Enter your monthly costs for fuel, insurance, loan or depreciation, maintenance, and anything else — plus your monthly mileage. This calculator tells you your true cost per mile, monthly total, and annual spend with a visual breakdown of where the money goes. Most people are surprised by the number.
Cost Per Mile Calculator
Enter your monthly costs — leave any at zero if they don't apply.
What the IRS Says Your Car Costs Per Mile
The IRS standard mileage rate for 2024 is 67 cents per mile. This figure is designed to cover fuel, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation for a typical privately owned vehicle. It is recalculated annually based on national averages. If your cost per mile is significantly above 67 cents, you are either driving very few miles (spreading fixed costs thin) or you have an expensive vehicle to run. If you are well below it, you are either driving a lot or running a very economical car.
How to Estimate Each Cost Category
Fuel
Use your actual monthly fuel spend from bank statements, or use the Fuel Cost Calculator to calculate it from your MPG and monthly mileage. This is usually the most variable category — it changes with gas prices and driving mix.
Insurance
Your monthly premium. If you pay annually, divide by 12. Do not forget that comprehensive and collision coverage premiums are partly a function of the car’s value — as the car depreciates, it is worth reviewing whether your coverage level still makes sense.
Loan / Depreciation
If you have a loan, use your monthly payment. If you own the car outright, estimate monthly depreciation using the Car Depreciation Calculator — divide the annual depreciation by 12. Depreciation is a real cost even if no money leaves your account each month.
Maintenance
This is tricky to estimate because it is lumpy — you might spend nothing for 4 months then $600 in one visit. A reasonable approach is to total your last 12 months of service bills (oil changes, tyres, brakes, filters, unexpected repairs) and divide by 12. Or use a rule of thumb: $50/month for a reliable, well-maintained vehicle; $100-150/month for an older or higher-mileage car.
Average Annual Car Costs by Vehicle Type
| Vehicle Type | Annual Cost | Cost Per Mile (15k miles/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Small car (Civic, Corolla) | $6,000-8,000 | $0.40-0.53 |
| Midsize sedan (Camry, Accord) | $7,500-10,000 | $0.50-0.67 |
| Midsize SUV (RAV4, CR-V) | $8,500-11,500 | $0.57-0.77 |
| Full-size truck (F-150) | $10,000-14,000 | $0.67-0.93 |
| Luxury sedan (BMW 5-series) | $14,000-20,000 | $0.93-1.33 |
| Electric vehicle (Tesla Model 3) | $7,000-10,000 | $0.47-0.67 |
The Fixed vs. Variable Cost Split
Car costs split into fixed (same regardless of miles driven) and variable (scale with distance):
- Fixed costs: Insurance, loan payment, registration, depreciation. These are the same whether you drive 500 miles or 2,000 miles this month.
- Variable costs: Fuel, tyre wear, oil consumption. These scale roughly linearly with miles.
This split is important because it means driving more miles lowers your cost per mile — you spread the fixed costs over more distance. A car that costs $800/month to own costs $0.80/mile at 1,000 miles/month, but only $0.53/mile at 1,500 miles/month. This is why low-mileage ownership is often less economical than it appears.
Mechanic’s Tip
The most expensive car to own is usually the one you did not maintain, not the one with the highest sticker price. I have customers who drive old, paid-off cars with $100/month in maintenance costs and $80/month in fuel and insurance — their cost per mile is 20-25 cents. I have others paying $650/month on a loan, $200 on insurance, $200 on fuel, and $150 on repairs for a car that is still worth $12,000. Run the numbers honestly. The paid-off, maintained vehicle almost always wins on total cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include parking and tolls?
Yes, if they are regular costs. In urban areas, parking and tolls can add $100-300/month to the true cost of car ownership. Include them in the “Other” field for a complete picture — especially if you are comparing the cost of car ownership vs. public transport.
How does this compare to using Uber or renting?
At the national average of roughly $0.67/mile, a car that you drive 15,000 miles per year costs about $10,000 annually. Uber averages roughly $2-3 per mile in most cities. If you drive fewer than 5,000 miles per year and live in a city with good ride-share availability, the economics can favour not owning a car — but most people drive far more than that.
Does the cost per mile calculation work for electric vehicles?
Yes — replace the fuel cost with your electricity cost. At $0.14/kWh and a typical EV efficiency of 3.5 miles/kWh, electricity costs about $0.04/mile compared to $0.11/mile for a 30 MPG car at $3.40/gallon. However, EVs typically have higher purchase prices, so loan/depreciation costs can offset the fuel savings depending on the vehicle and charging situation.
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