The Miles Add Up: What Counts, What to Track, and How to Deduct It
Let's talk about all those miles you're driving.
The supply run to the craft store. The drive to a client’s house for a shoot. The trip to the post office to ship orders. The craft fair two towns over.
Here’s the thing: a lot of those miles can lower your taxes. And many people have no idea they’re supposed to be keeping track of them.
Wait, my driving can lower my taxes?
Yep. It’s called the mileage deduction, and it’s one of the easiest ones to miss. Not because it’s complicated, but because nobody tells you about it until tax time. By then, the year’s gone and the miles are a blur.
Can’t I just figure it out at tax time?
That’s what a lot of people do. They sit down in March, think back, and take a guess. Some have even been told that’s fine. But a guess is exactly what the IRS doesn’t want here, and we’ll get into why in a bit.
Ok, so what should I be doing?
That’s what we’re going to walk through together. What counts, what doesn’t, what to write down, and how to make tracking it so easy you’ll actually do it.
Ok, so what is the mileage deduction, exactly?
It’s a way to count the cost of driving for your business as a business expense.
Every year, the IRS sets a rate, a certain amount per mile. You multiply your business miles by that rate, and that’s your deduction. No gas receipts, no oil change math. Just miles times the rate.
Why does that lower my taxes?
Because it lowers your profit. Your taxes are based on what’s left after your business expenses, so every business mile you count is money you’re not paying tax on.
Wait, it’s not just for gas?
Nope. That per-mile rate is meant to cover the whole cost of using your car for work. Gas, oil changes, tires, insurance, wear and tear. It’s all baked in. That’s why it can add up to more than people expect.
There’s also a second way to do this, called the actual expense method. We’ll get to that one later.
So what’s the rate?
It changes every year, so this is as of 2026. These rates are for cars, vans, and pickups (riding a motorcycle? Hang tight, we’ll get to you):
72.5 cents per mile for business miles driven January through June
76 cents per mile for business miles driven July through December
Wait, two rates in one year?
Yep. Usually the IRS sets one rate for the whole year. But once in a while, when something big happens (like gas prices jumping), they change it partway through. That’s what happened in 2026. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s good to know it can. That’s one more reason to write down the date of every trip.
You can always find the current rate on the IRS website.
Ok, but what does that actually add up to?
Let’s say you drive about 50 business miles a week. Supply runs, client meetings, shipping orders. That’s about 2,600 miles a year.
1,300 miles from January to June × 72.5¢ = $942.50
1,300 miles from July to December × 76¢ = $988.00
That’s about $1,930 in business expenses. From driving you were already doing.
Ok, so which trips actually count?
Any drive you make for your business. For creatives, that might look like:
Supply runs to the craft store or art supply shop
Driving to a client’s place for a shoot, install, or meeting
Shipping orders at the post office
Business trips to the bank
Craft fairs, markets, and pop-ups
Dropping work off at a gallery or shop
Networking events
And which ones don’t?
Personal trips don’t count, even if you think about work the whole drive. Grocery runs, school pickups, weekend errands. Those are just regular life.
What about driving to my studio?
This one trips people up. If you have a regular studio or workspace away from home, the drive from home to there and back is considered commuting. And commuting doesn’t count, even for business owners.
But once you’re at the studio, trips from there to a client, the post office, or a supply store do count.
What if I work from home?
Then it can be a different story. If your home is your main place of business, the drive from your house to a client, a supply store, or a craft fair can count, since you’re starting from your workplace.
What if I mix business and personal in one trip?
Totally normal. Only the business part counts. So if you drive to the post office to ship orders and then swing by the grocery store, the post office leg counts and the grocery detour doesn’t.
Ok, so what do I actually write down?
For every business trip, four things:
The date
Where you went (from where, to where)
How many miles
Why you went (shipping orders, client shoot, supply run)
That’s it. Short and simple works. “Post office, shipped Etsy orders, 8 miles” is plenty.
Do I really need to write it down every time?
