Cost Per Mile Calculator
Enter your total annual vehicle costs — fuel, insurance, maintenance, and any other expenses — along with annual miles driven, to calculate your true cost per mile.
How the Cost Per Mile formula works
Total annual cost divided by miles driven:
Cost per mile = Total annual vehicle costs / Annual miles driven
Step-by-step calculation
- Add up every annual cost associated with the vehicle: fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration, and any loan payments.
- Divide by total miles driven that year.
Worked example
$9,600 in total annual vehicle costs, driving 12,000 miles: Cost per mile = 9,600/12,000 = $0.80 per mile.
Frequently asked questions
What should I include in total annual costs?
A complete picture typically includes fuel, insurance, routine maintenance, repairs, registration and taxes, and loan or lease payments if applicable — leaving out any of these understates the true cost per mile.
How is this different from the IRS standard mileage rate?
The IRS publishes a standard mileage rate each year as a simplified average for tax deduction purposes, based on broad national averages — your actual cost per mile, calculated from your own real expenses, can differ meaningfully from that published average.