CRA mileage rate calculator

An allowance rate and a deduction are not the same number.

The per-kilometre amounts are prescribed by section 7306 of the Income Tax Regulations for the purposes of paragraph 18(1)(r) of the Act. The consolidated regulation trails the calendar by a year, so the figures used here are the ones the Department of Finance announced for 2026, which is what the CRA administers in the meantime. Nothing here is tax advice.

Questions

What is the CRA mileage rate for 2026?

For 2026 the prescribed amount is 73 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 business kilometres in the year and 67 cents for each kilometre after that. For kilometres driven in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut it is 77 cents and 71 cents. It is the ceiling on an allowance an employer can pay an employee tax free for using their own vehicle for work, set by section 7306 of the Income Tax Regulations.

Can I use the per-kilometre rate if I am self-employed?

No. The rate is an allowance ceiling for an employer paying an employee, and a sole proprietor or partner has no employer paying them an allowance. On Form T2125 you deduct your business-use percentage, which is business kilometres divided by total kilometres for the year, applied to what the vehicle actually cost you. Most mileage calculators return the per-kilometre figure to everyone, which is why so many people expect a number they are not entitled to claim.

So who can use the rate?

Two people. An employer paying an employee an allowance for using their own vehicle, where an allowance at or under the prescribed rate, paid only per kilometre and with none of the same costs also reimbursed, is generally tax free to the employee and deductible to the business. And an incorporated owner, because you are an employee of your own corporation, so the corporation can reimburse you per kilometre for your personal vehicle on the same terms.

I have a signed T2200 from my employer. Can I claim per kilometre?

No. An employee who is required to use their own vehicle claims on Form T777, and the claim is the business-use share of actual vehicle costs, the same arithmetic a sole proprietor uses. The per-kilometre rate is only relevant to what your employer may pay you, and any allowance you did receive reduces what you can claim.

Which vehicle expenses can I deduct?

Fuel, maintenance and repairs, insurance, licence and registration fees, and interest on a car loan or your lease payments. Capital cost allowance on a vehicle you own is deducted on top of the running costs. The interest, lease and capital cost figures each carry their own CRA ceiling, so they are not simply the amounts you paid. Business parking and tolls are claimed in full rather than prorated by your business-use percentage, so they sit outside this calculation.

Do I need a full logbook every year?

You need a complete logbook for one full year first, the base year, which establishes your business-use percentage. After that you can keep a three month sample logbook and project the year from it. The projection is checked against the base year, not against the sample: if the business use it produces is within ten percentage points of the base year's annual business use, you can use it. Each entry needs the date, destination, purpose and distance, plus your odometer at the start and end of the year.

Are these results official?

No. This is a representative estimate. The per-kilometre figures come from the prescribed amount in the Income Tax Regulations as administered for the current year, and the business-use calculation follows the CRA motor vehicle expense rules for the self-employed. Your situation may have nuances, so confirm with the CRA or your accountant. Nothing here is tax advice.

The three questions the number does not answer.

A percentage is only worth what the record behind it is worth, and an allowance is only tax free while it keeps meeting its conditions. These go a level deeper than the tool.