Download Your FREE Printable Mileage Log Template Now
If you’re looking for a free mileage log template to track mileage for work, we've got you covered. We’ll share a printable mileage log template you can use to track business miles for reimbursement and tax reporting.
Just keep in mind that manual mileage tracking has its benefits and drawbacks. While the main benefit of a free mileage log template is the simplicity of recording business travel, the disadvantage is that manual logging is error-prone and tedious. The drawbacks are especially true for businesses with a large workforce.
If accuracy, compliance, and ease of tracking are your company’s top priorities, we recommend using an automatic mileage tracker. Keep reading to learn how the best mileage tracker simplifies tracking without sacrificing accuracy and compliance.
What is a Mileage Log Book?
A mileage log book is a file that compiles monthly or yearly records of distance traveled for business purposes. The logbook records help self-employed individuals and business owners calculate and deduct travel expenses from their tax payments. Some employers also require employees to record business travel for fair reimbursement.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows businesses to keep digital or manual log books to assist with reimbursement and tax deduction calculations. The mileage records can be in CSV, Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, PDF, paper, account book, or diary format.
Our free mileage log sheet helps you track and record trip details, such as date of travel, trip purpose, and total mileage. Download our free mileage log template to view and compute business mileage for each employee on your team.
What Do I Need to Record in My IRS Mileage Log Template?
According to the IRS, recording the below information is a requirement, regardless of your employment status:
- Time (date will suffice), destination, and business purpose of each trip
- Total mileage for each business trip
- The year’s total mileage
- Odometer readings at the start and end of the reporting period, usually one year.
Another thing to note is that the IRS requires all mileage logs to be kept current. Ideally, you should record mileage at or near the time of the trip, but a weekly logbook update is generally accepted.
To keep your logs accurate, we recommend updating your logs daily. at or near departure time. Typically, the longer it takes to update your logs, the more likely you are to forget pertinent details.
If an employee uses a personal vehicle for business purposes, they must keep travel logs for business related mileage as well as personal vehicle use. Recording mileage for both trip classifications enables an employee to correctly calculate the business portion of their trips for fair reimbursement. You can use our free IRS mileage reimbursement calculator to calculate your total compensation.
Self-employed individuals and freelancers must also keep accurate records of personal and work trips to calculate business use percentages.To do this, an employee would multiply the business use percentage by the total actual expenses (tolls, gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and license fees) to compute business expenses.
In addition, always keep your mileage logs safe and within reach. If the IRS decides to audit your business in the future, you may need them to prove compliance. The IRS may also require an employee to prove mileage expenses, which is why keeping well-maintained copies of mileage logs is vital.
Does the IRS Require Employees to Record Odometer Readings At The Start or End of Each Trip?
No, the IRS doesn’t require employees to record odometer readings at the start or end of each trip. Employees are only required to record odometer readings at the beginning and the end of each tax year or when they start using a new vehicle.
However, employers may ask employees to record odometer readings more regularly. This requirement isn’t anchored on any IRS law but might be embedded into the company’s tracking or mileage reimbursement policy to enhance the accuracy of mileage logs.
The Limitations of Manual Mileage Tracking
While a mileage log template is free and easy to use, it’s largely considered an outdated method. Freelancers, solopreneurs, and small and large business owners are ditching manual trip logging because of its shortcomings, which include:
Inaccurate Entries
Mileage reimbursements and tax deduction claims are only as accurate as the mileage data employees report. However, relying on an employee's ability to remember to record odometer readings at the beginning or end of each trip often leads to recording errors.
When employees are focused on business related tasks, recording odometer readings is often put on the back burner. As a result, they may forget to input odometer readings, especially if they make multiple stops during their shift.
Omitting mileage readings results in significant tracking errors. If an employee runs personal errands between or during shifts, personal mileage might accidentally end up on the business log. Manual tracking is also prone to self-reporting errors, as some employees may be tempted to round up trip distances or overestimate their business mileage.
Miscategorizing trips and overestimating business mileage will cause variation between actual and reported mileage. Your business might over-reimburse employees, ultimately affecting your bottom line. In the end, your business would be better off investing in a robust mileage-tracking app, like Timeero.
Tedious Data Entry
Manual mileage tracking is time-consuming and labor-intensive for employees and managers. Let’s look at how data entry takes place in a company that requires door-to-door sales representatives to record odometer readings at or near the time of departure.
Although it doesn’t take long to capture accurate records, each sales representative must record odometer readings multiple times throughout their shift. This time consuming practice distracts employees from their primary responsibilities and could potentially decrease productivity.
Managers may have a rough time verifying employee mileage if they encounter illegible handwriting or omitted entries. Additional time will be needed to contact the employee to confirm data. This back-and-forth communication prolongs the verification process, which takes away from the time a manager could spend on other meaningful tasks.
Zero Accountability and Transparency
Using paper mileage templates won’t tell when an employee takes the longer scenic driving routes during their shift. Manual mileage logs also can’t help you determine if a field employee ran personal errands during the shift and billed you for their off-route mileage.
