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The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why the record has to be made before the money is gone
The IRS standard business mileage rate for 2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31 is 76 cents per mile (72.5 cents for January to June 2026), and it changes again at the next announcement. Fuel, charging, insurance, and repairs accrue continuously; reconstructing them from memory at tax time is the reason platform work so often looks more profitable than it is.
The same arithmetic is the strongest argument in an insurance, lease, or vehicle-financing conversation, where business use has to be demonstrated rather than asserted.
The protocol
- Record the business miles for each working day: start and end odometer, or the total per task.
- Add the vehicle costs as they happen: fuel or charging, parking, tolls, service, insurance share.
- Add the non-vehicle work costs: phone plan share, data, bags, equipment, and any app fees.
- Subtract the total from gross earnings to get net per hour, per week, and per platform.
- Keep the totals with the year's mileage rate for the deduction record, and review quarterly.
What the tool does
Reconcile business miles and running costs against gross platform earnings into an honest net-per-hour record. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a record-keeping aid, not legal or tax advice. It cannot compel a payment, overturn a deactivation, or determine whether a specific practice is unlawful.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (federal route): in force: the IRS standard business mileage rate is 76 cents/mile for 2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31 and 72.5 cents/mile for 2026-01-01 to 2026-06-30. Rates are announced periodically, so re-check the IRS page before filing.
Automated decision this documents: platform dispatch that prices per task without vehicle or device cost
Free path, in order (no cost):
- IRS standard mileage rates page — the rate and the record requirements (irs.gov)
- SBA local assistance — free small-business counselling (sba.gov/local-assistance)
- VITA and free tax-preparation sites through 211 (211.org)
What this cannot do: It cannot compel a payment, overturn a deactivation, or determine whether a specific practice is unlawful.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
Keep the mileage and cost totals with your tax records, and take the net-per-hour figure to a free tax-preparation or SBA counselling session before you rely on the gross number.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is work-and-pay; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.