Can I Deduct Gas If I Use the Standard Mileage Rate?

No. The standard mileage rate already includes gas. Trying to deduct gas separately on top would be double-counting — and the IRS will not let you. But four costs do stack on top of the 72.5¢: parking, tolls, the business share of loan interest, and personal property tax. Everything else is bundled in.

Key takeaways

• The 2026 standard mileage rate is 72.5¢ per business mile (IRS Notice 2026-10).
• That rate already includes gas, oil, maintenance, repairs, tires, insurance, registration, and depreciation.
• You can deduct parking, tolls, the business share of loan interest, and personal property tax on top of the rate.
• You cannot add gas, repairs, insurance, depreciation, or lease payments on top — they’re built in.

Why is gas already in the standard mileage rate?

The standard mileage rate isn’t arbitrary. The IRS sets it each year based on a study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile — fuel, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tires, the works. Per IRS Notice 2026-10, 35¢ of the 72.5¢ is allocated to depreciation. The remaining 37.5¢ covers everything else, gas included.

From IRS Fact Sheet FS-2006-26 (Car and Truck Expense Deduction Reminders):

A taxpayer who deducts car expenses based on the standard mileage rate may not deduct actual expenses, such as depreciation, lease payments, maintenance and repairs, gasoline (including gasoline taxes), oil, insurance or vehicle registration fees.

That’s the rule. Pick one method or the other for a given vehicle in a given year — not both.

What stacks on top of the 72.5¢

Four categories are explicitly allowed in addition to the standard rate (per IRS Topic 510, Pub 463, and the standard mileage rules):

1. Business-related parking fees. Parking at a client site, a delivery drop-off, an event you’re working. Parking at your own main place of business is a nondeductible commuting cost.
2. Business-related tolls. Toll roads, bridges, tunnels — the business-use share.
3. Interest on the car loan — the business-use percentage, for self-employed drivers. Confirmed in Pub 463. Often missed.
4. State and local personal property taxes attributable to the vehicle — the business-use share, in states that impose an annual value-based vehicle tax. At least 17 states do, including Virginia, Missouri, Connecticut, the Carolinas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Oklahoma, Montana, and Colorado (rates and exemptions vary by locality).

What you also might be able to deduct, separately and for a different reason: the new §163(h)(4) qualified passenger vehicle loan interest deduction (OBBBA §70203) on the personal-use share of interest, if your vehicle is US-assembled and new. That goes on Schedule 1-A, not Schedule C. See our car payment guide for the full mechanics.

What’s already in the 72.5¢

All of the following are baked into the 72.5¢ — deducting them again is double-counting and will be disallowed on audit.

The math — why “deducting gas anyway” doesn’t help

Suppose you drive 22,000 business miles in 2026 in a 25-mpg car with gas averaging $3.50/gallon. Your gas spend: roughly $3,080.

Under the standard mileage rate, your deduction is 22,000 × $0.725 = $15,950. That $15,950 already covers your $3,080 of gas plus about $12,870 of other costs — depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tires, the share of registration the IRS attributes to driving.

If you then tried to “also” deduct $3,080 in gas, you’d be claiming $19,030 — and the IRS would disallow the $3,080 on audit. Worse, mixing methods can disqualify you from using the standard rate at all on that vehicle going forward.

When does the actual expense method beat the standard rate?

This is the underlying decision in our Standard Mileage vs Actual Expenses pillar. The short version: actual expenses tend to win for low-mileage drivers of expensive vehicles, because depreciation, insurance, and maintenance on a $60,000 SUV can dwarf the per-mile allowance. Standard mileage tends to win for high-mileage drivers of efficient cars, because the bundled allowance scales with miles while actual costs don’t scale as fast.

A few rules to know before you switch:

• If you use standard mileage in year one, you can switch to actual expenses in a later year (using straight-line depreciation only) and back again.
• If you use actual expenses with bonus depreciation, §179, or MACRS in year one, you’re locked into actual expenses for that vehicle’s life.
• For leased vehicles, whichever method you pick in year one, you stick with for the entire lease.

You still need a mileage log

The standard rate doesn’t excuse you from substantiating. Under Treas. Reg. §1.274-5T, vehicle expenses are “listed property” — meaning the IRS requires contemporaneous records of the date, business purpose, destination, and miles for each business trip. No log, no deduction (or a much weaker one on audit).

A paper notebook works. An app like EveryLastMile that auto-detects trips and timestamps them works better.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch from standard mileage to actual expenses next year?

Yes, on a car you own — but only with straight-line depreciation. Lease vehicles are locked into the year-one method for the entire lease term.

What if I have two cars I use for work — can I use different methods for each?

Yes. The deduction method is selected vehicle-by-vehicle. You can use the standard mileage rate on one car and actual expenses on another in the same tax year.

Do I still need gas receipts if I use the standard rate?

Not for the deduction itself — the 72.5¢/mile rate already covers fuel. But you may want them to substantiate business-use percentage in an audit, and certainly if you claim any sales tax on fuel separately.

Can I deduct parking tickets and traffic fines?

No. Fines and penalties — including parking tickets and moving violations — are never deductible, even when received during business driving (IRS Pub 463).

Does the standard mileage rate apply to electric vehicles?

Yes. Per IRS Notice 2026-10, the 72.5¢/mile rate applies to fully electric and hybrid automobiles as well as gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

What about EV charging costs — can I deduct kWh separately?

Same answer as gasoline: no. EV charging is bundled into the standard mileage rate. You can't separately deduct kWh costs on top of the 72.5¢/mile.