The standard mileage rate is the per-mile figure the IRS publishes each year that a taxpayer may use to deduct the cost of operating a vehicle for business, in place of tracking and deducting that vehicle's actual operating expenses.
The 2026 business rate is split by a rare mid-year increase: 72.5 cents per mile for January 1–June 30 and 76 cents for July 1–December 31, against 70 cents in 2025. A separate figure bites when you sell: 35 cents of every 2026 business mile is treated as depreciation and reduces the vehicle’s basis. Take the rate and you can’t also deduct gas, repairs, insurance or depreciation on that vehicle, though parking and tolls stay deductible. To use it on a vehicle you own you must choose it the first year that vehicle is placed in service. It’s unavailable if you run five or more cars at once, and home-to-regular-workplace driving is nondeductible commuting. General education, not tax advice.
Tow miles are among the easiest racing deductions to earn and the easiest to lose, because the rate only helps you if you kept a contemporaneous log of dates, miles and business purpose.
Read the full post:
Racing Mileage Deduction: What You Can Actually Write Off on the Tow Rig and Trailer