Cost per mile

[steppinthrax]

Not sure if this is a taxation question and/or car question.

Anyway, when starting new jobs I've always looked at cost per mile to calculate cheapest trans. So I take my overall fuel economy and find how much gas then go by the overall current gallon of gas.

Unfortunately this doesn't take in account for tire wire, engine wear, break wear etc... So my question is which source has the most accurate representation of "cost per mile"

The IRS indicates 56/mile for business and 23/mile for medical 14/mile for charitable. This is obviously done for tax purposes.

There are other sources (i.e. GSA) that are different.

I understand it depends on the type of vehicle etc....

 

[thomsbrain]

The IRS business figure takes into account trucks and vans and taxis that get crap MPG, so it's on the high side. With a regular mid-size car I have always pocketed money on mileage reimbursement, even after accounting for wear and tear and depreciation.

If you want your personal cost per mile, estimate your yearly mileage, fuel consumption, insurance costs, maintenance/consumables (tires, wipers, washes etc), and depreciation (varies heavily depending on model and age), and see how much you're spending divided by how many total miles you drive. I figure about 20 cents a mile for my old Accord V6, which is cheaper than a new Prius.

 

[steppinthrax]

The IRS business figure takes into account trucks and vans and taxis that get crap MPG, so it's on the high side. With a regular mid-size car I have always pocketed money on mileage reimbursement, even after accounting for wear and tear and depreciation.

If you want your personal cost per mile, estimate your yearly mileage, fuel consumption, insurance costs, maintenance/consumables (tires, wipers, washes etc), and depreciation (varies heavily depending on model and age), and see how much you're spending divided by how many total miles you drive. I figure about 20 cents a mile for my old Accord V6, which is cheaper than a new Prius.

Yeah, minus insurance since you're keeping the car either way.

Example (taking a commuter bus v.s. driving to work [free parking]).

$.20 a mile sounds reasonable.