Guide · Is it worth it?
Your car sends you a bill in miles
The verdict
The IRS prices a business mile at 72.5¢ (first half of 2026) and 76¢ (second half). Your car agrees.
Beginners count gas as the car cost. The IRS standard mileage rate — 72.5¢ per mile for January–June 2026, raised mid-year to 76¢ for July–December 2026 — prices the whole truth: gas, wear, tires, brakes, insurance, and the resale value your odometer is spending.
Run a delivery week both ways: 300 miles at $3.20/gallon in a 28-mpg car is about $34 of gas. At the IRS rate it is $228 of car. The $194 gap is not fake — it arrives later, as a transmission, a set of tires, a car worth less. It just does not arrive on the same night.
You do not have to charge yourself the full rate. But a hustle that only works when the car is free is not a hustle; it is a loan from your future self.
The math, shown
- 300 mi × 76¢ = $228 car cost (IRS, Jul–Dec 2026)
- Gas alone for the same miles ≈ $34
- The $194 gap is wear you'll pay later
Run your own numbers: the Fit Finder · the Real Pay Checker · the tax door
More in this cluster
Checked October 23, 2026. Figures carry their sources inline; when a schedule changes, this guide is frozen until re-verified (see the method).