So you work out of your home and you mainly interact with your clients via email and the telephone. Do you have any chance of claiming any business mileage?
Of course you do! Your mileage to the post office and the bank are deductible. If you run to Staples for office supplies, that would be deductible, too. Be sure to count the mileage to any in-person networking events that you attend or any educational programs or seminars that you sign up for.
The most important thing about tracking business mileage is to keep your mileage log up-to-date with all the details of each trip. What date did you travel, where did you go, and how many miles did you drive? And don’t wait until next April 14th to pull all this information together! Uncle Sam wants you to update that mileage log on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
You can pick up a cheap mileage log at your local supply store, use your own Excel spreadsheet, or just write everything down on a lined notepad. If you’re an iPhone addict like me, there are several cool apps out there for tracking exactly what Uncle Sam wants you to track. They can even email reports to you or export your data to Excel. How cool is that?!?
Deb Howard Greenleaf, EA, CEO and Principal, of Greenleaf Accounting Services provides virtual accounting and bookkeeping services and specializes in financial management to consultants, coaches, solo professionals, and other small business owners across the US. Deb is an Enrolled Agent (EA)—an IRS-licensed tax professional—and specializes in small businesses and entrepreneurs filing Schedule C or as an LLC. As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Deb spends her day in QuickBooks Online and specializes in providing QBO support.
