard mileage rate is based on a study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, so a large move in driving costs can prompt a revision. Mid-year changes are uncommon; the rates are normally set once for the full calendar year.

Why did the charitable mileage rate stay at 14 cents?

Because it is set by statute rather than by the IRS. The 14 cent rate for driving in service of a charitable organization is fixed in the Internal Revenue Code, so it does not adjust for fuel prices or inflation. Changing it would take an act of Congress.

Does the moving mileage rate apply to my household move?

Generally no. The moving expense mileage rate applies to active duty members of the Armed Forces moving under orders to a permanent change of station. The moving expense deduction is not available to most other taxpayers under current law.

What if my employer reimburses at the old rate?

An employer may reimburse at any rate it chooses. Reimbursement at or below the applicable standard rate under an accountable plan is generally not taxable income to you. If your employer reimburses below the standard rate, employees generally cannot deduct the difference under current law, though the rules differ for self-employed people. Check with a tax professional about your situation. Compare Top Tax Relief Companies →

The IRS Raised the Mileage Rate on July 1. You Now File 2026 With Two Different Rates

Updated Jul 24, 2026 • 4 min read

Written by ClearChoiceRadar Editorial

Both rates, in one table

The IRS revised the optional standard mileage rates part way through 2026. Miles driven on or after July 1, 2026 use a higher rate than miles driven before that date, so a single tax year now has two sets of numbers.

Purpose	Jan 1 to Jun 30, 2026	Jul 1 to Dec 31, 2026	Change
Business	72.5 cents	76 cents	up 3.5 cents
Medical	20.5 cents	23.5 cents	up 3 cents
Moving (Armed Forces only)	20.5 cents	23.5 cents	up 3 cents
Charitable	14 cents	14 cents	no change

Bar chart comparing the first-half and second-half 2026 IRS standard mileage rates for business, medical, moving and charitable purposes — Three of the four rates moved on July 1, 2026. Source: IRS, Standard mileage rates.

The charitable rate is the odd one out for a reason worth knowing: it is written into the tax code at 14 cents rather than recalculated by the IRS, so it does not move when driving costs move. Only Congress can change it.

The moving rate is also narrower than most people assume. It applies to active duty members of the Armed Forces moving under military orders, not to a general household move.

Why a mid-year change is unusual

The IRS normally sets these rates once, in the fall, and leaves them alone for the whole calendar year. It revised them mid-year here because fuel prices moved sharply after the original 2026 rates were set, and the standard business rate is built on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating a car.

Mid-year revisions are rare enough that most working accountants can name the last one from memory. The practical significance is not the size of the increase. It is that a rule which is normally "one number per year" quietly stopped being that, and a lot of mileage logs and expense reimbursement policies were written on the assumption that it would not.

How to actually split the miles

The split is by date driven, not by when you were paid, not by when you invoiced, and not by when you bought the fuel. A trip on June 30 uses the first-half rate. The same trip on July 1 uses the second-half rate.

A worked example, for a driver with 12,000 deductible business miles evenly split across the year:

Period	Miles	Rate	Deduction
Jan 1 to Jun 30	6,000	72.5 cents	$4,350
Jul 1 to Dec 31	6,000	76 cents	$4,560
Total			$8,910

Using 76 cents for the whole year would overstate that deduction by $210. Using 72.5 cents for the whole year would understate it by the same amount. Neither is a rounding error to the IRS if the return is ever examined.

Three things worth doing before December:

Make sure your log has dates on it, not just totals. A yearly odometer figure cannot be split after the fact, and reconstructing it later is exactly the kind of estimate that does not hold up.
Check your employer's reimbursement rate. If a company is still reimbursing at 72.5 cents for second-half miles, that is allowed, but the gap is generally not separately deductible for employees under current law.
Do not mix methods. The standard mileage rate is an alternative to deducting actual vehicle costs. There are rules about which one you may use and when you may switch, and they are in Publication 463.

Where this shows up if you already owe the IRS

An understated deduction is not the only way this costs money. If mileage is a meaningful part of your self-employment income and your estimated payments were built on the old rate, your quarterly math for the back half of the year is slightly off in your favor, which is the direction that produces a balance due rather than a refund.

If that lands you with a balance you cannot pay in full, the shape of the problem is ordinary and the options are documented: our IRS payment plans guide covers installment agreements, and our penalty and interest calculator separates what is penalty from what is interest, which are treated very differently if you later ask for relief.

One thing not to assume: a mileage error is not by itself a reason the IRS waives anything. Penalty relief runs on compliance history or a documented reasonable cause, not on the fact that a rule changed mid-year. Our penalty relief guide covers what actually qualifies.