How to Track Mileage for Rental Property (A Simple System for Landlords)

Every drive to show a unit, meet a plumber or pick up supplies costs you money. For many landlords, those trips can be a legitimate rental expense, reported on Schedule E as auto and travel. But only if you can back them up.

The problem isn't the rules. It's the record-keeping. Most landlords don't log trips as they happen, then try to rebuild a year of driving from memory in March. Here's a simple system that avoids that.

This is general education. Vehicle deductions have detailed rules, so confirm your situation with a tax professional.

Which trips may count

Trips made for your rental activity may be deductible. Common examples:

• Driving to a rental to collect rent, inspect, show it or make repairs
• Trips to the hardware store for rental supplies
• Meeting a contractor, inspector or property manager at the property
• Going to the bank to deposit rental income
• Visiting your attorney or accountant about your rentals
• Scouting or showing a vacant unit

Trips that generally don't count, or need careful treatment:

• Personal errands combined with a rental stop. Only the rental portion may count, so log it honestly.
• Commuting-type trips. The tax treatment can depend on facts like whether you have a home office for your rental business. Ask your tax pro how this applies to you.
• Trips to look at properties you might buy. The treatment of pre-acquisition costs can differ. Ask your tax pro.

Two methods: standard mileage vs. actual expenses

The IRS generally lets you choose between two methods for a vehicle:

1. Standard mileage rate

You multiply your business miles by the IRS standard mileage rate for that year. The IRS publishes the rate each year, and it can change, sometimes mid-year. Look up the current rate on IRS.gov rather than relying on a number you remember. You can generally also deduct business-related parking fees and tolls separately.

Pros: simple. You mainly need a good mileage log.

2. Actual expenses

You track the real costs of the vehicle (gas, oil, repairs, tires, insurance, registration, depreciation or lease payments) and deduct the business-use percentage:

Business-use % = business miles ÷ total miles for the year

Pros: may be larger if your vehicle is expensive to run. Cons: much more record-keeping, and you still need a mileage log to calculate the percentage.

Important: rules apply to switching between methods for the same vehicle, so your choice in the first year can matter. Ask your tax professional before choosing.

What to record for every trip

A mileage log should be contemporaneous, meaning recorded at or near the time of the trip. For each trip, write down:

1. Date
2. Starting point and destination (for example, "Home → 12 Oak St Unit 2 → Hardware store → Home")
3. Business purpose, specifically: "Met plumber re: leak, Unit 2" is far better than "rental"
4. Miles driven (odometer start/end, or a mapped distance)
5. Property the trip relates to (helps allocate across properties)
6. Parking and tolls, with receipts

Also record your odometer reading at the start and end of the year, so you know total miles.

A simple tracking system

Pick one method and stick with it:

• Paper log in the glovebox. Low-tech and reliable, if you actually use it.
• Phone notes or a spreadsheet, filled in right after each trip.
• A mileage app that tracks drives automatically and lets you classify them. Check that it exports a full log you can keep.

The five-minute weekly habit: during your weekly bookkeeping slot (see the free course), review the week's trips, fill in any missing purposes, and save the log.

Allocating miles across properties

If you own several rentals, assign each trip to a property. If one trip serves several (for example, you check three units in one drive), split the miles reasonably and note how you split them. This keeps each property's Schedule E accurate.

A sample week of log entries (hypothetical)

That's four lines for a week. Each takes under a minute when you write it the same day, and every entry answers the questions a reviewer would ask: when, where, why and how far.

Other travel expenses

Mileage isn't the only travel cost a landlord may have. If you own a rental far from home and travel overnight to manage it, costs like airfare, lodging and a portion of meals may be deductible as rental expenses, subject to rules about the primary purpose of the trip. Keep receipts and a short note of what rental work you did each day. Your tax pro can tell you what qualifies.

Common mistakes

• Reconstructing the log at year-end. It's much weaker than a log kept as you go.
• Vague purposes like "business" or "rental."
• Not recording total annual miles, which you need for business-use percentage.
• Mixing in personal stops without separating them.
• Using last year's mileage rate.
• Forgetting parking and tolls.

What to give your tax pro at year-end

• Total business miles by property
• Total miles driven for the year (odometer start/end)
• Parking and toll totals with receipts
• If using actual expenses: all vehicle cost receipts
• Vehicle details: when it was placed in service for rental use, and which method you've used in prior years

Tools that make this easy

The Rental Property Tax Prep Packet ($24) includes a Mileage Log tab alongside a Schedule E worksheet, depreciation tracker, 1099 vendor list and a CPA summary. It comes with the Rental Bookkeeping Workbook in the Tax-Season Pack ($45). Just starting? The free Single-Property Tracker handles income and expenses for one rental.

Related reading

• Landlord tax deductions checklist
• Schedule E categories for landlords
• Short-term rental taxes: the basics

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This article is for general educational purposes and is not tax advice. Vehicle-expense rules are detailed and change; the IRS publishes the standard mileage rate each year. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation. — Jon, Everyone's Landlord