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.

Standard mileage rates down for 2009

The optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) is 55¢ per mile for business travel after 2008. That's 3.5¢ less than the 58.5¢ allowance for business mileage that applied in the last six months of 2008. Further, the rate for using a car to get medical care or in connection with a move that qualifies for the moving expense deduction is 24¢ per mile, down 3¢ from the 27¢ per mile allowance for the last half of 2008.