Cost Per Mile Calculator

Add up everything your car costs in a year, from gas to depreciation, to see what each mile really costs you and how that compares with the IRS mileage rate.

$3.50 is an example; use what you typically pay.

How much value the car loses in a year: roughly (purchase price − expected resale value) ÷ years you'll keep it.

Interest only, not the whole payment; the principal is covered by depreciation. Enter 0 if the car is paid off.

Cost per mile
$0.70
Cost per year
$8,400
Cost per month
$700
Running costs per mile
$0.19Fuel, maintenance, parking and tolls: roughly what one more mile costs
Ownership costs per year
$6,100Insurance, registration, depreciation and interest: paid whether you drive or not
  • For comparison, the IRS business standard mileage rate for 2026 is 72.5 cents a mile for January–June and 76 cents from July 1. It is a national figure for tax purposes, not a measure of what your car costs.

Where the money goes

CostPer yearPer mileShare
Fuel$1,400$0.1216.67%
Insurance$1,800$0.1521.43%
Maintenance, repairs & tires$900$0.0810.71%
Registration, taxes & fees$300$0.033.57%
Depreciation$3,000$0.2535.71%
Loan interest$1,000$0.0811.9%

Why gas is only part of the cost

Most people think of driving costs as what they pay at the pump, but fuel is often a minority of the total. For a newer car, depreciation, the value the car loses each year, is often one of the biggest costs of all. You don't write a check for depreciation, so it is easy to forget, but you pay it when you sell or trade in.

This calculator adds every cost you enter for a year and divides by the miles you drive. The result is the full cost of each mile, which is the right number for deciding whether a car is worth keeping, comparing a second car with ride-hailing or rentals, or working out what a long road trip really costs.

Running costs vs ownership costs

Running costs, such as fuel, maintenance and tires, tolls and parking, rise with every mile. Ownership costs, such as insurance, registration, depreciation and loan interest, are mostly the same whether you drive 5,000 miles or 15,000. That is why cost per mile falls the more you drive: the fixed costs are spread over more miles.

In the default example, ownership costs of $6,100 a year work out to 50.8 cents a mile at 12,000 miles but 40.7 cents at 15,000. Running costs per mile stay about the same. So when deciding whether one extra trip is worth driving, the running cost is the relevant figure; when deciding whether to own the car at all, use the full cost per mile.

Filling in the numbers

Use your own bills where you can: your insurance premium, your registration renewal, a year of maintenance receipts. For depreciation, look up what similar cars of your car's age sell for now and in a year or two, or take what you paid minus what you expect to sell it for, divided by the years you'll keep it. For a loan, enter only the interest part of the payments; your lender's annual statement or the amortization calculator shows it.

Every default here is an example to show how the calculator works, not an average. AAA's Your Driving Costs study publishes national averages if you want a benchmark to compare against.

The formula

Fuel per year = (M ÷ MPG) × PTotal per year = Fuel + I + R + F + D + L + OCost per mile = Total per year ÷ M
  • M = miles driven per year
  • P = price per gallon
  • I = insurance
  • R = maintenance, repairs and tires
  • F = registration, taxes and fees
  • D = depreciation
  • L = loan interest
  • O = parking, tolls and other

Example

  1. You drive 12,000 miles a year in a car that gets 30 MPG, with gas at an example price of $3.50.
  2. Fuel = 12,000 ÷ 30 = 400 gallons × $3.50 = $1,400.
  3. Other costs: insurance $1,800, maintenance $900, registration $300, depreciation $3,000 and loan interest $1,000.
  4. Total = $1,400 + $1,800 + $900 + $300 + $3,000 + $1,000 = $8,400 a year, or $700 a month.
  5. Cost per mile = $8,400 ÷ 12,000 = $0.70. Running costs (fuel and maintenance) are $2,300, or 19.2 cents a mile.

Frequently asked questions

What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?

For business use, the IRS standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents a mile from July 1 to December 31, 2026. The rates for medical or military moving miles and for charitable miles are lower.

Is the IRS mileage rate what my car costs?

Not necessarily. It is a single national rate used for deducting or reimbursing business driving. Your own cost can be well above or below it depending on the car, how much you drive and where you live.

Should I include my whole car payment?

No. A loan payment is partly interest and partly paying back the price of the car. Count the interest as a cost and cover the car's price through depreciation; including the full payment as well would count the car twice.

Why does cost per mile go down when I drive more?

Because insurance, registration, depreciation and interest are spread across more miles. With $6,100 of ownership costs, that share is 50.8 cents a mile at 12,000 miles but 40.7 cents at 15,000.

How do I estimate depreciation?

Subtract what you expect to sell the car for from what you paid, then divide by the years you'll own it. A car bought for $30,000 and sold for $15,000 after five years depreciates $3,000 a year on average.

Sources

Last reviewed for 2026. How we calculate.