Free template
Mileage Log Template and Calculator
An IRS mileage log records the date, destination, business purpose and miles of every business trip, plus the vehicle's total miles for the year. For 2026 the standard rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 30 and 76 cents from July 1, so this template prices each trip by its date and totals your deduction. Use it right here, or download it for Excel and Google Sheets.
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Mileage log
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You're looking at sample trips for a cleaning business, either side of the July 1 rate change. Click around, then start your own.
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How to use it
Six habits that make a mileage log hold up
The IRS doesn't publish a mileage form. Publication 463 asks for adequate records, and Schedule C Part IV asks whether yours are written. These habits are what that means in practice.
- 01
Read the odometer on January 1
Write it on Setup. With the December 31 reading it gives the year's total miles, which the IRS asks for next to your business miles.
- 02
Log each trip the day you drive it
IRS Publication 463 gives more weight to a record made at or near the time than to one rebuilt in April.
- 03
Write where and why
Destination plus a specific purpose: the client, job or errand. "Business" on its own doesn't hold up.
- 04
Start where the last trip ended
The next trip fills in from the last destination and odometer reading, so the miles chain without gaps.
- 05
Keep parking and toll receipts
Business parking and tolls are deductible on top of the standard rate. Parking at your regular workplace is not.
- 06
Export at year end
Read the odometer on December 31, then Download my Excel and send it to your tax preparer with the rest of your records.
What's inside
A full year of business driving, priced and checked
Dashboard
Your deduction, business miles and trips for the year, a month-by-month chart split by rate, and a check of every trip's records.
Trip log
One row per trip: date, from, to, business purpose, odometer readings or miles, and parking and tolls.
By month
Trips, miles and the amount for each month, with year totals, ready for your tax preparer.
Setup
Driver, vehicle, tax year, the odometer on January 1 and December 31, and the rate to use.
Rates by date
Each trip is priced at the IRS rate in force on its date, so the July 1, 2026 change is split for you.
Company rate
Reimburse employees at your own rate per mile, and the total becomes the reimbursement owed.
Excel workbook
Mileage log, Summary and Rates sheets with live formulas. Opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
Print and CSV
Print the log for your files, or export the trips as a CSV.
Rates
IRS standard mileage rates
Like 2022, 2026 has two business rates. A driver with 1,200 business miles before July 1 and 1,400 after deducts $870.00 plus $1,064.00, or $1,934.00. Priced at one rate for the year, the same miles come out $1,885.00 or $1,976.00, both wrong.
Source: IRS standard mileage rates.
| Driving from | Through | Business rate |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2026 | Until the next change | 76 cents |
| January 1, 2026 | June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents |
| January 1, 2025 | December 31, 2025 | 70 cents |
| January 1, 2024 | December 31, 2024 | 67 cents |
For employers
Using it as a company mileage log
Most employees can't deduct unreimbursed mileage on their own federal return, so reimbursement is how they get it back. Paid under an accountable plan, it isn't wages: the employee hands in a log with the same four facts per trip within a reasonable time, and returns anything paid over what the log supports.
Each employee keeps their own copy of this log. Set Rate to Company rate on the Setup tab if you pay something other than the IRS figure, and the total becomes the reimbursement owed. Reimbursing above the IRS rate makes the excess taxable wages.
In the books
Mileage and QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online has a Mileage page under Expenses, and its mobile app can track trips by GPS. Either way, a sole proprietor's standard mileage deduction is not a bank transaction. It never shows up in the bank feed, and it goes on the tax return from the log, not from the books.
Reimbursements are different. When an LLC or S corp pays an owner or employee for mileage, that payment is a real expense: record it to Car and truck expenses with the log attached. Gas bought on the business card while you claim the standard rate is the owner's cost, not a second deduction.
When the spreadsheet gets heavy
Rather hand the books to someone?
Ledgerbrook keeps small business books in QuickBooks Online: categorized, reconciled every month, with mileage reimbursements recorded and logs attached, ready for your tax preparer. Fixed monthly price, no contract.
Frequently asked
Mileage log FAQ
What does the IRS require in a mileage log?
For each business trip: the date, the miles, and the business purpose, with the destination so the purpose can be checked. For the year: the total miles driven in the vehicle. IRS Publication 463, chapter 5, says the record should be made at or near the time of the trip. The template on this page has a column for each.
What is the 2026 IRS mileage rate?
72.5 cents a mile for business driving from January 1 to June 30, 2026, and 76 cents a mile from July 1 to December 31. The IRS raised the rate mid-year (IR-2026-29), so each trip is priced by its date. The template does this for you.
How do I log miles for taxes?
Write down each business trip the day you drive it: date, where you started, where you went, why, and the odometer at the start and end or the mapped miles. Read the odometer on January 1 and December 31 too. At year end, multiply business miles by the IRS rate for each trip's date and add parking and tolls. This template does the math and exports to Excel for your tax preparer.
Is driving from home to work deductible?
No. Commuting between home and a regular place of work is personal, even if you take calls on the way. If your home is your principal place of business, trips from home to clients, job sites and suppliers count as business miles. Driving between two work locations during the day counts too.
Can I deduct parking and tolls on top of the standard mileage rate?
Yes. Business parking fees and tolls are deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate, which is why the log has a column for them. Parking at your regular workplace is a commuting cost and is not deductible.
Should I use the standard mileage rate or actual expenses?
The standard rate is simpler and usually wins for a reliable, paid-off car driven a lot for business. Actual expenses (gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation, times the business-use share) can win for an expensive vehicle or one driven few miles. If you own the car, you have to choose the standard rate in the first year you use it for business to be able to use it later. Ask your tax preparer before switching.
How do companies reimburse employee mileage?
Most reimburse at the IRS standard rate under an accountable plan: the employee turns in a mileage log within a reasonable time (60 days is the safe harbor), and the company pays miles times the rate. Paid that way, it is not taxable wages. Set the rate to Company rate on the Setup tab if you reimburse at a different figure.
Can I rebuild a mileage log after the fact?
You can reconstruct one from calendars, invoices, client addresses and map distances, and that is better than nothing. It carries less weight than a log kept at the time, so start a running log now and keep the reconstruction notes with it.
Is a mileage tracker app better than a spreadsheet?
An app that tracks trips by GPS saves typing if you drive many short trips. A spreadsheet works just as well for the IRS when it is kept at the time, and it costs nothing. Whichever you use, export the year's log and keep it with your tax records.
Does this mileage log work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Download the .xlsx file, then in Google Sheets choose File, Import, Upload. The rate lookup and totals use formulas that work the same in Excel and Google Sheets.
Where is my data stored when I use the online version?
Only in your own browser, using local storage on your device. Nothing is sent to Ledgerbrook. That also means it won't follow you to another device: use Download backup on the Setup tab, or Download my Excel, to move it.
Updated October 30, 2026