Mileage Deduction for Uber, Lyft & DoorDash Drivers (2026)

Sources: IRS Standard Mileage Rates · IRS Publication 463 (Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses) · IRS Gig Economy Tax Center

Key point for 2026: the IRS changed the business mileage rate in the middle of the year for the first time since 2022. Miles driven January 1 – June 30, 2026 are worth 72.5¢; miles driven July 1 – December 31, 2026 are worth 76¢. You need to know how many of your miles fall in each half.

Why Mileage Is the Most Valuable Deduction for Drivers

For rideshare and delivery drivers, mileage usually wipes out 30–50% of gross earnings on paper. Each business mile reduces both self-employment tax (about 14.1% of each dollar of profit) and income tax. For a driver in the 12% bracket, a 76¢ mile saves roughly 17–18¢ in actual federal tax. At 20,000 miles a year, that's about $3,500 — money you only get if you can prove the miles.

2026 Rates and How to Split Your Miles

Example: Jordan drives for Uber and DoorDash and logs 22,000 business miles in 2026 — 10,000 in the first half and 12,000 in the second half (summer and holiday demand).

Jan–Jun: 10,000 × $0.725 = $ 7,250
Jul–Dec: 12,000 × $0.760 = $ 9,120
Total mileage deduction   = $16,370

If Jordan had applied 72.5¢ to all 22,000 miles, the deduction would be $15,950 — $420 less. Applying 76¢ to everything would overstate it by $440, which is the kind of error that is easy to spot in an audit. Most mileage apps (Stride, Everlance, MileIQ, Gridwise, QuickBooks Self-Employed) let you export a report by date range. If you only have a single annual total, split it using your platforms' monthly earnings statements or weekly summaries as supporting evidence.

Which Miles Count as Business Miles?

Don't rely only on the platform's number. Delivery platforms in particular have historically reported only miles driven while on an active order. A driver who logs every mile while working commonly finds 15–30% more deductible miles than the platform summary shows.

What Your Mileage Log Needs

Car expenses fall under the strict substantiation rules of Internal Revenue Code §274(d). Estimates reconstructed at tax time are routinely disallowed in audits. Your log should show, for each trip or each shift:

• The date
• The miles driven (odometer readings or GPS distance)
• The business purpose ("Uber shift," "DoorDash deliveries — downtown")
• Your car's total odometer reading on January 1 and December 31, so you can show total vs. business miles

A GPS app that starts automatically when you drive is the easiest compliant log. Keep the platform's annual tax summary and weekly statements as backup — they corroborate that you were working on the days you logged.

Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses

You can deduct either the standard rate or your actual costs (gas, insurance, repairs, tires, registration, lease payments or depreciation) multiplied by your business-use percentage. For most full-time gig drivers the standard rate wins, because it pays the same 72.5–76¢ whether your car costs 30¢ or 60¢ a mile to run.

Jordan's comparison (2019 Toyota Camry, 26,000 total miles, 22,000 business = 84.6%)

Standard mileage: $16,370. Actual expenses: $7,255. The standard rate is worth more than double.

When actual expenses can win

• An expensive vehicle in its first years, especially a truck or large SUV over 6,000 lbs gross vehicle weight, where Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation (restored permanently for vehicles acquired after January 19, 2025) can front-load a large deduction. See our business vehicle tax guide.
• Low business mileage but high fixed costs (expensive insurance, a lease in a high-cost city).
• A vehicle with poor fuel economy used heavily for business.

A quick test: divide your total annual car costs by total miles. If the result is well above the IRS rate, run the numbers on actual expenses. Remember that depreciation claimed under actual expenses is "recaptured" as ordinary income when you sell the car.

Rules that lock in your choice

• Owned car: to ever use the standard rate for a car, you must use it in the car's first year of business use. After that you may switch to actual expenses (using straight-line depreciation) and back.
• Leased car: if you pick the standard rate, you must use it for the entire lease, including renewals.
• Five or more vehicles used at the same time (a fleet) cannot use the standard rate.

What You Can Still Deduct With the Standard Rate

• Parking fees and tolls incurred while working (not parking tickets or fines)
• Business share of car-loan interest (self-employed only)
• Business share of personal property tax on the car (the value-based part of registration in some states)
• Everything that isn't the car itself: phone and data plan (business %), phone mount and chargers, insulated delivery bags, water and mints for passengers, a dashcam, and platform fees and commissions

What you cannot add on top of the standard rate: gas, insurance (including a rideshare endorsement), repairs, tires, oil changes, registration fees and depreciation. Those are already built into the per-mile rate.

Where It Goes on Your Return

Mileage goes on Schedule C, line 9 (Car and truck expenses), with vehicle details in Part IV (or Form 4562 if you use actual expenses). Report the gross amounts from your 1099 forms or platform tax summary as income — including the platform's service fees if they appear in the gross figure — and deduct those fees separately. If you drive for more than one platform doing the same type of work, one Schedule C is fine.

Estimate what you'll owe for the year with our rideshare driver tax calculator or delivery driver tax calculator. If you receive tips, also read how the new tips deduction works for drivers.

Rates from IRS announcements for 2026 (Notice 2026-10 and the July 2026 mid-year update). Example costs are illustrative. This is general information, not tax advice.

This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. How we source our data · Report an error