Car Ownership Cost Calculator
Yearly car cost from depreciation, fuel, insurance, repairs, and fees.
What it does
Sticker price hides the yearly burn. Depreciation quietly takes the largest slice for most cars while fuel, insurance, tires, repairs, and registration stack the rest. Adding all five gives the hold or sell number that monthly payments alone never show.
The tool above takes annual distance with economy and fuel price, plus the four fixed bills. It returns yearly fuel, the yearly total, and the cost per mile or kilometer. The default 12,000 mile car at 30 mpg and $3.50 per gallon totals $7,000.00 a year, $0.58 per mile.
Component benchmarks back the defaults. Federal vehicle cost methods book tires plus maintenance near 5.38 cents a mile with insurance, license, and registration near $1,616 a year, and the 12,330 mile reference car lands near $663 in tires and maintenance by that exact product.
Per mile math also prices choices: a repair quote, a newer car payment, or a bus pass all divide cleanly into the same unit. The IRS business rate, 70 cents a mile for 2025, offers a rough market cross check, though it bundles costs your own five lines price separately.
How to use
- Pick miles or kilometers to match your dash.
- Type yearly distance and real economy, not the brochure figure.
- Type the pump price you actually pay.
- Type depreciation as this year value drop.
- Add insurance, maintenance with tires, and all fees.
- Read the yearly total first, per mile beside it.
Formula
- fuel
- Yearly pump spend from distance, economy, and price.
- depreciation
- One year fall in resale value.
- per mile
- Yearly total divided by yearly distance.
Metric mode runs liters = km x L/100km / 100 times price per liter, so both systems agree. City and highway splits refine fuel when the two economies differ a lot.
Worked example
Example: 12,000 miles at 30 mpg
Imperial defaults: 12,000 mi, 30 mpg, $3.50/gal, 3000/1500/800/300.
- Gallons: 12,000 / 30 = 400 gal.
- Fuel: 400 x $3.50 = $1,400.00.
- Fixed: 3,000 + 1,500 + 800 + 300 = $5,600.00.
- Total: 5,600 + 1,400 = $7,000.00 a year.
- Per mile: 7,000 / 12,000 = $0.58. Monthly: $583.33.
- Tool shows $7,000.00, $1,400.00, $0.58 per mi.
Reference table
| Item | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
| IRS business rate 2023 | 65.5 cents/mi | Rough market cross check |
| IRS business rate 2024 | 67 cents/mi | Rough market cross check |
| IRS business rate 2025 | 70 cents/mi | 10,000 mi is $7,000 |
| DOE tires plus maintenance | 5.38 cents/mi | 12,330 mi is about $663 |
| DOE insurance bundle | $1,616/yr | License and registration inside |
| EIA snapshot early Oct 2026 | US about $4.35/gal | Dated pump context |
Limits
- Straight line year; loans, interest, and tickets excluded.
- Depreciation is a guess until the car sells.
- One economy figure blends city and highway.
- Repairs spike by year; averages smooth them.
Common mistakes
- Counting the payment but skipping depreciation.
- Using brochure mpg instead of dash mpg.
- Forgetting tires inside maintenance.
- Annualizing one cheap insurance month.
- Comparing cars on fuel alone.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
15,000 mi at 25 mpg and $4/gal with 2500/1400/900/400?
Fuel $2,400.00, total $7,600.00, $0.51 per mi.
IRS 2025 benchmark for 10,000 business miles?
10,000 x $0.70 = $7,000.
DOE tires and maintenance for 12,330 miles?
12,330 x $0.0538 = about $663.
Questions
What does the default car cost?
$7,000.00 a year: $1,400 fuel plus $5,600 fixed, $0.58 per mile.
What usually costs most?
Depreciation for most cars, then fuel and insurance trade second by miles driven.
How is fuel figured?
Miles divided by mpg times price per gallon; metric uses liters from km and L/100km.
Does the metric mode match?
Yes. 19,312 km at 7.84 L/100km lands near $6,992.94 on rounded mirrors.
Is the IRS rate my cost?
No. It is a reimbursement benchmark; your five lines are your cost.
Keep or sell?
Divide the repair quote by yearly miles and compare against per mile here plus payment changes.