Mileage Tracking

Last updated: August 5, 2026

What is mileage tracking?

Mileage tracking is the practice of recording vehicle trips and their business purpose for reimbursement, tax reporting, or company recordkeeping. A mileage log commonly records the date, destination, distance traveled, and reason for each trip.

Many drivers use GPS-based mileage tracking software or a mileage-tracking app to capture trips automatically, classify business and personal travel, produce reports designed to support recordkeeping requirements, and connect with expense management software.

How do you track mileage?

Mileage is tracked manually or automatically, using one of four common methods, ordered here from most hands-on to most hands-off: a paper or spreadsheet log, odometer readings kept with a calendar, a GPS mileage app, or an employer or fleet system.

• Paper or spreadsheet log: The cheapest and most manual option. You write each trip's date, distance, and purpose yourself: flexible and free, but easy to forget and hard to substantiate later.
• Odometer readings plus a calendar: Still manual but more reliable, logging start and end odometer readings against calendar entries.
• GPS mileage apps: The most common automatic method. Apps detect drives through your phone's GPS, you swipe each trip business or personal, and they generate ready-to-file reports. The best balance of accuracy and effort, though you should review auto-detected trips and confirm the purpose. Examples: MileIQ, Everlance, Driversnote, and Stride.
• Employer or fleet systems: Automatic tracking set up by an employer, such as a reimbursement platform like Motus or Cardata, or telematics devices fitted in fleet vehicles that log every mile without driver input.

What should a mileage log include?

A mileage log should include the date, start and end locations, purpose, odometer readings, and total distance of every business trip. Record each trip as it happens rather than piecing the log together from memory at year-end.

Each entry should capture:

• Date: The day of the trip.
• Start and destination: The addresses or locations driven between.
• Purpose: The business reason, such as a client meeting or a supply run.
• Odometer start and end: The readings at the beginning and end of the trip.
• Distance: The total business miles driven.
• Additional costs: Tolls and parking tied to the trip, where relevant.

A single log entry looks like this:

What are the types of deductible mileage?

Deductible mileage varies by country, but business driving is recognized almost everywhere, and some systems such as the US also allow limited medical and charitable deductions. A normal commute is generally not deductible.

• Business mileage: Miles driven for work beyond your regular commute, such as visiting clients, traveling between offices, running business errands, or driving to a temporary work location.
• Medical mileage: Miles driven to and from medical care. In the US, these are deductible once total medical costs exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
• Charitable mileage: Miles driven while volunteering for a qualified organization. In the US, these are deductible at a fixed 14 cents per mile.

A commute stays non-deductible even if you take work calls or answer email along the way, because where you live is treated as a personal choice.

What does mileage tracking software do?

Mileage tracking software automatically records business trips and turns them into reports used for reimbursement or a tax deduction, removing the manual work of logging miles. Common capabilities include:

• Automatic GPS trip capture: Detects and logs drives without manual entry, then lets you label each trip business or personal.
• Reporting and export: Produces logs with the dates, locations, purposes, and mileage that recordkeeping requires, exportable to CSV or PDF.
• Accounting and expense integrations: Connects to tools like QuickBooks, Xero, or expense management software so miles reconcile with company spend.
• Reimbursement programs: Supports company models such as Fixed and Variable Rate (FAVR) and cents per mile (CPM). Platforms such as Motus Vehicle, Cardata, and Everlance focus here.
• Team and fleet controls: Admin dashboards, approval workflows, and multi-driver support for larger teams.

Compare tools and ratings in the mileage tracking software category on G2.

Frequently asked questions about mileage tracking

Common questions about mileage tracking, answered.

Q1. Can your phone track your mileage?

Yes. Mileage tracking apps use your phone's GPS to detect when you start and stop driving and log the distance automatically, so you can classify each trip as business or personal without writing anything down. Examples include MileIQ, Everlance, and Driversnote.

Q2. Are mileage trackers free?

Some are. MileIQ (4.2/5 on G2) has a free Standard plan and Zoho Expense (4.5/5) includes a free tier, though both cap the number of tracked trips. TripLog (4.6/5) is paid, starting around $8 per user a month (as of August 2026), which frequent drivers tend to prefer once they outgrow a free plan.

Q3. What is the IRS mileage rate?

As of August 2026, the IRS standard business mileage rate is 76 cents per mile, which you multiply by your business miles to calculate a deduction or reimbursement. It was 72.5 cents from January through June 2026, then rose to 76 cents on July 1 in a rare mid-year adjustment. The IRS can change the rate, so confirm the current figure before filing.

Q4. What types of businesses need mileage tracking software?

Businesses with employees who drive their own vehicles for work benefit most, including sales teams, field service and home healthcare providers, delivery and logistics operations, and construction or trades firms. Self-employed contractors also use it to substantiate deductions.

Ready to simplify expense reconciliation? Check out G2's best travel management solutions.