What does a mile actually cost you to drive?
More than fuel, and the gap is where gig profit quietly disappears. AAA's Your Driving Costs (2025 edition) put the weighted average cost of owning and operating a new vehicle at 77.18¢ per mile at 15,000 miles a year — about 99.95¢ at 10,000 miles and 66.10¢ at 20,000 miles.
Fuel and maintenance alone — the costs you actually feel — came to roughly 24¢ per mile. Everything else is depreciation, insurance, registration and finance charges: real money, paid later, easy to ignore.
Why cost per mile falls as you drive more
Because a large share of vehicle cost is fixed. Insurance, registration, and much of depreciation happen whether you drive 5,000 miles or 25,000. Spread across more miles, the per-mile figure drops. This is why a full-time driver's true cost per mile is genuinely lower than a part-timer's — and why a part-timer using a full-timer's number will overestimate their profit.
AAA's figures describe a new vehicle. An older paid-off car has far less depreciation and no finance charge, and its true cost per mile can be substantially lower — though maintenance rises. The honest conclusion is that there is no universal number, only your number.
Working out your own cost per mile
Over any period long enough to be representative, add up:
- Fuel (national average regular gasoline was $4.071/gal as of August 31, 2026, per the EIA)
- Insurance, registration, and any loan or lease payment
- Maintenance, tires, and repairs
- Depreciation — the honest estimate is what the vehicle's resale value dropped over the period
Divide by miles driven in that period. That is your cost per mile. Divide by business miles only if you want the figure that matters for the work.
Your break-even per mile
Once you know cost per mile, an offer becomes arithmetic instead of instinct. If a delivery pays $7 and requires 9 miles of driving, that is roughly 78¢ per mile of revenue. Against a 66¢ true cost, the trip nets about $1.08 before tax — for however long it takes. Against a 78¢ cost, it nets nothing.
Most drivers have never calculated this number, which is why accept/decline decisions get made on gut feel. It is the single most useful figure you can carry.
The deduction rate is not your cost
Worth separating clearly: the IRS standard mileage rate (72.5¢ then 76¢ in 2026) is a tax figure, not a measurement of your costs. It may be higher or lower than what driving actually costs you. Use the IRS rate for your deduction; use your own number for business decisions.
MileTruth. "What does a mile actually cost you to drive?." Baker Ventures LLC, September 4, 2026. https://miletruth.bakerventuresstudio.com/answers/real-cost-per-mile