Free Mileage Log Template (Fillable PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the mileage log template

Date

The day of the trip. A log written weeks later from memory is the first thing an auditor challenges; fill it the same day.

From, to, destination

Where the trip started and where it ended. Naming the client or place ("Harper & Lane, Troy") is better than "client".

Business purpose

Why you went. "Quarterly review meeting", "deliver order 118", "site survey". This line is what separates business miles from personal ones.

Odometer start and end

The strongest form of evidence, because the readings tie each trip to the car's actual mileage. The Excel version subtracts them for you.

Business, commuting, personal miles

Commuting (home to your regular workplace) is not deductible in the US, so the annual sheet keeps it separate from business miles.

Parking and tolls

Deductible on top of the mileage rate. Keep the receipts with the log.

Rate per mile

The standard mileage rate for the year (IRS) or the approved rate (HMRC, CRA), or your employer's reimbursement rate. Type it once and the Excel sheet calculates the amount.

Signature

Signing each month's log as complete is a small habit that makes the record far more credible.

What the IRS requires in a mileage log

To deduct vehicle expenses or claim the standard mileage rate, IRS Publication 463 requires "adequate records" that show, for each business use: the date, the mileage, the destination and the business purpose. The records must be made at or near the time of the trip (the IRS calls this contemporaneous). You also need the total miles the vehicle was driven in the year which is why the annual summary asks for the odometer reading on 1 January and 31 December. A log reconstructed at tax time from a calendar is routinely rejected on audit.

The standard mileage rate changes every year (and sometimes mid-year); check the current rate at irs.gov before filling the rate box. The actual-expense method instead deducts the business percentage of fuel, insurance, repairs and depreciation; it needs the same log, because business-use percentage is business miles divided by total miles. In the UK, HMRC's approved mileage allowance payments work the same way with a per-mile rate and a similar record; in Canada the CRA asks for a logbook with the same four facts per trip.

Which design to use

• Odometer log: self-employed drivers, anyone who deducts a lot of miles, anyone who has been audited before. Landscape, 16 trips per page.
• Simple trip log: employees claiming reimbursement, volunteers, light business use. Round-trip tick, parking and tolls, total claim.
• Annual summary: the cover sheet for the year. One row per month, business-use percentage, the deduction at the standard rate. Staple the monthly logs behind it.

How to keep it

1. Keep the log in the car or on your phone (the PDF is fillable on a tablet). Fill it when you park, not at the weekend.
2. Record the odometer at the start of every business trip and at the end, or at least at the start and end of each day.
3. Write the destination and the reason in enough words that someone else could understand it.
4. Keep parking and toll receipts clipped to the month's log.
5. At month end, total the miles (Excel does it), sign the page, and copy the totals to the annual summary.
6. On 1 January, write down the odometer reading. Do it again on 31 December.

Mistakes that lose the deduction

• Round numbers every day. "20 miles" fourteen times in a row looks invented; odometer readings don't.
• Commuting logged as business. Home to your regular office is personal; home to a client site, or office to client, is business.
• No purpose column, or "business" as the purpose.
• Missing year-start and year-end odometer readings, so total miles can't be shown.
• Using the standard rate in a year you also deducted actual expenses or depreciation on the same car; the IRS doesn't allow switching freely. Check Publication 463.

Employer reimbursement vs tax deduction

If your employer reimburses mileage at or below the IRS standard rate under an accountable plan, the reimbursement isn't taxable income and you keep the same log to support the claim; use the simple trip log and the expense reimbursement form. Employees who aren't reimbursed generally can't deduct unreimbursed mileage on their federal return under current law; self-employed people, gig drivers and business owners can. Keep the fuel tracker and service log too if you use the actual-expense method, since those costs are what gets apportioned.

Editing the Word and Excel versions

The Excel odometer log calculates business miles from the start and end readings and totals the month; the simple log multiplies total miles by your rate and adds parking and tolls; the annual sheet totals each month, the year, and the deduction. Keep one workbook per year with a sheet per month plus the summary. The Word versions are plain tables for anyone who prefers to print and write; the odometer log is landscape in every format.

Questions

Does the IRS accept a handwritten mileage log?

Yes. Paper, spreadsheet or app are all fine as long as the record was made at or near the time of the trips and shows date, miles, destination and purpose for each business trip, plus total annual miles.

Do I need odometer readings for every trip?

Not strictly; the IRS asks for the mileage of each trip. Odometer readings are the most convincing way to show it, which is why the first design uses them. The simple log is acceptable if the distances are accurate.

Is driving from home to the office deductible?

No. Commuting between home and a regular workplace is personal. Trips from the office to clients, suppliers or job sites, and from home to a temporary work location, are business.

What rate should I use?

The IRS standard mileage rate for the tax year (it changes annually; see irs.gov). Employers may use a different reimbursement rate. HMRC and CRA publish their own rates. Type the rate into the Excel sheet and it calculates the amount.

Does the PDF calculate miles and totals?

No. The fillable PDF is for recording and printing. The Excel versions calculate miles from odometer readings, monthly totals, the mileage amount and the annual deduction.