The mileage deduction for sourcing trips: rates and records.

The IRS announced 72.5 cents for 2026 in Notice 2026-10 at the end of 2025.² It then raised the business rate to 76 cents for travel on or after July 1, 2026, in Announcement 2026-11, citing higher fuel costs.³ That means a 2026 trip taken in the spring and one taken in the fall use different rates. Match each trip to the rate for its date, and check the IRS standard mileage rates page for any later change.

Your deduction is business miles times the rate. For example, 200 business miles in March 2026 would be 200 times 72.5 cents, or $145.00. The same 200 miles in September 2026 would be 200 times 76 cents, or $152.00.

Driving that is ordinary and necessary for your business can qualify. For a reseller that often means trips to buy inventory, such as thrift stores, estate sales, and auctions, and trips to ship packages, buy supplies, or pick up items you purchased. Commuting between your home and a regular workplace does not qualify.⁴

Whether a particular trip counts, especially one that mixes personal errands with business stops, depends on the facts. A tax professional can help you decide. Parking fees and tolls for business travel are deductible on top of the mileage rate.⁴

Two other rules to know: if you own the vehicle, you generally must choose the standard mileage rate in the first year you use it for business if you want that method available later, and you generally cannot use it after certain depreciation methods.⁴ Talk to a professional before choosing between the standard rate and actual expenses.

The IRS requires adequate records or sufficient evidence to support your own statement. In practice that means a log with each trip's date, miles, and business purpose.⁴ Write it down at the time. A reconstruction months later is much weaker.

• The date of the trip.
• Where you went and the business reason, for example a list of stores or the sale you attended.
• Miles driven for the trip, plus total miles on the vehicle for the year if you can.
• Receipts for what you bought, which link the trip to inventory. See the cost of goods sold guide.

Business mileage using the standard rate goes on Schedule C, line 9, and Part IV of the form asks about the vehicle.⁵ The Schedule C walkthrough shows where line 9 sits with the other expenses.

Sourcing trips, on Pro and Team plans, group a buying trip's stops, items, receipts, and mileage in one record, and mileage tracking is available on Pro and Team plans. Strooply can estimate driving distance from your home address and the trip's stops, or you can record the miles yourself. It prices each trip at the IRS rate in effect on that trip's date, in your local time zone, and adds the trips up to give an estimated deduction. The Taxes tab lists your completed trips with miles and the deduction for each, shows the yearly estimate, and names every rate that applied when a year has more than one.

Because the IRS changed the 2026 rate partway through the year, a 2026 total mixes two rates. Treat the in-app figure as an estimate and confirm the rate that applies to each trip date when you file. Keep your own log and receipts too.