Mileage Log
Log business trips and auto-calculate your deduction using the IRS standard mileage rate.
Published by Blueprint Dynamics. Planning tools, not professional advice. Read the formula, assumptions, and examples below before relying on a result. Independent professional review is not claimed. Learn more about our methodology →
AllTemplates • Blueprint Dynamics • hello@bpdynamics.io. Educational worksheet; entries and assumptions are not independently verified. This document is not tax, legal, medical, investment or engineering approval. Review current official rules and seek a qualified specialist where appropriate.
Specialist review required for real decisions
US federal educational examples are not filing determinations. Check the stated year, entity, payment type, eligibility, elections and state rules with a qualified tax professional; historical defaults are not automatic current-year guidance.
- IRS: mileage rates by year/period
- IRS: current 1099-MISC/NEC instructions (including 2026 changes)
- IRS: small-business and self-employed guidance
Primary reading context, not an endorsement or evidence that the linked organization reviewed this tool. No independent professional sign-off is claimed.
About the Mileage Log
Record the date, business purpose, and miles for each business trip. The log multiplies total miles by a single editable dollar-per-mile rate. It estimates a deduction amount, not a reimbursement obligation or a reduction in tax owed.
The sample trips are dated 2025 and the default is $0.70 per mile for 2025 business use. The former $0.67 label was wrong for 2025: $0.67 is the 2024 business rate. Always match the rate to the dates and purpose of the trips.
Before you enter your numbers
- Use contemporaneous trip records and the rate for the actual trip dates. Split rate periods into separate logs.
Assumptions and limits
- One rate applies to every row. This is a deduction organizer, not automatic tax advice or an eligibility test.
Check your result
42 business miles in 2025 × $0.70 = $29.40 of estimated deduction. Retain the business purpose and underlying records.
How the Mileage Log works
For each row, deduction = business miles × selected rate. The footer sums miles and deductions. All rows use the same rate; split your log into separate documents when a year or rate period changes.
The IRS rate table distinguishes business, charitable, medical, and eligible moving miles. Business rates are $0.67 for 2024, $0.70 for 2025, $0.725 for January–June 2026, and $0.76 for July–December 2026 according to the linked IRS table checked for this correction. Confirm the current table before filing; future rates are not automatically downloaded.
Ordinary commuting is generally not business travel. The form does not determine eligibility, establish a tax home, distinguish personal miles automatically, or compare the standard-mileage method with actual vehicle expenses.
Worked example
For a qualifying 42-mile client trip in 2025, enter 42 with the default $0.70 rate: the estimated deduction is $29.40. At a hypothetical 22% income-tax rate, that is not a $29.40 tax credit; the income-tax effect alone would be about $6.47 before other adjustments.
A 100-mile trip at $0.725 produces $72.50, while 100 miles at $0.76 produces $76.00. If your records cross those 2026 periods, print separate logs at the appropriate rate instead of applying one rate to both.
Tips & common mistakes
- Record the business purpose promptly and retain supporting appointment or delivery records.
- Keep odometer evidence and annual business/personal mileage totals outside this simplified form.
- Do not count the same trip both in this log and as a separate actual fuel deduction without confirming the permitted method.
- Print or save a PDF before navigating away; there is no saved account history.
Mileage Log: frequently asked questions
Is the default automatically current?
No. It is explicitly a 2025 example. Set the rate for the dates you are documenting, using the IRS table linked below.
Can I combine years?
Not reliably with this single-rate form. Create a separate log per rate period, then combine totals in your own records.
Does the total equal tax savings?
No. It is an estimated deduction amount. Eligibility, tax rates, the vehicle method, and other return details determine the eventual tax effect.
Is this enough evidence for an audit?
The fields help organize records but do not establish compliance by themselves. Follow IRS Publication 463 and keep underlying evidence.
Use the result in your next decision
- Tax Deduction Tracker: Organize other potential expense deductions without double counting mileage.
Sources and further reading
These references explain the specified topic; they are not endorsements or evidence that a professional has reviewed this tool.
- IRS: Standard mileage rates — Period-specific official rates; verify your travel dates.
- IRS Publication 463 — Vehicle-expense eligibility and substantiation requirements.