The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the costs of operating a car, van, pickup truck, or panel truck for business purposes in 2023. The 2023 rates for automobiles used for charitable, medical, or moving purposes were also announced.

The new rates beginning January 1, 2023, are:

• 65.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up 3 cents from the midyear increase setting the rate for the second half of 2022.
• 22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, consistent with the increased midyear rate set for the second half of 2022.
• 14 cents per mile driven for gratuitous services to a charitable organization; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2022.

The TCJA suspends all itemized deductions including unreimbursed employee travel expenses for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and before Jan. 1, 2026. Therefore, the business standard mileage rate can’t be used to claim an itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses during the suspension. For more details, see Rev. Proc. 2019-46 (PDF).

For additional information or specifics on how and when to apply the applicable mileage rate expense, read the complete IRS announcement.