Mileage Log for Landlord Taxes
By Wallace Technology LLC · Last updated: July 2026 · Reflects the 2026 tax year · Educational, not tax advice — confirm specifics with your CPA.
Can landlords deduct rental mileage? Yes. Driving for your rental — trips for repairs, showings, inspections, rent collection, and supply runs — is a deductible expense on Schedule E as “Auto and travel” (Line 6). What you can’t deduct is personal commuting or trips to scout a property you don’t own yet. The catch: the deduction is only as good as your mileage log, and the IRS has specific rules about what that log must contain.
How much is rental mileage actually worth?
More than most landlords think. Say you own three rentals and make about two trips a month to each — supply runs, showings, contractor meetings, inspections — averaging 14 miles round trip. That’s roughly 1,000 business miles a year. At the 2026 rate of 72.5¢/mile, that’s a $725 deduction — about $174 back in the 24% bracket, for driving you were already doing. Over years, and across more properties, it adds up fast.
The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate
For 2026, the IRS business standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile (up from 70 cents in 2025). Use the rate for the year you drove: 2025 miles are deducted at 70¢, 2026 miles at 72.5¢. Multiply your business miles by the rate — that’s your deduction under the standard method.
Standard mileage vs. actual expenses
You can deduct vehicle costs one of two ways:
| Method | How it works | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Standard mileage | Business miles × 72.5¢ (2026). Add parking & tolls on top. | Fuel-efficient/paid-off car, simpler recordkeeping. |
| Actual expenses | Gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation, etc. × your business-use %. | Expensive vehicle or high operating costs. |
The rule most articles miss: to keep your options open, choose the standard mileage method in the first year you use the vehicle for the rental. If you use actual expenses first, you’re generally locked into actual for that vehicle. (Leased vehicles: if you pick standard, keep it for the whole lease.) See IRS Publication 463.
Which trips you can (and can’t) deduct
Deductible — driving that serves your rental business:
- Trips to the property for repairs, maintenance, or inspections
- Showing the unit to prospective tenants
- Supply and materials runs (e.g., the hardware-store trip)
- Rent collection, bank runs, meeting contractors
- Driving between two rental properties you manage
Not deductible:
- Personal commuting — routine home-to-a-regular-work-location driving.
- Scouting trips to a property you don’t own yet — miles to tour or negotiate a not-yet-purchased property are treated as investigatory/start-up costs, not a current deduction. This is the trap most guides get wrong.
- Personal detours — log only the business leg of a mixed trip.
What the IRS requires in your mileage log
Under the tax rules for vehicle expenses, you need a contemporaneous record — one kept at or near the time of each trip. For every business trip, record:
- Date of the trip
- Miles driven (or start/end odometer)
- Destination (which property)
- Business purpose (repair, showing, supply run, etc.)
Also note your odometer at the start and end of the year so you can show total vs. business miles. The big warning: a log reconstructed the night before your CPA meeting is exactly what gets denied in an audit — courts routinely reject estimates and back-filled calendars. Log each trip the day you drive it.
A free mileage log template
Copy this into a spreadsheet and fill a row per trip:
| Date | Property / Purpose | From → To | Odometer start | Odometer end | Miles | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/14/26 | 123 Main — buy flapper | Home → Home Depot → 123 Main | 52,110 | 52,121 | 11 | Supplies |
| 03/18/26 | 456 Oak — tenant showing | Home → 456 Oak | 52,140 | 52,158 | 18 | Showing |
Total the “Miles” column at year-end and multiply by the rate. Keep parking and toll receipts — those are deductible on top of the standard mileage rate.
Where it goes on your taxes
Rental vehicle costs go on Schedule E, Line 6 (“Auto and travel”) — not Schedule C (unless you’re a dealer or a short-term host providing substantial hotel-like services). If you run short-term rentals, your management drive time may also count toward your short-term rental material-participation hours — you can tally that with our STR participation hours calculator.
Three quick real-world examples
- The Home Depot run: you buy a $40 toilet flapper for Unit B — the 11-mile round trip is deductible mileage, and the $40 part is a separate supplies deduction.
- The tenant showing: driving to show the unit is deductible; the stop at the gym on the way home is not — log only the business miles.
- Rental to rental: driving directly between two properties you manage is fully deductible (the first hop from home can be commuting — ask your CPA).
Common traps
- Mixing personal and business miles — only the business portion counts.
- The depreciation component: the standard rate includes depreciation (30¢/mile for 2026) that reduces your vehicle’s basis — it can affect gain when you sell the car.
- Forgetting parking & tolls — these are deductible separately, in addition to the mileage rate.
The part that actually trips people up: the record
The math is easy. The hard part is having a clean, dated log when your CPA — or the IRS — asks. That’s why we built REIceipt AI: it logs each trip the moment you make it, right alongside the receipt from that same supply run, and syncs everything to your own Google Drive as a CSV your accountant can open. It turns “I think I drove a lot for the rentals” into a number you can defend.
Frequently asked questions
Can I deduct driving to my rental property? Yes — trips to manage, repair, inspect, or show your rental are deductible on Schedule E. Routine commuting is not.
Do I need a mileage log for Schedule E? Yes. The IRS requires a contemporaneous record (date, miles, destination, purpose). Without it, the deduction can be denied in an audit.
Standard mileage or actual expenses — which is better for landlords? Standard mileage is simpler and often better for efficient/paid-off vehicles; actual expenses can win for costly ones. Choose standard in year one to keep both options open.
What if I forgot to track my miles this year? Reconstructed logs are weak and often disallowed. Do your best with calendar/receipt evidence for the past, and start logging every trip going forward.
Rules change and situations differ. This guide reflects IRS figures for the 2026 tax year and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified tax professional.