{"id":41,"date":"2016-05-14T03:37:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-14T03:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/expressmileage.com\/blog\/?p=41"},"modified":"2020-02-12T02:34:29","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T02:34:29","slug":"top-10-mileage-log-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/top-10-mileage-log-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Mileage Log Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

#10 \u2013 Handwritten Mess<\/strong> \u2013 The mileage log you create must be legible. If you do decide to keep an handwritten log, it needs to be readable by anyone \u2013 not just the person who makes the mileage log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#9 \u2013 Creating a Mileage Log in the Past<\/strong> \u2013 A mileage log needs to be an exact record of your driving history. Many apps and trackers store a time\/date log of your activity which may tip-off the IRS that a log was generated after the fact. ExpressMileage never stores timestamps of mileage log entries or of log generation. Does your app provide the same guarantee?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#8 \u2013 Receipt Correlation<\/strong> \u2013 The IRS asks for receipts for travel, medical expenses, auto repairs\u2026etc. Using these receipts, they attempt to discredit your mileage log based on discrepancies between these receipts and your log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIP: You are not required to provide the IRS with supporting evidence for your mileage log. Verbal support is sufficient. If requested for supporting evidence, tell them you will provide any detail they require \u2013 however, you need to know exactly which IRS regulation or ruling the request falls under. Currently, there is NO current IRS regulation or ruling that requires documentation or evidence to support your log.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

#7 \u2013 Holidays and Vacation<\/strong> \u2013 Most people do not work on Federal Holidays and typically take at least two weeks of vacation per year.When you create a mileage log, make sure you account for the days you didn’t work.  Be sure you identify days that you did not work using ExpressMileage\u2019s calendar tool. This will prevent any miles from being logged on those days.   ExpressMileage allows you to instantly remove all federal holidays from your mileage log in a single click!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#6 \u2013 Round Numbers<\/strong> \u2013 25,000 Miles?? Reporting mileage rounded to the nearest thousand is a sure-fire way to have Irene the IRS Auditor come knocking. ExpressMileage calculates mileage to the nearest tenth of a mile and does all of the calculations for you. 25,189 miles? Yes, that sounds more like it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5 \u2013 Identical Distances<\/strong> \u2013 The IRS requires exact mileage \u2013 not estimates. Driving from Point A to Point B always is the same distance, right? Wrong. A 15 mile drive to a location typically has 5-7% variance of distance depending on traffic, lane changing and alternative routes. Even a straight-shot down the highway for 20 miles varies by 1% due to lane changing. ExpressMileage provides variance capabilities that allows you to create the most accurate mileage log possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4 \u2013 Errors in Calculations<\/strong> \u2013 Keeping a mileage log is tedious work. Make sure your total mileage claimed matches your mileage log. Be sure every mile claimed is properly documented as per the IRS Requirements. The IRS knows accounting for 30,000 miles on a drive-by-drive basis isn\u2019t easy. ExpressMileage makes it easy to create accurate mileage logs that include start\/stop odometer readings, distances, tolls and other expenses in an IRS-compliant format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3 \u2013 Large Gaps<\/strong> \u2013 A mileage log with large gaps between drives or sporadic record keeping is telltale sign of sloppy mileage tracking. ExpressMileage provides a visual at-a-glance calendar which displays your driving patterns and mileage totals. Use this to identify these gaps in your mileage log and avoid an audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 \u2013 Mileage to\/from Home<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t trigger an IRS by claiming daily mileage between home and your primary work location! Commuting to and from your office each day is a non-deductible IRS event. Business mileage deduction is between two places of work. Self-employed or small business owners who claim their home office as their principal place of business can deduct their travel between their home office and secondary office location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1 \u2013 100% Business Usage<\/strong> \u2013 Not keeping a mileage log and claiming 100% business use is the #1 reason for Schedule C mileage log audits. Claiming that your vehicle was used 100% for business is an instant red flag. Be smart \u2013 create a log that claims a small percentage of personal driving and avoid being audited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create Driving Log Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

#10 \u2013 Handwritten Mess \u2013 The mileage log you create must be legible. If you do decide to keep an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[22,19,85,20,18,21,86],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expressmileage.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}