IRS announces 2021 standard mileage rates

The IRS has just released the new standard mileage rates for 2021, and for the second year in a row, the standard rate for business travelers is lower than last year’s rate.

Starting January 1, 2021, the standard business mileage rate for employees who are driving cars vans, panel trucks and pickup trucks for work purposes will be 56 cents a mile. This is 1.5 cents lower than the 2020 business mileage rate.

Additional changes

The agency has also issued the standard mileage rates for vehicles driven for different reasons.

When qualified active duty members of the armed forces drive vehicles for medical or moving purposes, the new reimbursement rate for their mileage is 16 cents per mile, a decrease of 1 cent from 2020’s rate.

The standard mileage rate for miles driven for charitable purposes remains 14 cents per mile in 2021.

Along with the new rates, the IRS also announced that the maximum cost of an automobile that can be sued to calculate an allowance under a fixed and variable rate plan is $51,100 in 2021.

More info: irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-21-02.pdf