IRS-Compliant Business Mileage Log Template

The IRS mileage deduction is one of the most valuable write-offs available to small business owners — and one of the most commonly rejected during an audit. The reason: most people don’t keep adequate records.

A good mileage log takes 30 seconds per trip to fill out. Here’s exactly what you need to track, how to set it up in Google Sheets, and what to do with it at year-end.

What the IRS Actually Requires

To claim the standard mileage rate (67 cents per mile in 2024), the IRS requires you to record for each business trip:

• Date of the trip
• Destination (city, or address of the business you visited)
• Business purpose — specific, not just “business meeting”
• Odometer reading at start and end, or total miles driven

“Business meeting” is not enough. “Meeting with John Smith at Acme Corp to review Q3 contract” is what survives an audit.

Setting Up Your Mileage Log in Google Sheets

Create a new sheet with these columns:

| A: Date | B: Starting Location | C: Destination | D: Business Purpose | E: Start Odometer | F: End Odometer | G: Miles | H: Deduction |

• Column G formula: =F2-E2
• Column H formula: =G2*0.67 (update the rate each January)

Add a totals row at the bottom:

• Total miles: =SUM(G2:G1000)
• Total deduction: =SUM(H2:H1000)

If you don’t track odometer readings and prefer to just log miles directly, skip columns E and F and enter miles in column G manually. Either approach satisfies the IRS as long as you’re consistent.

What Counts as Business Mileage

Deductible:

• Client visits
• Business-related errands (bank, post office for business purposes, supply runs)
• Networking events and professional meetings
• Travel to a temporary work location
• Job-related education and training

Not deductible:

• Commuting from home to your regular office
• Personal errands
• Driving from home to your first client if home is not your principal place of business

The home office exception: if you have a legitimate home office that qualifies as your principal place of business, driving from home to client sites IS deductible as business mileage.

The Two Methods: Standard vs. Actual

You can deduct mileage using either:

Standard mileage rate: 67 cents/mile (2024). Simple, no receipts needed beyond the log itself.

Actual expense method: Track actual costs — gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation — and deduct the business-use percentage. More complex, potentially larger deduction for high-expense vehicles.

You must choose the standard mileage rate in the first year you use a vehicle for business if you want to switch between methods later. Once you use the actual expense method, you’re locked in for that vehicle.

For most small business owners driving a standard vehicle, the standard rate is simpler and sufficient.

Year-End Process

In December, do a final review of your log:

1. Confirm total business miles
2. Note your odometer reading on December 31
3. Calculate your business-use percentage (business miles ÷ total miles driven)
4. Export the sheet to PDF and save it with your tax documents

Your accountant needs the total business miles and your year-end odometer reading. Keep the log itself for three years after filing (the IRS audit window).

Set up your mileage log this week and enter your next trip immediately. Retroactively reconstructing a year of mileage from memory is stressful and produces estimates the IRS won’t accept.