Standard Mileage Rate 2025 vs 2026: What Delivery Drivers Need to Know

Tracking miles for 2025? The 2025 mileage rate is $0.70/mile — used when you file your 2025 taxes in 2026.

DeShawn Miller drove for DoorDash and Instacart for eleven months before a friend asked how he was tracking mileage.

He wasn't — not really. Just the estimated miles DoorDash showed in the app, which only counted confirmed delivery miles. At 18,000 actual business miles for the year, the standard mileage deduction he qualified for was $12,600. He'd claimed $8,100.

The difference: $4,500 in deductions he never claimed. At his tax bracket, that cost him roughly $990.

Every mile from app acceptance to the restaurant — gone, because the platform only counted the last leg of each trip.

DeShawn's experience reflects a common pattern among delivery drivers in their first year. Details are illustrative.

The IRS just raised the standard mileage rate again. For 2025 (the tax year you're filing now), the rate is $0.70 per mile. For 2026 income you're earning right now, the rate increased to $0.725 per mile.

For a driver doing 15,000 miles a year, that's a $10,500 deduction for 2025 — or $10,875 for 2026. Either way, mileage is almost always the single largest tax deduction available to delivery drivers. Most people leave thousands of dollars on the table by not tracking it properly.

Here's exactly what qualifies, how to track it the way the IRS requires, and whether you should use the standard rate or actual expenses.

Mileage Rates at a Glance

The 2026 rate increase of 2.5 cents reflects rising vehicle operating costs. If you're tracking miles for your 2026 income right now, use $0.725.

IRS source: Standard Mileage Rates

What Miles Actually Qualify

This is where most drivers either over-claim or under-claim. The IRS allows deductions for miles driven for business purposes — not all miles driven while you happen to be working.

DoorDash / Instacart / Amazon Flex (Delivery)

Uber / Lyft (Rideshare)

The gray zone: Miles driven with the app on but no active request. Most tax professionals treat these as deductible since you're actively available for work — the IRS has no explicit rule against it. Log them and keep your app running when you're actively trying to get requests.

The bottom line: If you're only counting miles with a customer in the car or an active order in hand, you're likely undercounting by 20–30%. Deadhead miles (driving to a pickup) count too.

That was DeShawn's gap — DoorDash's built-in tracker missed every mile from app acceptance to the restaurant. Over 11 months, that added up to nearly 4,000 untracked miles.

Standard Mileage Rate vs Actual Expenses: Which Is Better?

You have two methods for deducting vehicle costs. You can only use one per vehicle per year.

Standard Mileage Rate: Multiply business miles by the IRS rate. Simple. Covers gas, depreciation, insurance, maintenance — everything rolled into one number.

Actual Expense Method: Track every vehicle cost (gas, insurance, registration, maintenance, depreciation) and deduct the business-use percentage.

When Standard Mileage Usually Wins

• Your car is fuel-efficient (gas costs are low relative to depreciation)
• You drive a lot of miles (high mileage amplifies the per-mile deduction)
• You don't want to track individual receipts all year
• Your car is older and has low depreciation value

When Actual Expenses May Win

• You drive a large vehicle with high gas costs and high depreciation
• Your business-use percentage is very high (90%+)
• You're comfortable with detailed recordkeeping

Break-even calculation: If your total actual vehicle expenses × business-use % exceeds (business miles × $0.70), actual expenses come out ahead. For most delivery drivers in typical sedans or compact cars, standard mileage wins.

Example comparison — 15,000 business miles, compact car:

In this example, standard mileage nearly doubles the deduction. Actual expenses make more sense for expensive vehicles with high depreciation.

The Critical Rule: First-Year Choice Locks You In

If you use the actual expense method in the first year you use a vehicle for business, you cannot switch to standard mileage for that vehicle in future years.

If you use the standard mileage rate in year one, you can switch to actual expenses in later years.

Recommendation: Use standard mileage in your first year of delivery driving. You preserve flexibility and usually get a larger deduction anyway.

IRS source: Publication 463 — Travel Expenses

IRS Record Requirements: What You Need to Survive an Audit

The IRS requires contemporaneous records — meaning you document trips at the time they happen, not reconstructed from memory months later.

Your mileage log must include, for each business trip:

• Date of the trip
• Starting and ending location (or odometer readings)
• Business purpose
• Miles driven

You don't need to log personal trips — only business ones. But you do need to be able to show your total annual odometer reading to calculate the business-use percentage.

What the IRS will ask for in an audit:

• Mileage log (app export, spreadsheet, or paper logbook)
• Odometer reading at start and end of year (photo of dashboard, service records)
• Evidence that the trips were for business (app records, order history)

DoorDash and Uber keep your trip history. Export it at year-end as backup.

Mileage Tracking Apps: Which One to Use

Stride is the most popular among delivery drivers — it's completely free, IRS-compliant, and produces exportable reports.

Platform built-in trackers: DoorDash and Uber have basic mileage tracking in their apps, but they typically undercount. DoorDash only tracks confirmed delivery miles; Uber may miss deadhead miles. Use a dedicated app for your official record and platform trackers as a sanity check.

Calculating Your Mileage Deduction

Step 1: Log total business miles for the year (use app export or logbook total).

Step 2: Multiply by the applicable rate:

• 2025 income: × $0.70
• 2026 income: × $0.725

Step 3: Enter on Schedule C, Part II, Line 9 (Car and truck expenses). Check the box indicating you're using the standard mileage rate.

Step 4: Complete Form 4562 if this is your first year using the vehicle for business.

That's it. No receipts required for the standard mileage rate. The rate already accounts for gas, oil, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I deduct mileage if I own the car outright (no loan)?

Yes. The standard mileage rate applies regardless of whether you have a car payment. You're deducting the cost of operating the vehicle, not financing it.

What if I use the same car for DoorDash and my W-2 commute?

Only DoorDash miles are deductible. Your commute to a regular job is personal and not deductible, even if you use the same car. Keep your DoorDash log separate from general driving.

Can I deduct mileage for a car I don't own (rental, borrowed)?

Yes, for a rental. No, for a car owned by someone else unless you're paying fair market rent for its use. Borrowed vehicles (family member's car) are a gray area — if you pay for gas and maintenance during the period, some expenses may be deductible, but the standard mileage rate generally requires you to have a financial stake in the vehicle.

Do I need to track mileage if I take the actual expense method?

Yes. You still need to know your total annual miles and business miles to calculate the business-use percentage for actual expenses. Mileage logs are required under both methods.

What if I forgot to track mileage during the year?

You can reconstruct mileage from platform records (DoorDash trip history, Uber trip summary) combined with Google Maps timeline, bank statements for gas purchases, and odometer records from oil changes. Reconstructed records are less ideal than contemporaneous ones — the IRS prefers real-time logs — but they're better than no record at all.

Is the 2026 rate confirmed?

Yes. The IRS officially set the 2026 standard mileage rate at $0.725 per mile in Notice 2026-10. Use this rate for all business miles driven from January 1, 2026 onward.

DeShawn switched to Stride in January of his second year. His first full month of tracked mileage came in 38% higher than DoorDash's estimate. "That's money I would've just left there," he says. He hasn't missed a mile since.

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Related Guides

• DoorDash Taxes 2025: Complete Guide
• Uber Driver Taxes 2025: What You Owe and How to File
• DoorDash Mileage Deduction: Standard vs Actual Expense Method
• Gig Worker Tax Deductions: The Complete 2025 List

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax laws change frequently and vary by state. Consult a qualified tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.