The Financial Mechanics of Commuting: Fuel and Depreciation Costs
For the average worker, commuting to an office represents one of the largest ongoing personal expenses. The cost of a commute is not limited to the fuel consumed; it also includes vehicle wear and tear, parking fees, and road tolls. This calculator isolates the miles you avoid by replacing commute days with work-from-home days, and prices out the savings from that specific swap.
The formula standardizes on a 48-week working year and only counts the days you convert to WFH: Miles Saved = One-Way Distance × 2 × WFH Days per Week × 48 Fuel savings are those miles divided by MPG and multiplied by the gas price. Wear-and-tear savings apply a conservative $0.20 per mile (covering tires, oil changes, and accelerated depreciation from the avoided miles specifically, not the full IRS reimbursement rate). Parking and toll savings apply only to the days you no longer drive in: Parking/Toll Savings = C_(daily) × WFH Days × 48
For a complete look at your household carbon footprint, you can audit food waste emissions using the food waste calculator or review energy use with the appliance energy cost calculator. Reducing vehicle travel is one of the fastest ways to lower your personal carbon emissions.
Working from home also raises home energy use, since heating, cooling, and running a computer during work hours would otherwise happen at the office. The calculator nets this out against your gross savings: Net Savings = Fuel + Parking/Tolls + Wear Tear - Extra Home Utility Cost where extra utility cost assumes roughly 8 kWh of additional home electricity use per WFH day.