Medical mileage

Medical mileage is the per-mile rate the IRS publishes each year for driving to medical care. The 2026 rate is 20.5 cents per mile (down from 21 cents in 2025; the rate is reset annually by the IRS based on the year's costs). It is the figure Gluten Hero uses to convert logged "medical" trips into a dollar amount on the medical-expense line of Schedule A.

What counts as a medical trip. Round trips to medical appointments: the gastroenterologist for celiac follow-up, blood draws, dental cleanings, prescription pickups, urgent care, hospital visits. Parking and tolls paid on the trip count too, and are logged separately. The drive to the grocery store is not a medical trip, even if the household is buying gluten-free food; the GF premium handles the medical side of that purchase through item logging.

Gluten Hero's Trip log captures distance, destination, and purpose for each trip. Trips flagged "medical" roll into the year-end report at the IRS rate for the year the trip occurred. A 12-mile round-trip to a gastroenterologist appointment in 2026 produces $2.46 on the medical line (12 × $0.205, rounded). Parking and tolls add to the same total.

The mileage rate is set in Gluten Hero Settings and defaults to the current-year IRS figure. Households filing a return for an earlier tax year (a late filing, an amended return) need to use the rate that was in effect for that year, not the current one; the Settings field is editable for that case.

For the Schedule A walkthrough that includes mileage, read What Publication 502 actually says about celiac.