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Trip charge calculator for service businesses
Charge travel the way it costs you: round-trip miles at a cost per mile, plus drive time at your hourly rate. The IRS business mileage rate, 76 cents a mile from July 1, 2026, is a fair stand-in for what a mile costs. A 30-mile round trip with 50 minutes of driving at $60 an hour comes to $22.80 + $50.00 = $72.80.
Price the trip
Example numbers
The IRS business rate is a fair stand-in for what a mile costs you. Enter only the miles beyond any free radius you offer.
- Mileage: 30 mi × 76¢
- $22.80
- Drive time: 50 min
- $50.00
Trip charge = round-trip miles × cost per mile + drive minutes × hourly rate ÷ 60.
How much should you charge per mile for travel?
Start from what a mile costs you. The IRS sets its business rate to cover running a typical car: 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1. A work truck towing a trailer costs more than that and a small car less, so adjust it. Then add your time, because on most trips the miles are the smaller part.
Charging the mileage rate alone undercharges almost every trip. In the example above the miles are $22.80 and the driving time is $50.00; leave the time out and a 50-minute drive is priced as if it were free.
Should you charge a trip fee or build travel into the price?
Build it in for your usual area and charge a trip fee beyond it. Customers inside your normal radius expect one price; a stated fee for the far side of the county explains itself. Where traffic is bad, draw the radius by drive time rather than miles, and quote the fee before you book, never for the first time on the invoice.
Flat zone fees, one price per zone, are easier to quote than per-mile arithmetic and close enough if the zones are drawn honestly. Use the calculator once per zone, on a typical round trip, and print the zone prices on your price list.
How is a trip charge different from a service call fee?
A trip charge pays for getting there. A service call or diagnostic fee pays for showing up and finding the problem, and is often credited if the customer goes ahead with the repair. Plumbers, HVAC techs and appliance repairers often charge a service call fee; cleaners and lawn crews usually fold travel into a minimum visit charge instead.
Example: a job 15 miles away
The round trip is 30 miles and about 50 minutes. At 76 cents a mile the miles cost $22.80; at $60 an hour the drive is $50.00. Trip charge: $72.80.
If you include the first 10 miles each way, only the last 5 miles each way count: 10 round-trip miles × 76¢ = $7.60, plus the drive time for that stretch at your hourly rate.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge customers for travel time?
Yes, if the quote says so before the job. Hourly trades often bill from leaving the last job to arriving at this one; flat-price trades fold it into a trip fee or the minimum. Travel time that appears on the invoice without having been on the quote is what causes the argument.
Is the IRS mileage rate what I should charge per mile?
It is a cost, not a price. It tells you roughly what a mile costs to drive. Your trip charge also needs your time and, if you want travel to earn something rather than break even, a margin on top.
Can I deduct the miles I drive to jobs?
Business miles can be deducted at the standard rate or as actual vehicle costs. For 2026 the standard rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June and 76 cents from July 1; the mileage deduction calculator splits the year at the change.
Sources
- IRS: standard mileage rates · Checked