Automobile Mileage Tax Deduction – Mileage Logs

A recent court case illustrates the importance of automobile mileage logs. A self-employed salesperson did not keep a mileage log and instead tried to prove his business use of automobile by such means as a random sampling of invoices and odometer readings at beginning and end of year. This evidence fell far short of the strict record-keeping requirements for business use of automobile tax deductions, which require the date, location, business purpose, and number of miles for each trip. Douglas A. Royster v. Commissioner, (2010) TC Memo 2010-16. IRS standard mileage rates provide deductions for business use of an automobile of $0.55 per mile for 2009 and $0.50 for 2010.