Mileage log

Questions people actually ask

What does the IRS require in a mileage log?

Four things per trip — the date, where you went, the business purpose, and the miles — recorded at or near the time of the trip, plus odometer readings that establish your total annual mileage. Vehicles are “listed property”, so the usual latitude for reasonable estimates does not apply: with no adequate log the IRS can disallow the entire deduction. This tool’s quick-add row is exactly those fields and nothing else.

What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?

Two rates, and that is the trap: 72.5 cents per business mile from January 1 to June 30, then 76 cents from July 1 to December 31. Medical and military-moving miles went from 20.5¢ to 23.5¢ at the same time; charity stays at 14¢ by statute. This log prices every trip at the rate of its own date and shows the two halves separately, which is how the year’s deduction is actually computed.

Why does the mid-year rate change matter for my deduction?

Because a flat-rate spreadsheet misprices every trip in one half of the year. Apply 76¢ to the whole year and you overstate the deduction on every trip before July; apply 72.5¢ and you understate the second half. The correct total is two multiplications, one per half — the summary panel shows both lines so the arithmetic is checkable.

Can I use this if I drive for DoorDash, Uber or my own business?

Yes — self-employed drivers deduct business miles on Schedule C using these rates, and gig platforms’ own mile counts routinely miss trips between orders. Log the miles, put the platform in the purpose field, and export the CSV at tax time. W-2 employees generally cannot deduct commuting or unreimbursed miles on federal returns under current law.

What are the odometer fields for?

The IRS asks for total annual mileage, not just business trips — it is how business-use percentage is established. Enter the reading on January 1 and December 31 and the log computes that percentage for you. Maintenance receipts with odometer readings are also what auditors use to corroborate a log, so the numbers should agree.

Is my driving data uploaded anywhere?

No. Trips live in your browser, and nothing is sent to a server unless you sign in — in which case your log syncs to your own account, deletable any time from My profile. The CSV export is generated locally too. Where you drive is not data a free tool should be collecting.