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How to track mileage for a rental property, with a 2026 worked example
Driving to your rentals, to the hardware store for a repair, or to a showing is often a real cost of being a landlord. Whether you deduct it with the IRS standard mileage rate or with actual car expenses, the deduction is only as good as the log you kept during the year. This guide covers which trips typically count, how the 2026 rates work (there are two), a worked example, and a simple log you can keep in a notebook or a spreadsheet.
This is general information to help you keep records, not tax advice. Vehicle deductions have detailed rules, including first-year elections, depreciation recapture and what counts as business use. Confirm the method and the figures with a qualified tax professional. The rates quoted are the official IRS business standard mileage rates for 2026.
Standard mileage rate or actual expenses
You generally pick one method for a given car:
- Standard mileage rate. Multiply business miles by the IRS rate for the period you drove. Parking and tolls for those trips are usually added separately. The rate is meant to cover gas, maintenance, depreciation and similar costs, so you do not deduct those again.
- Actual expenses. Add up gas, repairs, insurance, registration, depreciation or lease payments, and similar costs, then multiply by the business-use percentage of the car.
For a car you own, the standard-rate method generally has to be chosen in the first year the car is used for business if you want to use it later. Switching methods in later years is limited. That choice is a reason to speak with a tax professional in year one rather than inventing a method in April.
This guide focuses on the standard-rate method, because it is the one that lives or dies on a mileage log.
The 2026 rates (two of them)
The IRS did not use a single business rate for all of 2026:
| Period | Business standard mileage rate | IRS source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January – 30 June 2026 | 72.5 cents a mile | IR-2025-128; Notice 2026-10 |
| 1 July – 31 December 2026 | 76 cents a mile | IR-2026-29 |
The charitable rate remained 14 cents a mile. Medical (and certain moving) rates also changed mid-year; those are not the rates you use for rental-activity driving. Use the business rate, and use the rate in force on the date of the trip.
Which trips belong in the log
Publication 527 discusses auto and travel for rental activity. In plain terms, trips that are ordinary and necessary to running the rental are the ones to record: driving to the property for a showing, inspection or repair; to a supplier; to the bank for the rental account; or to meet a contractor or property manager about that property.
Trips that are personal — groceries, a family visit, commuting to an unrelated job — do not become rental miles because you "also thought about the house." If one journey mixes personal and rental stops, the record should reflect only the rental portion, in a way your preparer accepts. If you travel out of town overnight for the rental, lodging and similar costs have their own rules; do not fold them into the mileage rate.
When in doubt, log the facts (date, places, purpose, miles) and let a professional decide, rather than leaving the trip out of the raw log.
Rental Property Bookkeeping Spreadsheet
Know exactly what each rental earns, without accounting software. Log rent and expenses with dropdowns. The dashboard, monthly summary and year-end P&L per property update automatically.
Excel & Google Sheets · sample + blank file · PDF guide
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What to record, every trip
A useful log has one row per trip:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 March 2026 |
| Start and end (or a short route) | Home to 14 Oak Street and back |
| Business purpose | Meet plumber, leaking water heater |
| Miles | 14 |
| Odometer (optional but helpful) | Start 24,110, end 24,124 |
Write it the day you drive, not months later. A notes app, a paper book in the car, or a tab in your rental spreadsheet all work if the columns are complete. Year-end odometer readings help show the car's total miles, which you may need if you also use actual expenses or have mixed use.
A worked 2026 example
A made-up log, for illustration only, totals 720 business miles from 1 January to 30 June and 780 business miles from 1 July to 31 December, or 1,500 rental miles for the year.
| Period | Miles | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 30 Jun 2026 | 720 | 72.5 cents | $522.00 |
| 1 Jul – 31 Dec 2026 | 780 | 76 cents | $592.80 |
| Year | 1,500 | $1,114.80 |
If all 1,500 miles had been driven in the first half of the year, the figure would have been 1,500 × 72.5 cents = $1,087.50. The mid-year change is why the date on each row matters.
Parking and tolls for those trips, if you paid them, would be added on top and should have receipts. You would not also deduct gasoline for the same miles.
That $1,114.80, if allowable, generally belongs with auto and travel on Schedule E, line 6, alongside any other travel costs your preparer includes there. It is one line of the broader deductions checklist.
Common mistakes
- Estimating "about 50 miles a week" at year end, with no log.
- Using last year's rate after the IRS has published a new one, or using one 2026 rate for the whole year when the IRS set two.
- Claiming commuting to a different job as rental mileage.
- Double-counting by taking the standard rate and also deducting gas and repairs for the same car.
- Leaving the purpose blank. "Misc" is not a business purpose.
Doing it in a spreadsheet
A mileage tab is just a dated list with a miles column and a period tag (first half or second half of the year, in a year with two rates). Totals for each period times the official rate give you the year's figure. The Rental Property Bookkeeping Spreadsheet is where the resulting annual total sits with your other Schedule E categories.
Rental Property Bookkeeping Spreadsheet
Know exactly what each rental earns, without accounting software. Log rent and expenses with dropdowns. The dashboard, monthly summary and year-end P&L per property update automatically.
Excel & Google Sheets · sample + blank file · PDF guide
The log is a made-up example. 2026 rates are from IRS IR-2025-128 / Notice 2026-10 and IR-2026-29. This guide is not tax advice. Confirm the method and the deduction with a qualified tax professional.
Get the free cash flow calculator
Price, loan, rent and expenses in; monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, cap rate and DSCR out. Works in Excel and Google Sheets. The price is $0; enter your email on the next page to get the download.
The file is sent to your email. You may get an occasional message about our templates and can unsubscribe at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I deduct mileage to my rental property?
Often, yes, when the trip is an ordinary and necessary part of the rental activity — for example, to show the unit, meet a contractor, or pick up supplies. You generally use either the IRS standard mileage rate or actual car expenses, and you need a contemporaneous log. Confirm with a qualified tax professional; this is not tax advice.
What is the IRS standard mileage rate for 2026?
For 2026 the IRS published two business rates: 72.5 cents a mile for 1 January through 30 June, and 76 cents a mile for 1 July through 31 December (IR-2025-128 and IR-2026-29). Use the rate in effect on the date you drove. Rates change, so check the current IRS notice for later years.
Do I need a mileage log for my rental?
If you claim the deduction, you need records that show the date, miles and business purpose of each trip, written at or near the time of the trip. A year-end reconstruction from memory is a weak record. Odometer readings at the start and end of the year help support the total.