Getting Your Mileage Ready for Tax Season: What Your Preparer Needs
Your preparer needs four things about your car: business miles for the year, the total miles each vehicle drove, the commuting and other personal miles, and a written log that backs it all up. 2026 returns are due Thursday, April 15, 2027.
Every January the forms start arriving — W-2s, 1099-NECs, 1099-Ks, bank statements. The mileage deduction is different: no one sends it to you. It exists only if you kept the record, and it is only as large as the record is complete. Here is what to bring to tax season, and how to have it ready before your preparer asks.
What the return actually asks
If you are self-employed, your car expenses go on Schedule C, and the form asks pointed questions about the vehicle:
- When the vehicle was placed in service for business.
- Of the total miles driven in the year, how many were business, how many were commuting, and how many were other.
- Whether the vehicle was available for personal use, and whether you have another one.
- Whether you have evidence to support the deduction — and whether that evidence is written.
That last question is why the log matters. "Yes, written" means a record of each trip's date, destination, purpose and miles — what counts as adequate records.
Before you meet your preparer
- Classify the stragglers. December drives are the ones most often left unclassified. Clear them first.
- Fill the gaps. If you started tracking mid-year, import the earlier months from your previous app's CSV (MileIQ, Everlance and Driversnote exports are recognized) or from Google Maps Timeline, and reconstruct the rest from evidence.
- Record the odometer. Total miles per vehicle come from your January 1 readings. If you missed one, a service invoice from early in the year gets you close.
- Choose your method. Most people use the standard rate; some come out ahead with actual expenses — how to decide, and the first-year rule that locks you in.
- Send the report. Mile's year report has every business drive, the rate used for each and totals by purpose and vehicle. Export a PDF or CSV (Premium), or email it to your preparer straight from the app.
2026 is a split-rate year
Business drives are worth 72.5 cents a mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents from July 1. A single rate applied to the whole year is wrong in one direction or the other — how the split works. Mile values each drive at the rate in force on its date, so the report total already accounts for it.
The dates to know
- January 15, 2027 — last estimated payment for 2026, if you make them (how miles affect it).
- Late January to mid-February — 1099 forms arrive from clients and platforms. They report what you were paid, not what you drove.
- April 15, 2027 — 2026 returns and any tax owed are due. An extension (Form 4868) moves the filing date to October 15, but not the payment.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Your tax professional has the final word on your return.
This article is general information about US federal tax rules, not tax advice for your situation. Rates and rules change — check IRS.gov or ask a tax professional before you file.