Lanternhill Studio · Bank CSV Categorizer

How to Keep a Mileage Log for Business Driving

Not tax advice. Which trips count as business, and whether you can use the standard mileage rate or must use actual expenses, depend on IRS rules and your situation. See IRS Publication 463 and ask a tax professional.

If you drive for your business, a simple log written at the time of each trip makes the year-end figure easy and defensible. A spreadsheet works fine.

1. What to record for each trip

Date
Purpose: who you visited and why, e.g. "Client site visit, Acme Co."
Start and end odometer readings, or the miles driven
Optionally the start and end locations

Driving between home and a regular workplace (commuting) generally isn't business mileage.

2. Set up the columns

Use Date (A), Purpose (B), Start odometer (C), End odometer (D), Miles (E), Rate (F), Amount (G), starting in row 2. In E2, fill down:

=IF(D2="","",D2-C2)

3. Use the right rate for the date

From the IRS standard mileage rates page (checked Oct 31, 2026), business rates per mile are:

Period	Business rate	IRS source
2026, July 1 – Dec. 31	76 cents	IR-2026-29
2026, Jan. 1 – June 30	72.5 cents	IR-2025-128
2025	70 cents	IR-2024-312
2024	67 cents	IR-2023-239

Because 2026 has two rates, pick the rate from the trip date. For 2026 trips, in F2:

=IF(A2>=DATE(2026,7,1),0.76,0.725)

Then the amount in G2, rounded to cents:

=IF(E2="","",ROUND(E2*F2,2))

4. Totals

Total business miles and the total amount for 2026:

=SUMIFS(E:E,A:A,">="&DATE(2026,1,1),A:A,"<"&DATE(2027,1,1))

=SUMIFS(G:G,A:A,">="&DATE(2026,1,1),A:A,"<"&DATE(2027,1,1))

Check the result against the odometer: a reading at the start and end of the year gives your total miles, and business miles can't be more than that.

5. Keep it up as you go

Logs written weeks later are hard to get right. Add each trip the same day, or note the odometer in your phone and fill in the sheet weekly.

Frequently asked questions

What should a mileage log record?

For each trip: the date, the business purpose, and the start and end odometer readings or the miles driven. Start and end locations are optional.

Does commuting count as business mileage?

Driving between home and a regular workplace generally isn't business mileage. See IRS Publication 463 for your situation.

Which mileage rate applies in 2026?

The IRS business rate is 72.5 cents a mile for Jan. 1 – June 30, 2026 and 76 cents for July 1 – Dec. 31, 2026, so use the rate for each trip's date.

Skip the formulas: the free Mileage Log Calculator does this in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Want more than a quick fix?

Tax-Season Spreadsheet Bundle ($19 on Gumroad): mileage log, 1099 income tracker, expense categorizer and year-end summary in one workbook, plus the standalone Mileage Log 2026, 1099 Income Tracker 2026 and Monthly Budget templates (blank and sample copies of each). Not tax advice. Launch price: $14 with code LAUNCH14 through Nov 15, 2026.
Just need the mileage log? Mileage Log 2026 ($6 on Gumroad), the single template on its own (blank and sample copies, Excel and Google Sheets). Not tax advice.
Small Business Sheets Kit ($14 on Gumroad): six spreadsheet templates for small service businesses.
Small Business Bookkeeping Spreadsheet ($12 on Gumroad) for logging income and expenses all year.
Rather hand it off? Our Year-End Books Cleanup on Fiverr ($70 package) cleans and categorizes up to 1,000 transactions into a tidy sheet for your accountant.

Just starting out? Grab the free Starter Expense Tracker (pay what you want, $0 is fine).