Keeping mileage logs is an aggravating requirement in order to claim vehicle expenses for most small business owners. There are some exceptions to a log – hearses, ambulances and 18 wheel trucks come to mind – but most people have to keep a written contemporaneous record or there is no vehicle deduction. Written contemporaneous record is IRS code for a mileage log. You can read more about the requirements in this post.
This post is about a way to make keeping a log a bit less taxing (sorry, pun intended).
Smartphone Apps substitute for mileage logs
Here is one that is popular with accountants – MileIQ. It works on Android smartphones and iPhones. Sorry, BlackBerry and Windows users you need to look elsewhere. Since I have a Windows Phone, I do not have personal experience with this app so please try before you buy. The application eases mileage tracking by:
- Logs every trip automatically
- Calculating the mileage automatically
- Syncs with the cloud so you have a backup in case you lose your phone. IRS does not forgive you for losing your paper log.
- Swipe to tell the app whether the trip is business or personal
- Saves location names for those frequent destinations
- Space to enter the extra information IRS wants – e.g. purpose of trip
- It adds up total business miles so no manually totaling hundreds of entries
Currently, the monthly fee is $5.99 or annually you pay $59.99. If you have 40 or fewer a month, MileIQ is free.