Although employee tracking practices may adhere to the company's policies, without accountability and transparency, your business will incur unnecessary costs. You’ll end up reimbursing employees for trips they should not have taken and spend more on gas and vehicle maintenance.
Save Time With Timeero – The Best Mileage Tracking App
While a vehicle mileage log template simplifies data entry and helps create IRS-compliant logs, manually recording business mileage creates room for costly mistakes. The best way to accurately track mileage and satisfy IRS requirements is to use an automatic mileage tracking app, like Timeero.
You can check out our full Timeero review for in depth details of how the mileage tracker works. If you’re short on time, here are the main benefits of using the Timeero mileage tracking app.
Hands-Free Mileage Tracking
Timeero uses motion detection and a minimum speed threshold to record mileage. All employees have to do to take advantage of automatic mileage tracking is to clock in and drive. When the vehicle exceeds the predefined speed threshold, Timeero will begin recording mileage without the employee needing to lift a finger.
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The hands-free approach offered by Timeero enables employees to focus on their primary jobs, positively impacting their productivity. Even better, Timeero tracks mileage only when field employees are clocked in, safeguarding their privacy and eliminating tedious manual trip classification.
Additionally, managers don’t have to compute employee reimbursement manually. Timeero multiplies employee mileage by the current IRS standard mileage rate (or agreed upon mileage rates) to calculate reimbursement automatically. Automatic computation minimizes the risk of miscalculations and guarantees employees receive their deserved reimbursement. This process saves managers from needing to perform complex calculations so they can focus on more meaningful administrative duties.
IRS-Compliant Mileage Logs
Timeero updates mileage logs in real-time and ensures each one meets IRS requirements. The logs capture details required by the IRS: total mileage, trip time (day/date), and starting and ending locations.
The IRS requires you to deduct employees’ commute travel from their business logs. Timeero’s commute mileage tool allows you to adhere to this requirement. Simply predefine the employee commuting distance, and the app will subtract it from an employee’s total mileage for the day.
The IRS requires you to keep mileage data for three years from the day you submit a tax deduction claim. You may be required to produce mileage logs during an IRS audit. Timeero keeps your mileage tracking data on file for four years. You can access the data for auditing or reference at any time.
Segmented Tracking and Route Replay For Accountability
Timeero’s segmented tracking and route replay features provided a much-needed layer of accountability and transparency to the tracking process.
Timeero’s segmented tracking is a one-of-a-kind feature that offers valuable insights into how field employees spend their working hours. Field sales reps, delivery drivers, field technicians, and employees who make multiple stops during their shift can benefit greatly from this tool.
Once an employee has clocked in, Timeero begins to track mileage and segments each employee’s trip based on individual stops. This unique tracking method provides helpful information such as total miles traveled, driving time, and the time spent at each location.
Timeero’s route replay feature helps verify the driving route an employee traveled during their shift. The feature provides a complete playback of an employee’s trips, allowing you to pinpoint inefficiencies such as unnecessarily long routes and reckless driving. By gaining valuable insights into your team’s driving habits, you can improve the accuracy of business mileage and reduce fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.
Powerful Reporting To Discover Trends
With Timeero, you can gain valuable insights into your team’s travel habits by generating customized mileage reports. The app’s segmented tracking and route replay features provide details on employee driving speeds and routes taken along with total miles traveled. With these actionable insights, you can incorporate policies and procedures to keep your team safe and productive.
Offline Capabilities
Your employees won't always have internet access while working in the field. Timeero's powerful offline mileage tracker continues to track mileage even when an employee is out of cellular range or loses internet connection during their shift.
The app stores offline data on the employee's device and syncs it to the cloud when the device is reconnected to the internet. The data synchronization is automatic, so the employee doesn’t have to flip any switch to initiate the process.
Log Book vs Automatic Tracking App: Which One Do You Pick?
While a manual mileage log simplifies record-keeping and meets IRS mileage log requirements, manual record keeping can be tedious and time-consuming. We understand business owners, especially those operating on a limited budget, may resort to manual trip logging to save on technology costs.
Luckily, there are many affordable and incredibly powerful mileage tracking apps like Timeero. Timeero automates mileage tracking, reducing the potential for errors and the tediousness associated with manual tracking.
Start a 14-day free trial today to learn how Timeero works firsthand. You can also book a free consultation with our five-star customer support to discover ways Timeero can be customized to meet your business needs.
Mileage Log Template: FAQs
Which Methods Can Be Used To Track Mileage?
You can record mileage manually or electronically — the IRS allows both methods.
How can I Accurately Track Mileage for Tax Deductions?
To accurately track mileage for a tax deduction, use an automatic mileage tracking app like Timeero to create IRS-compliant logs.
What Information Should Be Included in a Mileage Log?
A mileage log template should include the following details about an employee’s business travel: total miles of each trip, total miles for the year, date of trip, destination of trip, and the purpose of each trip.
