Cost Per Mile Calculator
Fuel is usually only a quarter to a third of what a mile really costs you. The rest is the value your car loses, insurance and servicing. This counts all of it, then checks your figure against the IRS yardstick.
Each mile costs you
-
- Fuel alone, per mile
- $0
- Everything, each year
- $0
- The IRS rate for comparison
- $0
- Your commute costs you
- $0
Where the money goes
The split shows how much of the total is fuel alone and how much is your commute costs you.
Move it and watch
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at {v} for value lost each year
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
What makes up a mile
Biggest first. Fuel is rarely the top line, which is why cutting fuel use alone changes less than people hope.
| Cost | A year | Per mile | Share |
|---|
Cost per mile = everything the car costs in a year, divided by the miles driven that year. Fuel per mile = fuel price divided by miles per gallon.
Cost per mile: real examples
Three ways of using the per-mile figure. Click any card to load it.
- The usual surprise
12,000 miles a year
An ordinary car, all costs counted.
It costs about $0.57 a mile. nearly six times what the fuel alone costs. The fuel is the small part.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Driving a lot
25,000 miles a year
Same car, twice the driving.
The per-mile cost falls to about $0.33, because the fixed costs spread further. The yearly bill still rises.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - What the commute costs
A 30-mile round trip
230 working days a year.
The commute alone eats a serious share of the total. Worth knowing before you weigh up a job that pays a little more but sits further away.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about cost per mile
What does cost per mile actually include?
Everything, not just fuel. Fuel is the part people think of, but the value the car loses, insurance, servicing and tyres all get used up by driving too. Add them all and divide by the miles. That is the honest number.
Why is my cost per mile so much higher than the fuel cost?
Because fuel is usually only a quarter to a third of it. The rest is the value the car loses and the fixed costs you pay whether you drive or not. Most people are shocked by the gap the first time they work it out.
What is the IRS mileage rate?
It is the amount the IRS lets people claim for each mile driven for business. For July 1 to December 31, 2026 it is 76 cents a mile. The IRS sets it to cover the whole cost of running a car, so it makes a fair yardstick for your own figure.
Can I claim the IRS rate for commuting?
No. Driving between home and your regular workplace does not count as business use, however far it is. The rate is for business trips, not the commute. This is a very common and expensive misunderstanding.
Does driving more make my car cheaper?
Cheaper per mile, yes. More expensive per year, also yes. Insurance and the value it loses barely change with the miles, so spreading them over more miles lowers the per-mile figure. Your total bill still goes up.
How do I use this to decide on a commute?
Multiply your cost per mile by the round trip, then by how many days you work. That is the real yearly price of the commute. Set it against the pay difference between two jobs, and against what public transport would cost.
The guide behind this calculator
IRS standard mileage rate: 76 cents a mile for business use, July 1 to December 31, 2026. Read from Standard Mileage Rates, checked 2026-08-18.