The first snow is in the forecast, the tire shop has a two-week wait, and the quote for four winter tires mounted and balanced is close to a thousand dollars. You deliver for DoorDash or Instacart, or drive for Uber, and the car is how you earn. So before you pay, you want to know: can I write these off?
Short answer: only if you use the actual expense method for that car this year, and then only the business share. If you take the standard mileage rate (72.5¢ a business mile through June 30, 2026 and 76¢ from July 1), the IRS has already priced tires into the rate, so you can't deduct them on top. Switching methods just to deduct one set of tires rarely pays off for a high-mileage driver: you'd give up the per-mile rate for the whole year.
Why the standard rate already "pays" for your tires
The standard mileage rate isn't a bonus on top of your car costs. It replaces them. The IRS rules for the rate, Rev. Proc. 2019-46 (still the governing procedure, per Notice 2026-10), say the rate is used "in lieu of" figuring your actual costs, and lists what it covers: "depreciation or lease payments; maintenance and repairs; tires; gasoline, including all taxes thereon; oil; insurance; and license and registration fees."
Tires are named outright. Publication 463 says the same thing in plainer terms: on the standard rate "you can't deduct depreciation, lease payments, maintenance and repairs, gasoline (including gasoline taxes), oil, insurance, or vehicle registration fees." The only car costs you add on top are business parking and tolls (more in parking and tolls with the standard rate).
So on the standard rate, the way you "get" the tire money back is simply by logging every business mile. At 76¢ a mile, a $950 set of tires is about 1,250 business miles, which is a few weeks of steady deliveries.
When you can deduct them: the actual expense method
Publication 463's list of actual car expenses includes "Tires" alongside gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation and the rest. If you use actual expenses for the car this year, the tires go in with everything else and you deduct the business-use percentage: business miles divided by the car's total miles for the year.
Two rules decide whether actual expenses is even open to you:
- If you started this car on actual expenses, you're already there. Pub. 463 says that to use the standard rate for a car you own, "you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business." Start on actual expenses and the standard rate is gone for that car.
- If you started on the standard rate, you can switch in a later year. "In later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses." If you do, Pub. 463 says you depreciate the car straight-line over its estimated remaining useful life. The choice covers the car's costs for the year, so you can't take the per-mile rate and also pull the tire receipt out on its own.
A leased car is stricter: whichever method you used on your first return applies for the whole lease. Leasing a car for gig driving covers that.
A worked year: do the tires tip the balance?
Sam delivers in Minneapolis in a 2017 sedan he has used for gig work since 2023 on the standard rate. In 2026 he drives 22,000 miles, 16,000 of them for business: 7,500 before July 1 and 8,500 after. He buys a $950 winter set in November. Other costs for the year: gas at 30 mpg and $3.10 a gallon, insurance $1,800, registration $250, oil changes and maintenance $450, and we'll assume $1,000 of straight-line depreciation is left to claim.
| 2026, one car | Standard mileage | Actual expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Business miles at the rate | 7,500 × $0.725 + 8,500 × $0.76 = $11,898 | – |
| Gas (22,000 ÷ 30 mpg × $3.10) | covered by rate | $2,273 |
| Insurance, registration, maintenance | covered by rate | $2,500 |
| Winter tires, mounted | covered by rate | $950 |
| Depreciation (straight-line, assumed) | covered by rate | $1,000 |
| Business share (16,000 ÷ 22,000) | – | 72.7% |
| Deduction | $11,898 | $4,889 |
The tires add $691 to the actual-expense side ($950 × 72.7%). The standard rate still wins by about $7,000. That's the usual picture for a driver with high miles in a paid-off car: the per-mile rate adds up much faster than real running costs. Actual expenses tend to win with an expensive or newer car, low annual miles, or very high insurance. If that's you, the tires are one more line in a calculation you'd already win. Run your own numbers in standard mileage vs. actual expenses.
Other winter costs, sorted
- Snow chains, wiper blades, ice scraper, washer fluid. Ordinary costs of running the car. On the standard rate we'd treat them as covered and not claim them separately; on actual expenses they go in with the rest at your business-use percentage.
- A second set of wheels for the winter tires. On actual expenses, a set of wheels is closer to equipment than to a repair. The IRS's de minimis safe harbor lets a business without audited financial statements elect to deduct items costing up to $2,500 per invoice or item, by attaching a statement to a timely filed return. Ask your preparer whether to use it.
