The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
# The business mileage rate increases from $0.505 to $0.585 per mile
# The medical/moving mileage rate increases from $0.19 to $0.27 per mile
# The charitable mileage rate is set by statute at $0.14 per mile
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.