Keeping a Mileage Log
What to write in your mileage log
Keeping a mileage log will help maximize your business deductions.
Every time you start your car...
- log in the mileage
- log in the purpose
- note business or personal
For example, a typical entry might be:
32,345
Meet with Jak Wilberscheid to work on flyer
Biz
or
23,187
psnl
You don't need to elaborate on the purpose if it's a personal trip. But be sure to note the business purpose for all business trips.
What to do at the end of the year
Download the Mileage Log Excel Spreadsheet
Follow the instructions. This spreadsheet makes tallying the business percent of your mileage a quick and easy project.
If you have consecutive trips for business or consecutive trips for personal use, you don't need to enter each entry.
For example:
| Date | Beginning Mileage |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 5/1 | 21,387 | biz - meet with owner of business X |
| 5/2 | 21,402 | biz - meet with owner of business Y |
| 5/4 | 21,423 | psnl |
| 5/6 | 21,487 | psnl |
| 5/7 | 21,501 | biz - Office Depot for office supplies |
| 5/8 | 21,587 | biz - meet with owner of business Z |
| 5/9 | 21,591 | biz - UPS store to ship out something |
| 5/10 | 21,610 | psnl |
When you enter this in the spreadsheet, you would make the following entries:
21387
21423
21501
21610
This explains it a bit more.
21387 - 1st biz use of car
21423 - change to psnl use of car
21501 - change back to biz use of car
21610 - change to psnl use of car
You can skip the others since they're a continuation of business use or a continuation of personal use of the car. So instead of making eight entries, you only make four.
Questions
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