Ship versus drive cost
Ship-versus-drive cost puts the cash you would spend driving beside a shipping range. Label each one. The IRS business mileage rate is a different concept. It is an allowance, not the cash leaving your wallet on this trip.
Key facts
- IRS business rate, second half of 2026
- 76 cents a mile from 1 July through 31 December 2026
- Source: irs.gov
- IRS business rate, first half of 2026
- 72.5 cents a mile from 1 January through 30 June 2026
- Source: irs.gov
The sources are listed on this page.
Driving has a cash cost: fuel, nights, meals, and tolls you can document. Shipping has a quote or a labeled estimate from companies that move cars. Comparing them only works if each side says what it is. A ship range with no date next to a drive figure with no fuel week is two unlabeled numbers.
The IRS rate is not the cash cost
For 1 July through 31 December 2026, the IRS standard mileage rate for business use is 76 cents a mile. For 1 January through 30 June 2026 it was 72.5 cents. The IRS builds that rate for a deduction. It includes more than gas. If a page uses it, the page should say so. Do not subtract it from a shipping quote and call the difference savings.
What to compare
Use a fuel price with its week, a real count of nights, and a shipping figure that says estimate or quote. RideShipper's ship-versus-drive tool is for that comparison. It does not decide the trip, and it does not set the carrier's price.