(NewsNation) — If you drive a car, like the more than 200 million other Americans, you could catch a break — a tax break, that is.
The Internal Revenue Service offers many tax deduction options for taxpayers when filing their tax returns. Deducting vehicle mileage is one of them.
You could be reimbursed for the miles you drove for business, charity or military moving and medical purposes.
What is the standard mileage rate for 2024?
The standard mileage rate for 2024 is 67 cents per mile for business use, 14 cents for charity use and 21 cents for military moving or medical purposes, according to the IRS.
This can be claimed on your 2024 tax return, which is due April 15.
How can I deduct mileage on my tax return?
Business owners and self-employed individuals can itemize the mileage they drove for business purposes. Someone volunteering for a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and a military person moving can also do this.
This requires you to file your tax return using the itemized deduction, which line items each expense, rather than the standard deduction, which is a fixed amount the IRS sets.
According to the IRS, to use the standard mileage rate for business expenses, you must own or lease the car and:
- Not operate five or more cars at the same time
- Not have claimed a depreciation deduction for the car using any method other than straight-line
- Not have claimed a Section 179 deduction on the car
- Not have claimed the special depreciation allowance on the car
- Not have claimed actual expenses after 1997 for a car you lease
Schedule C on Form 1040 is where you can deduct the car expenses.
However, a majority of taxpayers take the standard deduction, which means they do not input individual expenses like mileage.
What is the standard mileage rate for 2025?
The standard mileage rate for 2025 is 70 cents per mile for business use, 14 cents for charity use and 21 cents for military moving or medical purposes, according to the IRS. These rates will be used for tax returns filed next year.