Industry

IRS Raised the Business Mileage Rate to 76 Cents Mid-Year

Announcement 2026-11 raised the business standard mileage rate from 72.5 to 76 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026. Mid-year changes are rare, and 2026 mileage logs now need to be split at June 30.

By Brennan KolarFounder, Atlas CPA Index

Published August 17, 20264 min readVerified as of August 17, 2026

The New Rates

The IRS raised the optional standard mileage rate for business use from 72.5 cents to 76 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026, a 3.5 cent increase that works out to about 4.8 percent. The medical and moving rate went from 20.5 cents to 23.5 cents over the same period. The charitable rate stayed at 14 cents per mile, because Congress fixes that one by statute and the IRS cannot adjust it.

Which Rate Applies to Which Miles

Anyone tracking mileage for 2026 now has a split year, and the rate depends on when the miles were driven rather than when the expense is reimbursed or claimed.

Business travel from January 1 through June 30, 2026 uses 72.5 cents per mile
Business travel on or after July 1, 2026 uses 76 cents per mile
Medical and moving miles: 20.5 cents in the first half, 23.5 cents in the second half
Charitable miles stay at 14 cents for the whole year

Why the IRS Moved Mid-Year

Fuel prices drove the change. The Journal of Accountancy put the national average for regular gasoline at $2.819 per gallon on January 8, 2026 and $3.890 on July 15, an increase of roughly 38 percent in about six months. The IRS normally sets the standard mileage rate once a year and leaves it alone until the following January. The last mid-year adjustment before this one came in 2022.

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What the Guidance Says

The change came through Announcement 2026-11, which modifies Notice 2026-10, the guidance that set the original 2026 rates. All other provisions of Notice 2026-10 remain in effect. Because the announcement came out in July and applies from July 1, employers that had already run reimbursements for early July miles at the old rate need to true them up.

What This Means for Your Records

If you keep a mileage log for 2026, split it at June 30 and total the two halves separately, because a single annual mileage figure multiplied by one rate will produce the wrong number. Employers reimbursing at the IRS rate should apply 72.5 cents to first-half miles and 76 cents to second-half miles. This is practitioner guidance rather than exam material. For the tax law changes that do affect what CPA candidates study, see our OBBBA overview and our 2026 tax figures guide.

Sources

1.Journal of Accountancy — IRS Raises Standard Mileage Rates for Remainder of 2026(accessed Aug 17, 2026)
2.Littler — IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rate for Second Half of 2026 to 76 Cents per Mile(accessed Aug 17, 2026)

Related on Atlas CPA Index

OBBBA Tax Changes and the CPA Exam →2026 Tax Figures for the CPA Exam →REG Exam Guide →TCP Exam Guide →

Brennan Kolar

Founder, Atlas CPA Index

Brennan Kolar is the founder of Atlas CPA Index, an independent CPA review comparison platform covering all 55 U.S. jurisdictions. With over 10 years of experience with CPA review, he built Atlas to help candidates find the right review course based on how they actually learn, not which provider has the biggest ad budget.

Learn more about the author

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