Yep, or close to it. The IRS wants records made at or near the time of the trip, not pieced together later. That’s why guessing at tax time is risky. If the IRS ever asks, a guess doesn’t hold up, and the deduction can get tossed. A simple log does hold up.
Do I have to send my log to the IRS?
Nope. You just keep it in case they ever ask. Hang on to it with the rest of your tax records.
Ok, what’s the odometer thing I keep hearing about?
This one’s easy to skip, so I’m giving it its own spot.
Write down your odometer reading on January 1 and again on December 31.
At tax time, you’ll need your total miles for the year, not just your business miles. Those two numbers give you that. Snap a photo of your dashboard on New Year’s Day and you’re done.
Ok, how do I actually keep track without it being a whole thing?
The best method is the one you’ll actually use. A few options:
A mileage app. Apps like MileIQ or Everlance can track your drives automatically using your phone’s GPS. You just swipe each trip as business or personal.
Your bookkeeping software. Some bookkeeping software has mileage tracking built in, so it all lives in one place.
Old school. A little notebook in your glovebox works just as well. Jot it down before you pull out of the parking lot.
Which one is best?
Honestly? Whichever one you’ll stick with. A perfect app you forget to open does less for you than a notebook you actually use.
Any tips for making it a habit?
Tie it to something you already do. Log it when you park, when you get home, or at the end of each day. And if you fall behind, catch up that same week while it’s still fresh. The longer you wait, the more it turns into guessing.
Ok, so what’s the actual expense method?
Remember how there’s a second way to do this? Instead of using the IRS rate, you add up what your vehicle really costs you for the year:
Gas
Oil changes, repairs, and tires
Insurance
Registration
Loan interest or lease payments
The vehicle losing value over time (called depreciation)
Then you figure out what percentage of your driving was for business, and you count that percentage of the total.
How do I figure out that percentage?
Your mileage log! Business miles divided by total miles for the year. (See? That odometer trick comes in handy.) So yes, you still track your miles with this method. You just also keep every receipt.
Which method is better?
It depends. The per-mile rate is simpler and often works out well. The actual expense method takes more record keeping, but it can come out ahead in some situations. Many people run the numbers both ways before deciding.
Can I switch back and forth?
Here’s the heads up. If you own your car and want to use the per-mile rate, you generally have to use it the first year you use that car for business. If you start with actual expenses instead, you can’t switch to the per-mile rate later for that car. And if you lease, choosing the per-mile rate means sticking with it for the whole lease.
The easy way to keep your options open? Track your miles and keep your car receipts from day one.
Wait, what about motorcycles?
Glad you asked. As a rider myself, this one matters to me. The IRS has never set a per-mile rate for motorcycles, so riders have to use the actual expense method. That means tracking your business miles and total miles, plus keeping receipts for things like gas, maintenance, and insurance for the bike.
Anything else I can count?
Yes! Parking fees and tolls for business trips count on top of either method. Hang on to those receipts too.
Ok, that’s a lot. Give me the cheat sheet.
You got it. If you remember nothing else, remember these three things:
Write it down as you go.
Date, where, how many miles, and why. Every business trip, at or near the time. No guessing at tax time.
Check your odometer twice a year.
January 1 and December 31. Two numbers that make tax time so much easier.
Know your method.
Per-mile rate or actual expenses. Remember the first-year rule, and if you ride, it’s actual expenses for you.
That’s it. You’ve got this.
Want the short version to keep handy? Grab The Ultimate Mileage Kit here and keep the log in your glovebox.
P.S. If you’d rather not keep track of all this yourself, let’s talk. I can keep your mileage and the rest of your expenses organized all year, so your numbers are ready when tax time comes. Grab a spot on my calendar here.
Fine print: The numbers and rules in this post are current as of 2026 and can change from year to year. State rules may also be different. Always double-check with the IRS website or your tax preparer. This post is for educational purposes only and isn’t tax, legal, or accounting advice.