- Seasonal tire storage at the shop. Pub. 463 lists "garage rent" as an actual expense, not as an add-on to the standard rate. We'd treat a storage fee the same way: deductible at your business share under actual expenses, not on top of the per-mile rate.
- Parking and tolls on a snowy shift. Still deductible on top of either method, as long as they're for business.
Tip: keep the tire invoice and photograph the odometer on the day they go on. The invoice backs up the cost if you're on actual expenses, and the dated reading helps with the car's total miles for the year, which Schedule C asks for either way.
Who this isn't for
- W-2 employees. If an employer pays you on a W-2, unreimbursed car costs, tires included, aren't deductible on your federal return. Notice 2026-10 notes that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act made that suspension permanent. Ask your employer about reimbursement instead.
- Fleets. If you run five or more cars for business at the same time, the standard rate isn't available and this comparison doesn't apply.
- Drivers outside the US. This is about US federal tax. Canada, the UK and Australia have their own rules.
Where TaxMiles fits, and where it doesn't
We make TaxMiles, so weigh this accordingly.
- It logs the miles that make the standard rate work. Drives are detected automatically and sorted into Business, Personal or Commute. Trips before July 1, 2026 are valued at 72.5¢ and later ones at 76¢.
- It has a place for the tire receipt. Add an expense with the Tires & Repairs type. Adding expenses by hand is free; scanning a receipt with the camera is Pro.
- It shows both methods side by side. Compare Methods (Taxes → Tax Toolkit, Pro, US only) puts your standard-rate deduction next to an actual-expense estimate built from the gas, insurance, tires and other costs you've logged, and lists categories you haven't logged yet. Its depreciation is a rough five-year straight-line estimate, and it compares your whole year, not car by car.
- It doesn't double-count. The Estimated Taxes figure uses the standard rate and adds only parking and tolls, so logging a tire receipt won't inflate it.
- What it can't do. It doesn't make the method choice for you, decide whether wheels should be expensed or depreciated, or prepare the de minimis election. It's an estimate tool, not tax advice.
- The free plan covers your first 40 business trips in total. Pro is $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year. There's no family plan; each driver needs their own subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Can I deduct winter tires if I use the standard mileage rate?
No. The IRS says the standard mileage rate is used in place of actual car costs, and its list of what the rate covers includes tires, along with maintenance and repairs, gas, oil, insurance and registration. Business parking and tolls are the costs you can still add on top.
Can I switch to actual expenses this year just to deduct the tires?
Only if you used the standard mileage rate in the car's first business year, and the switch covers the whole year's car costs, not just the tires. You then deduct the business share of everything (gas, insurance, repairs, tires, and straight-line depreciation) instead of the per-mile rate. For most high-mileage drivers that is a smaller deduction, so run both numbers first.
Do I deduct the full price of the tires under actual expenses?
No, only the business-use share: business miles divided by the car's total miles for the year. A $950 set on a car driven 72.7% for business gives a $691 deduction.
Are snow chains, wiper blades and an ice scraper deductible?
They are ordinary costs of running the car. On the standard mileage rate we would treat them as covered by the rate and not claim them separately. On actual expenses they go in with your other car costs at your business-use percentage.
Let the miles pay for the tires
On the standard rate, every logged business mile is worth 76¢ through December 31. TaxMiles records each drive automatically and keeps the tire receipt with your other car costs, so you can check which method wins before you file.
Get TaxMilesSources: IRS Publication 463 (2025) (standard mileage rate; choosing the standard rate in the first year; switching to actual expenses and straight-line depreciation; actual car expenses list including tires and garage rent; business and personal use; five or more cars); IRS Rev. Proc. 2019-46 (section 4: items the business standard mileage rate covers, including tires); IRS Notice 2026-10 (2026 rates; Rev. Proc. 2019-46 still applies; employee business expense suspension made permanent); IRS standard mileage rates (72.5¢ January 1–June 30, 2026, IR-2025-128; 76¢ July 1–December 31, 2026, IR-2026-29); IRS Tangible Property Final Regulations FAQ (de minimis safe harbor, $2,500 per invoice or item without an applicable financial statement). Checked October 28, 2026.
This article is general information for US federal income tax, not tax or legal advice. The worked example is hypothetical and simplified: one owned car, a full calendar year, made-up costs and an assumed depreciation figure. Your preparer will compute real depreciation. TaxMiles is published by Gigabyte LLC, the company that wrote this article.