AUTOMOBILE MILEAGE TRACKING

Most people know it, but few do it or do it correctly. I am talking about tracking business mileage!

Mileage is not always deductible. Mileage to and from your place of business, whether self-employed or not, is considered “commuting mileage” and not deductible. Once you are at your place of business, where you go after, if for business purposes, is deductible.

Once you determine if mileage is business, you need to track it. You should always keep a record of your beginning total mileage on your vehicle. This is needed even if you take actual expenses because only your business portion of actual expenses are allowed.

I recommend buying an auto log from a place like OfficeMax or Staples or even downloading an app onto your smart phone! Either way, you need to keep track of the date, total miles driven, and what the business was (meeting with a client, post office, etc.).

When in doubt, keep track.