IRS Boosts Business Standard Mileage Rates for 2023

The IRS recently issued Notice 23-03, which contains the 2023 standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.

Last year, the IRS made a rare midyear mileage rate adjustment in June as a way to combat soaring inflation and high gas prices.

With the recent notice, the 2023 business standard mileage rate is increasing to 65.5 cents, up 3 cents from the 2022 midyear adjustment. In addition to the rate per mile driven for business use, the IRS also announced the standard mileage rate for 2023 will be:

• 22 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, consistent with the increased midyear rate set for the second half of 2022.
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations; the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2022.

These rates apply to electric and hybrid-electric automobiles, as well as gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

For income certification purposes, these rates are considered when calculating net income from some businesses such as ride-hailing and app-based delivery services. We’ll go over how to anticipate business income for 2022 with deductions for business use of a vehicle.

Business Driving Expense Deductions

Some of your applicants or residents may spend time behind the wheel of their car earning money with ride-hailing or delivery apps. The drivers are self-employed and their income can be sporadic and dependent on the rates prescribed by the app. For these individuals, transportation costs are deductible as business operating expenses.

These residents have two options for deducting vehicle expenses. They can use the standard mileage rate, or they can deduct their actual expenses for gas, depreciation, and other driving costs. Most people use the standard mileage rate because it is simpler and requires less recordkeeping. By using this option, one needs to keep track of only how many business miles were driven and not the actual expenses of their car, such as the amount paid for gas.

To figure out the deduction, the resident multiplies business miles driven by the applicable standard mileage rate. Then, the deduction is applied to the driver’s gross income. Most gig economy companies provide income statements showing monthly, quarterly, and annual earnings.

Example: An applicant delivers food with an app-based delivery service. She has been delivering food with the app-based service for four months. Her income certification will be effective March 1, and she provides printouts from the service of her gross income with taxable business deductions. Her income, not including any mileage, is $4,200.23. The printouts also show that she has driven 1,321 miles while working for the service. To calculate her annual income projection, you would perform the following steps:

• Step 1: Calculate mileage so far. [1,321 miles x .655 = $865.26]
• Step 2: Calculate the four-month net income. [$4,200.23 - $865.26 mileage deduction = $3,334.97]
• Step 3: Annualize net income. [$3,334.97 x 3 = $ 10,004.94]

If the resident chooses the standard mileage rate, he cannot deduct actual car operating expenses such as maintenance and repairs, gasoline and its taxes, oil, insurance, and vehicle registration fees. All of these items are factored into the rate set by the IRS. And you can’t deduct the cost of the car through depreciation, because the car’s depreciation is also factored into the standard mileage rate as are lease payments for a leased car.

The resident must use the standard mileage rate in the first year that he uses a car for business or he is forever prevented from using that method for that car. If he uses the standard mileage rate the first year, he can switch to the actual expense method in a later year, and then switch back and forth between the two methods after that. However, this rule doesn’t apply to leased cars. If your resident leases his car, he must use the standard mileage rate for the entire lease period if he used this option in the first year.