The Contractor's Guide to Mileage Tracking
As a contractor, you spend a lot of time driving to job sites and supply stores. Here is how to keep an organized business log without going crazy.
What counts as a business mile?
You can deduct miles driven from your primary place of business (like a home office) to a temporary work location (a client site). You can also deduct trips to pick up supplies or meet with clients. Commutes from your home to a regular W-2 job do not count.
- Driving to temporary job sites
- Trips for supplies and materials
- Client meetings and estimates
Manual vs Automatic Tracking
Many apps offer automatic GPS tracking, but contractors often find these mix up personal weekend drives with work. Using a manual tracker like TaxTrail lets you intentionally log business drives without background tracking concerns.
Best Practices for Contractors
Don't wait until the end of the month. The best workflow is to log your starting odometer in the morning, and the ending reading when you get home, assuming the whole day was driving between sites. Or, save your common routes and tap them at the end of the day.
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