Expense, bill and debt trackersFor taxes
Mileage log
A trip-by-trip driving log for people who use a car for work. Each line has the date, destination, business purpose, odometer start, odometer end and miles. The header has lines for the driver, the tax year, the vehicle and the odometer on January 1 and December 31.
- Type your details or print blank
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
What prints
The page says Mileage Log in large type, with lines for the name and the tax year beside it. Under that, a row of fields asks for the vehicle, the Odometer Jan 1 and the Odometer Dec 31. If you typed a name or a vehicle in the settings, they print in ink.
The table columns are date, destination, business purpose, odometer start, odometer end and miles. At the bottom right are three boxes: Business miles this page, Rate per mile and Mileage amount. Two small lines of text remind you to log each trip when you take it and that commuting to a regular workplace is not business mileage.
The settings
- Driver or business. Optional. Leave it blank to write the name by hand.
- Vehicle. Year, make and model, if you want it printed.
- Rows. 15 to 32 trips per page.
- Orientation. Portrait, or landscape if you like wider columns for long purposes.
Writing a good entry
An entry that holds up is specific. "Client" is thin. "Met Rivera Dental about the new sign" says who and why. Record the odometer reading at the start and the end, then subtract to get the miles. Do it right away, because reconstructing a year of driving from a calendar is miserable.
Take your two odometer photos on January 1 and December 31, or note the numbers on the header lines. Together with your trips they show what share of the year's driving was for business. Publication 463 explains what records the IRS expects for car expenses.
About the rate
The standard mileage rate is set by the IRS and changes, so look at the IRS standard mileage rates page for the current figure before you fill in the Rate per mile box. The rate below is only an example.
Worked example: three trips in October
Using an example rate of $0.50 a mile: on October 3 you drive to a client site, odometer 12,480 to 12,516, which is 36 miles. On October 9 you go to a supply store, 12,540 to 12,562, 22 miles. On October 17 you visit a job site, 12,611 to 12,658, 47 miles.
Business miles this page: 36 + 22 + 47 = 105. Mileage amount at the example rate: 105 × 0.50 = $52.50. The gaps between trips, such as 12,516 to 12,540, are other driving and are left out.
A note
Driving from home to your regular workplace is commuting, so leave it off. Whether you use the standard rate or actual costs depends on your situation, so check the IRS pages or ask a preparer.
Keeping the pages
Staple the year's sheets together, or keep them in a folder with your receipts for fuel and repairs. A paper log kept in the glove box tends to beat an app you forget to open, and an app tends to beat memory.