There are a lot of costs associated with using your car for independent work, including paying extra for gas, maintenance, car insurance, and more. Luckily, you can deduct these expenses using either the standard mileage method or the actual expense method.

Indeed, self-employed drivers can and should deduct their vehicle expenses as a business expense.

When it comes to picking the standard mileage deduction or the actual expense method, each approach has its pros and cons. In fact, there’s no hard and fast rule for which method will always give you the highest deduction. That’s why it’s so important to understand how each one works, and we’re here to explain the difference.

(Don't forget, the FREE Stride App can help you save thousands of dollars on your tax bill and hours of tax prep time by automatically tracking your miles and expenses, surfacing money-saving deductions, and getting your forms IRS-ready. Get it today!)

What Is the Standard Mileage Method?

Similar to the home office deduction, the IRS created a standardized, simplified way of deducting car expenses to make tracking easier for independent workers. They looked at the average costs of operating a vehicle and came up with a standard rate per mile that independent drivers could deduct, known as the standard mileage method.

Here are the standard mileage rates for the past few years:

2023 - 65.5 cents/mile

2022 - 62.5 cents/mile (July through December)

2022 - 58.5 cents/mile (January through June)

2021 - 56 cents/mile

2020 - 57.5 cents/mile

2019 - 58 cents/mile

2018 - 54.5 cents/mile

2017 - 53.5 cents/mile

2016 - 54 cents/mile

Stride is the best app to easily track all of your business vehicle mileage. And it’s 100 percent free. 

You’re probably wondering what car expenses this rate includes. For instance, does the IRS mileage rate include gas? Does it cover car payments?

Think of all of the typical costs of operating a vehicle. All of those costs are taken into account with the standard mileage rate. Here’s what the standard mileage rate includes:

• Average costs of gas

• Average cost of car insurance

• Average cost of car payments

• Average cost of lease payments

• Average cost of maintenance

• Average cost of depreciation

Heads up: You can use the standard mileage rate when you own or lease a car. But if you’re renting, you’ll have to default to the actual expense method.

But make sure you’re only picking one method and sticking to it. A lot of drivers get in trouble by deducting both mileage and actual car expenses. For example, if you choose to use the standard mileage rate, then you can’t also deduct gas or car insurance payments for the same vehicle. Those expenses are already included in the mileage rate. 

What Is the Actual Expense Method?

You also have the option of deducting the business percentage of each and every vehicle expense that you incur. These expenses include:  

• Gas

• Maintenance

• Depreciation

• Car payments/lease payments

• Car insurance

• License and registration

For example, if you use your car for work 65 percent of the time, you can deduct 65 percent of your vehicle costs.

Choosing the Right Method for You: Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses

So, is it better to write off gas or mileage using one approach over the other? Well, there’s no clear rule for when each method might be best for you, so it’s usually a good idea to run the numbers for both before you pick one. However, below are a few signs that one method might be more favorable for you than the other.

Pro tip: Regardless of which method you choose, be sure to track your mileage so you know your car's business percentage. Even if you don't plan on deducting your mileage, you'll need to know the percentage of time your car is being used for work so that you know how much of your vehicle expenses to deduct as a business expense. The best way to find that percentage is to know how many of your driven miles were for work.

Other Expenses to Deduct With Either Vehicle Expense Method

Regardless of which rate you choose, you can still deduct these additional vehicle expenses (per the percentage you use your vehicle for business): 

• Vehicle loan interest

• Tolls and parking fees for business trips

• Towing charges

• Auto club dues (such as AAA)

• Garage rent

Common Vehicle Deductions FAQ

Here are some of your common questions, answered:

I’m leasing, should I use the standard mileage method or actual deduction method?

If your car is leased and you use the standard mileage rate, you must use the standard mileage rate for the entire lease period (including renewals). However, under the actual expense method you can deduct your lease payments. Calculate whether the actual expense method or standard mileage rate method will yield a greater deduction for each year of the lease.

What is the 179 Deduction?

When you buy property for your business, you can choose to either:

• Depreciate the asset (deduct a portion of the cost each year for a set number of years)

  OR

• Deduct the entire cost of the asset up to $1,000,000 (by taking the Section 179 deduction)

What are some signs the standard mileage deduction is right for me?

1. Your car isn’t a clunker. When you have a car that doesn’t require a ton of upkeep, or gets decent gas mileage, then you’re probably spending less on vehicle expenses than the average car owner. This means that the 2023 standard mileage rate of 65.5 cents per mile is probably higher than your typical expense per mile.

That would mean you get a higher deduction than if you itemized all of your actual car expenses.

2. You never remember to keep receipts. Tracking your mileage with an app like Stride is pretty simple. Mileage tracking is also an easy habit to form, making it less likely that you’ll lose out on deductions than if you had to keep receipts from a variety of different costs.

3. You drive a lot. The standard mileage rate includes fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs stay the same every month (like car insurance and car payments). Variable costs increase and decrease according to your use of the car (like gas and repairs).

If you drive a ton of miles in a year, you’ll reach the point where you’ve gotten back everything you would have deducted for your fixed costs. At that point, the 2023 standard mileage rate of 65.5 cents per mile is probably much higher than your actual expense per mile.

This threshold tends to vary by kind of car, but 10,000 miles is typically a good benchmark.

What are some signs the actual expense method is right for me?

1. Your car is expensive to maintain. Get terrible gas mileage, or have an older car that needs lots of work done? You may be able to deduct more if you claim each vehicle expense as a deduction.

2. Your car is newer. Depending on which depreciation method you use, you’ll likely be able to get a larger depreciation deduction in the first few years of your car’s life. If your car is relatively new, your depreciation deduction could be substantial.

If you’re driving an older vehicle or lease your vehicle, the standard mileage rate deduction may give you a higher deduction, since the depreciation deductions of a new car aren’t available to you.

Additionally, with an economical vehicle, the standard mileage rate will likely offer a higher deduction amount — you’ll be spending less on gas and maintenance than the “average vehicle,” yet taking advantage of an IRS deduction designed for the average vehicle.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this Guide is not offered as legal or tax advice.  The U.S. federal income tax discussion included in this Guide is for general information purposes only and is not a complete analysis or discussion of all potential tax consequences that may be relevant to a particular individual. In light of the foregoing, each individual should consult with and seek advice from such individual’s own tax advisor with respect to the tax consequences discussed herein.  Any information contained in this Guide is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, for purposes of avoiding penalties imposed under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.