Free Mileage Log Template
Four columns, because that is what the IRS asks for. No sign-up, no email address.
CSV file. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
Download the templateWhat the IRS actually requires
A mileage log does not need to be elaborate. It needs to tie every deducted mile to an identifiable business trip.
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Date | Places the trip in the tax year. |
| Start and end odometer | Substantiates the mileage rather than asserting it. |
| Miles | The basis of the deduction. |
| Destination | The client, the site, the meeting. |
| Business purpose | The column most often left vague, and the first one an examiner reads. |
Contemporaneous means as you go
The IRS expects the log to be written at or near the time of the trip. A log rebuilt from memory in April, the week before filing, carries little weight.
It also looks like what it is. Round numbers, generic purposes, no weekends, no gaps. Those are the patterns an examiner is trained to notice.
Three mistakes that cost deductions
Logging the commute. Home to your regular workplace is personal, however far. Client to client is business. Home office to client is business.
Writing « client meeting » as the purpose. Name the client. The same three words repeated two hundred times prove nothing.
Rounding every trip to the nearest ten miles. Odometer readings are exact for a reason.
From log to deduction
Once you know your business miles, apply the 2026 IRS mileage rate, or use the mileage reimbursement calculator.
A spreadsheet is still manual work, and manual work leaves gaps. Kilevo turns your Google or Outlook calendar appointments into trips, computes the distances, and exports an IRS-ready annual report.
