If you drive your own car for volunteer work, you can take a charitable mileage deduction of 14 cents per mile on your federal return, but only if you itemize on Schedule A. That rate is set by statute and doesn’t move with fuel prices or inflation.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile, Up 2.5 Cents Getting the deduction right comes down to four things: the charity has to qualify, the trip has to qualify, you need real records, and your total itemized deductions have to beat the standard deduction.
Which Charities Qualify
The organization you drive for must be eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under Section 170(c). That covers 501(c)(3) public charities, religious organizations, nonprofit veterans’ groups, volunteer fire companies, and certain government entities accepting gifts for public purposes.2Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contribution Deductions Driving for political campaigns, lobbying groups, or social clubs doesn’t count.3Internal Revenue Service. Exemption Requirements – 501(c)(3) Organizations
Not sure about a group? The IRS runs a free Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov where you can look up any charity by name or EIN. Check before you start logging miles.
Which Trips Count
The drive has to be directly connected to the charity’s work. Common qualifying trips include delivering meals for a food bank, hauling donated supplies to an event, driving to a board meeting, or transporting youth to an activity the charity organized.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
Trips that don’t count: your regular commute to a volunteer site that functions as a workplace, personal errands mixed in with charitable driving, and any travel with a significant element of personal pleasure or vacation. If a trip doubles as a getaway, the travel isn’t deductible. Enjoying the volunteer work itself isn’t a problem; the IRS won’t disqualify a trip just because you liked it.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
If a charitable trip also benefits you or your family in a tangible way, only the portion beyond that personal benefit is deductible.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
How to Calculate the Amount
You have two ways to figure the vehicle portion. The simple route is to multiply your qualifying miles by 14 cents.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts Drive 1,200 qualifying miles in a year and you claim $168 for mileage.
The alternative is to deduct actual out-of-pocket gas and oil for those trips instead of the flat rate. Schedule A instructions specifically allow this.6Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) This option is narrower than the actual-expense method for business driving: gas and oil only, no depreciation, insurance, lease payments, maintenance, or repairs. For most volunteers the two methods land in roughly the same place, and 14 cents per mile is easier to track. If you drive a thirsty vehicle, run the numbers both ways.
Under either method, you can add parking fees and tolls from qualifying trips on top of the mileage or gas-and-oil amount.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile, Up 2.5 Cents
What You Can’t Deduct
You cannot deduct the value of your time or services, including income you lost while volunteering. Ten hours a week at a food pantry gets you the mileage there and back, and not a dollar for the hours.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
You also can’t deduct anything the charity paid you back for. If the organization reimburses your gas or tolls, those costs come off your deduction. When the reimbursement is partial, you can still deduct the unreimbursed piece.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions Keep any reimbursement paperwork with your mileage log.
Records to Keep
The IRS wants contemporaneous records, meaning you log each trip when it happens rather than reconstructing the year in April. This is where most charitable mileage deductions fall apart in an audit. A notebook in the glove box works as well as a spreadsheet.
For each qualifying trip, write down:
- The name of the organization you were serving
- The date of the trip
- What you did (delivered meals, board meeting, supply run)
- The miles you drove
If you’re using actual gas and oil, keep fuel receipts tied to those trips. Hold onto parking and toll receipts separately.4Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions Keep everything for at least three years after you file the return, the general IRS record-retention window.
Claiming It on Schedule A
Charitable mileage goes on Schedule A because the deduction requires itemizing. The IRS treats out-of-pocket volunteer expenses like cash contributions for reporting, so your total lands on Line 11 of Schedule A next to any cash gifts.6Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040)
Itemizing only helps if your total itemized deductions clear the standard deduction. For 2026 the thresholds are $16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household.7Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026, Including Amendments From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
At 14 cents a mile, mileage alone almost never pushes anyone past those numbers. The deduction pays off most when you’re already itemizing for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, or a large cash gift. If you’re near the line, documented mileage, parking, and tolls can tip you over.