On November 27, the Internal Revenue Service released its official mileage rates for 2008. The standard rate will increase to 50.5 cents per mile for business miles driven.
This is up from 48.5 cents per mile for 2007. Medical or moving purpose mileage actually dropped from 20 cents to 19 cents per mile. Volunteer miles driven in service of charitable organizations remains at 14 cents per mile.
These rates will likely remain constant throughout 2008, although the IRS does reserve the right to adjust them during the year if fuel prices change substantially. The last time the IRS changed the amount mid year was 2005, when rates rose from 40.5 to 48.5 beginning in September.
When accounting for increased vehicle prices, the allowance for fuel price increases is minimal. Still, many vehicles in their first 5 years can be operated at slightly less than 50 cents per mile, including depreciation, fuel and repairs. For more information, see the release for IRS 2008 Mileage Rates (opens Word Document).
