The Internal Revenue Service recently issued the 2020 optional standard mileage rates. These rates, which adjust every year to account for inflation of fuel costs, vehicle cost and maintenance, and insurance rate increases, will once again affect the way a company reimburses their mobile workers. Specifically, the IRS mileage rate is a guideline that businesses use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.
As of January 1, 2020, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) are:
- 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down .5 cents from 2019
- 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down 3 cents from 2019
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the mileage rate for service to a charitable organization is not alterable by the IRS. Instead, it must be changed by a Congress-passed statute.