Tracking business mileage
A mobile detailer or cleaner drives for a living, which makes vehicle mileage one of the largest deductions available - and one of the most commonly disqualified ones, because "adequate records" has a specific meaning the IRS actually checks. Per Publication 463, a record needs the amount, time, place, and business purpose of each trip, kept close to when it happened - not reconstructed from memory at tax time. The current standard mileage rate is 76 cents a mile for the second half of 2026.
What "adequate records" actually means
The IRS is specific about this, not vague: a log, diary, or equivalent record documenting the amount of the expense, the time and place of the trip, and its business purpose - four elements, tracked trip by trip, kept contemporaneously rather than reconstructed later. A mental estimate at tax time - "I probably drove about 8,000 miles for work" - is exactly the kind of unsupported claim that does not survive scrutiny, even when the underlying number happens to be roughly right.
Standard rate versus actual expenses
The standard mileage rate (76 cents a mile for the second half of 2026) is built to approximate the real cost of running a vehicle for business - fuel, wear, depreciation - in one number, and it is simpler to use: track miles, multiply by the rate, done. Tracking actual expenses - fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, prorated by the share of driving that was actually business use - can produce a larger deduction for an expensive or heavily business-used vehicle, but demands considerably more detailed recordkeeping to support it. Most solo operators use the standard rate for its simplicity; the actual-expense method is worth a conversation with an accountant if the vehicle is a significant cost.
The commute distinction
Mileage between business stops - job to job - generally counts as business mileage. The drive from home to the first job of the day, and from the last job back home, is generally treated as commuting in most circumstances, not business mileage, which is a real and easy-to-miss distinction. A mobile business built around driving to customers still has an ordinary, non-deductible commute at each end of the day in most cases - worth confirming your specific situation with an accountant rather than assuming every mile driven that day counts.
Why this matters more for a mobile business than almost any other
A shop-based business drives occasionally. A mobile detailer or residential cleaner drives to every single job, which means mileage is not a minor deduction - it is one of the largest available, and getting the recordkeeping right is worth real attention rather than an afterthought handled once a year.
What Rigsheet does with this
Every job records the customer's address and the scheduled time, which is the raw material a mileage log actually needs - the business purpose (the job itself) and the place are already on the record; what a dedicated mileage-tracking method or app adds is the actual distance driven, logged automatically rather than estimated after the fact.
Rigsheet is not a mileage-tracking or tax-filing tool, and this page is not tax advice for your specific situation - keep records contemporaneously, and confirm the details of what counts with a real accountant. What each plan includes. · Quarterly estimated taxes for a solo operator. · What you actually net per job.
More in this section
About Rigsheet
Rigsheet is a job app from Baker Ventures LLC for one-to-three-person mobile service businesses: mobile auto detailers and residential cleaners first. Scheduling with drive-time gaps, quotes with vehicle and home-size pricing, deposits, "on my way" texts, before and after photos, invoices, and automated review requests. Plans start at $4 a month, with unlimited jobs, customers, quotes and invoices on every tier and no per-user fees.
It exists because the alternatives charge a solo operator team prices. A one-van business is not a small version of a ten-truck business, and pricing built around seats and add-ons makes that mistake expensive. The pricing calculators and operator guides on this site are free and need no account.
Questions and answers
What records does the IRS require to claim business mileage?
Per IRS Publication 463, adequate records document the amount, time, place, and business purpose of each trip - a log, diary, or equivalent record kept close to when the trip happened, not reconstructed months later from memory at tax time.
What is the current standard mileage rate?
76 cents a mile for the second half of 2026, per the IRS's own published rate, which is designed to approximate the real cost of operating a vehicle for business - fuel, wear, and depreciation included - whether you use the standard rate or track actual vehicle expenses instead.
Should you use the standard mileage rate or track actual expenses?
The standard rate is simpler and often close enough for a vehicle used primarily for business; tracking actual expenses (fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, prorated by business-use percentage) can be worth more for an expensive or heavily business-used vehicle, but requires more detailed recordkeeping either way.
Does mileage between jobs count, or just the first and last drive of the day?
Mileage between business stops generally counts as business mileage; the initial commute from home to your first job and the final drive home are generally treated as commuting in most circumstances, which is a distinction worth understanding rather than assuming every mile driven that day is deductible.
What happens if your mileage log is incomplete?
A deduction built on incomplete or reconstructed records is a real audit risk - exceptions exist for genuinely exceptional circumstances, but "I don't have a log" is not one of them. A contemporaneous log kept trip by trip is the difference between a deduction that holds up and one that does not.
Rigsheet. “Tracking business mileage.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 8, 2026. https://rigsheet.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/tracking-business-mileage/