mileage · deductions · field-tech-taxes · 2026
The IRS Raised the Mileage Rate to 76 Cents Mid-Year
If you drive a service van or truck for a living, your miles are one of the biggest deductions on your Schedule C. And in 2026 that deduction just got a little more valuable — but only for the second half of the year.
The IRS raised the standard business mileage rate to 76 cents per mile effective July 1, 2026. For miles you drove earlier in the year, the rate is still 72.5 cents per mile. That means 2026 is a two-rate year, and how you track your miles from here on out matters.
The two 2026 rates, side by side
Unlike a typical year, 2026 does not use one rate for all twelve months. Under IRS Announcement 2026-11, the business standard mileage rate splits at mid-year:
- January 1 – June 30, 2026: 72.5 cents per mile
- July 1 – December 31, 2026: 76 cents per mile
That is different from 2025, which used a flat 70 cents per mile for all twelve months. Because two rates now apply within the same tax year, you split your miles at the changeover date and apply each rate to the miles you drove in that window.
What this means for a field tech’s deduction
Here is a concrete example. Say you drive 1,000 business miles each month running between Field Nation and WorkMarket jobs:
- 6,000 miles from January through June at 72.5 cents = $4,350
- 6,000 miles from July through December at 76 cents = $4,560
- Full-year deduction: $8,910
If the rate had stayed at 72.5 cents all year, that same 12,000 miles would have come to $8,700. The mid-year bump is worth an extra $210 on those second-half miles — modest per mile, but it adds up fast when driving is the job.
The one thing to do now: separate your miles at June 30
The rate change makes your mileage records more important, not less. Because two rates apply in the same tax year, you need to know how many business miles you drove before July 1 and how many you drove after. A single yearly total no longer gives you enough to work with — you would not know how many miles to apply each rate to.
Whatever you use to track miles — a phone app, a spreadsheet, or a paper log in the glovebox — a dated per-trip record makes splitting at June 30 trivial. Keeping your log as you go, rather than reconstructing it later, is the standard best practice. For more on what counts as a deductible business mile versus a personal commute, see our mileage deduction guide.
A quick note on standard mileage vs. actual expenses
The standard mileage rate is the simpler of the two methods for writing off vehicle use, and it is the method TechLedger’s estimator models. The alternative is the actual expense method, where you track your real gas, repairs, insurance, and depreciation instead of using a per-mile rate. If you run an expensive, high-maintenance work truck, it can be worth comparing both methods with a tax professional before you settle on one.
How miles fit into your bigger tax picture
Mileage is a business deduction, so it lowers the net profit on your Schedule C — and a lower net profit generally means a lower federal tax bill. That is why tracking miles carefully is one of the highest-return habits a 1099 tech can build. Your net profit after deductions is also what you base your quarterly estimated tax payments on, so a bigger mileage deduction can translate into smaller quarterly checks.
If most of your work comes through the platforms, it helps to know how each one reports your income: Field Nation reports on a 1099-K and charges a 10% provider fee, while WorkMarket reports on a 1099-NEC with no worker fee. Your mileage and other business deductions are claimed on Schedule C against that reported income. For the full picture of how it all fits together, start with our 1099 field tech tax overview.
Quick recap
- 2026 has two business mileage rates: 72.5 cents through June 30, then 76 cents from July 1 (IRS Announcement 2026-11).
- Separate your business miles at the June 30 changeover so each rate applies to the right miles.
- A bigger mileage deduction lowers your net profit, which can lower your federal tax bill.
Want to see what those miles do to your estimated tax bill? TechLedger is a free, browser-based estimator built for 1099 field techs — it runs the federal numbers for planning right in your browser, with no account and nothing sent to a server. It gives you planning estimates, not tax advice, and does not replace a tax professional, but it is a fast way to sanity-check your reserve before the next quarterly deadline.