Parking, tolls and the other deductions
The standard mileage rate covers operating the car. It does not cover everything you spend to work.
Deductible in addition to the rate: business-related parking fees and tolls. Publication 463 is explicit about this, and it is the most commonly missed deduction in gig driving because the amounts are small and constant.
Folded into the rate, so not claimed separately: fuel, oil, tyres, routine maintenance, insurance, registration and depreciation. Claiming the rate and your fuel is double-counting.
Deductible as ordinary business expenses, separate from the car entirely: the business-use share of your phone and data, insulated bags and delivery equipment, and the platform fees that a 1099-K reports as gross.
Never deductible: fines. A parking meter is a business expense. A parking ticket is not.
The three buckets
| Expense | Under standard mileage | Under actual expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Parking fees (business) | Deductible in addition | Deductible |
| Tolls (business) | Deductible in addition | Deductible |
| Fuel | Covered by the rate | Business-use share |
| Oil, tyres, servicing | Covered by the rate | Business-use share |
| Insurance, registration | Covered by the rate | Business-use share |
| Depreciation | Covered by the rate | Claimed separately, with rules |
| Routine car washing | Covered by the rate | Business-use share |
| Phone and data | Business-use share | Business-use share |
| Insulated bags, equipment | Deductible | Deductible |
| Platform commissions and fees | Deductible | Deductible |
| Parking or traffic fines | Never | Never |
The ones drivers most often miss
Tolls. Small, frequent, and almost never recorded. A driver crossing a tolled bridge twice a shift is spending real money that never reaches the return. Most toll systems produce a downloadable statement — pull it once a year and you have the whole thing in one file.
Airport and venue parking. Rideshare drivers working airports pay these constantly.
Platform fees. If a 1099-K reports your gross transaction volume, the platform's commission comes out as a business expense. Reporting the net without deducting the fees produces the same profit but does not reconcile against the form. 1099-NEC vs 1099-K.
The phone. You cannot work without it. The business-use share is deductible, and the standard you need is a reasonable basis for the percentage you claim — not a precise measurement, but not "100 percent" either unless it genuinely is a work-only device.
Equipment. Insulated bags, phone mounts, chargers, a dashcam. Individually trivial, collectively not.
Keep the receipts separately from the mileage log
This matters procedurally. Your mileage log substantiates the per-mile deduction. Parking and toll receipts substantiate a different deduction that sits alongside it, and mixing them into one pile makes both harder to explain.
Two files, one habit:
- Mileage log — date, miles, destination, purpose. Per trip.
- Receipts — parking, tolls, equipment, phone bills. By month.
Both go on Schedule C, in different places: car and truck expenses on Line 9, and the others in their own categories. Schedule C for gig drivers.
The method decides several of these
Whether car washing, and how depreciation, are handled turns on whether you took the standard mileage rate or the actual expense method. Those are not interchangeable year to year without rules, and for a leased vehicle choosing the standard rate binds you for the whole lease term.
Work out both for a full year before deciding, and get advice if the numbers are close. Standard mileage vs actual expenses. · Mileage if you lease your car.
And the 2026 rate split still applies
Parking and tolls are unaffected by the rate change, but the mileage half is not: 72.5 cents through June 30, 76 cents from July 1, determined by when you drove. The explainer.
General information, not tax advice. Every claim links to an IRS source. The business-use percentage for a phone, and the treatment of car washing, are the two on this page where drivers most often want a rule and the honest answer is "it depends on your facts."
About MileTruth
MileTruth is an iOS app from Baker Ventures LLC that tracks deductible business mileage for gig and delivery drivers and shows true net pay: what is left after mileage, fuel and self-employment tax, not what the platform showed you at acceptance. It is built for people driving several platforms in the same shift, and for anyone who needs a mileage log that would hold up if the IRS asked for it. The app is in development.
Everything on this site is free and needs no account: the mileage deduction calculator, the per-platform pay breakdowns, and the answers, each one linked to the IRS publication or platform document it came from. MileTruth publishes the source for every number, including the 2026 split-year standard mileage rate, because a deduction you cannot substantiate is not a deduction.
Questions and answers
Can I deduct parking and tolls on top of the standard mileage rate?
Yes. IRS Publication 463 is explicit that business-related parking fees and tolls are deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate rather than being folded into it. Keep those receipts separately from your mileage log.
Can I deduct gas if I use the standard mileage rate?
No. The standard mileage rate is intended to cover operating costs including fuel, oil, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. Claiming the rate and your fuel separately is double-counting.
Is my phone bill deductible as a gig driver?
The business-use portion generally is, since the phone is required to work. You need a reasonable basis for the percentage rather than claiming the whole bill, and you should be able to explain how you arrived at it.
Are car washes deductible for rideshare drivers?
Under the actual expense method a business-use share of cleaning costs is generally deductible. Under the standard mileage rate, routine cleaning is the kind of operating cost the rate is intended to cover, so it is not claimed separately. This is one where the method you chose decides the answer.
What is a parking ticket, deductible or not?
Not deductible. Fines and penalties paid to a government for violating the law are specifically not deductible, however incurred. A parking meter is a business expense; a parking fine is not.
MileTruth. “Parking, tolls and the other deductions.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 6, 2026. https://miletruth.bakerventuresstudio.com/answers/parking-tolls-and-other-deductions/