Commute Cost Calculator
What does your drive to work really cost? Enter your miles, days in the office and your car to see the yearly and monthly cost of gas or charging, maintenance, parking and tolls, plus the hours you spend commuting.
How to use the commute cost calculator
Enter how far you drive to work, how many days a week you go in, and your car's fuel economy. The calculator shows what the commute costs a year, a month and per round trip, and how many hours it takes. The gas price starts at the national average for regular gasoline from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): $4.27 a gallon in the week of October 26, 2026. Change it to what you pay; prices vary a lot by region.
For an electric car, switch to Electric and enter the kWh per 100 miles from its EPA window sticker or fueleconomy.gov. The electricity price starts at the U.S. average residential rate, 18.16 cents per kWh in August 2026 (EIA). If you charge at work for free, set it to 0; if you use public fast chargers, use their price.
Worked example
A hypothetical commute: 15 miles each way, 5 days a week, 50 working weeks, a 25 mpg car, gas at $4.27, and AAA's 2026 maintenance estimate of 11.73 cents a mile.
| Step | Result |
|---|---|
| Miles a year: 30 round-trip miles x 250 days | 7,500 |
| Gas: 7,500 / 25 mpg = 300 gallons x $4.27 | $1,280.70 |
| Maintenance and tires: 7,500 x 11.73¢ | $879.75 |
| Cost per year | $2,160.45 |
| Per month / per round trip | $180.04 / $8.64 |
| With a share of ownership costs (56.7¢ a mile) | $6,413.45 a year |
| Time at 27 minutes each way | 225 hours a year |
The 27-minute default is close to the Census Bureau's average one-way commute of 27.2 minutes in 2024 (American Community Survey).
Commute cost by distance
Same assumptions as the example (5 days a week, 50 weeks, 25 mpg, $4.27 gas, maintenance included, no parking or tolls):
| Miles each way | Miles a year | Per month | Per year | With ownership share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2,500 | $60 | $720 | $2,138 |
| 10 | 5,000 | $120 | $1,440 | $4,276 |
| 15 | 7,500 | $180 | $2,160 | $6,413 |
| 20 | 10,000 | $240 | $2,881 | $8,551 |
| 30 | 15,000 | $360 | $4,321 | $12,827 |
| 40 | 20,000 | $480 | $5,761 | $17,103 |
What counts as the cost of a commute
There are two honest ways to price a commute, and the calculator lets you pick:
- Running costs only (the default): fuel or electricity plus maintenance, repairs and tires, the costs that rise with every mile. AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study puts these at 29.04 cents a mile on average for new 2026 models: 17.32 cents for fuel and 11.73 cents for maintenance.
- Running costs plus a share of ownership: insurance, registration and taxes, depreciation and loan interest. AAA estimates these at $8,506 a year for a car driven 15,000 miles, about 56.7 cents a mile. Use this when you are deciding whether you need a car at all, or a second one, for the commute. If you would own the car anyway, the running costs are the better measure.
AAA's averages are for new cars bought in 2026. A paid-off car has no finance charges, and the CFPB notes that depreciation slows after the first two to three years. For fuel economy, the EPA's average for new model year 2024 vehicles was a record 27.2 mpg, up 41% from model year 2004, so an older car probably gets less: use your own figure.
Taxes: commuting is not deductible
IRS Publication 463 is blunt: you can't deduct the costs of driving between your home and your main or regular place of work, no matter how far your home is from it, and even if you work during the trip. Parking fees at your workplace are nondeductible commuting expenses as well. The IRS's 2026 standard mileage rate (72.5 cents a mile through June, 76 cents from July 1) applies to business driving, not commuting.
What can help is your employer's commuter benefit. For 2026, an employer can give you up to $340 a month for transit passes or vanpools and another $340 a month for qualified parking tax-free (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). If you pay for parking or transit, ask HR whether your employer offers it.
Ways to cut the cost
The table under the calculator shows how much each office day costs. The biggest levers are fewer days driving in (remote days, carpooling, transit), a closer job or home, and a more efficient car. If the numbers make you rethink the car itself, compare new and used cars, check what fits your budget with the car affordability calculator, and see what you could save on car insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does commuting cost per year?
It depends mostly on distance. A 15-mile drive each way, five days a week for 50 weeks, is 7,500 miles a year. In a 25 mpg car with gas at $4.27 and AAA's 2026 maintenance estimate, that is about $2,160 a year before parking or tolls, or $6,413 if you also count a share of insurance, depreciation and the other costs of owning the car.
How do I calculate my commute cost?
Multiply your round-trip miles by the days you drive in a year to get yearly miles. Divide by your mpg and multiply by the gas price for fuel, add maintenance per mile, then add parking and tolls for each day. The calculator does this for you and shows the cost per month and per trip.
Can I deduct my commute on my taxes?
No. IRS Publication 463 says you cannot deduct the costs of driving between your home and your main or regular place of work, no matter how far it is, and parking at your workplace is a nondeductible commuting expense too. Trips from your regular workplace to a client or a temporary work site are different and can count as business travel.
What is the IRS mileage rate for commuting?
There isn't one, because commuting is personal driving. The 2026 business rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June and 76 cents from July 1. Some people use it as a rough yardstick for the full cost of a mile, but it applies only to business driving.
Is it cheaper to commute in an electric car?
Usually for the energy itself. At 18.16 cents per kWh (the U.S. home average in August 2026) and 30 kWh per 100 miles, electricity costs about 5.4 cents a mile, against 17.1 cents for gas in a 25 mpg car. If you use public chargers, enter their price instead. AAA's 2026 study also found higher yearly depreciation for the electric models it compared than for their gas versions, so compare the whole cost of owning the car, not just the energy.
How much does working from home save on commuting?
Each day a week you stay home cuts your yearly cost by about one fifth of the five-day figure. In the example above, one remote day a week saves about $432 a year and 45 hours.
