Tax tips, mileage tracking guides, and IRS updates for self-employed professionals
A one-line purpose note the day you drive beats a reconstructed April spreadsheet. What to write, when “near the time” still counts, and how to salvage a forgotten trip the same evening. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →Patient-to-patient miles, the commute to the agency, W-2 vs 1099, and why the medical mileage rate is for patients — not the clinician. Same-day notes, no patient names. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →Quit in the spring and every mile you drove is 72.5¢, not 76¢. Quit in August and your log has to be split at July 1. Plus the Schedule C you still file, the estimated payment you can probably skip, and the export to take before you delete the app. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →Your first estimated payment is January 15, not April. Your rate is 76¢, not 72.5¢. And the method you pick on this first return decides what you are allowed to do with this car for as long as you own it. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →No gas receipts does not mean no deduction — the standard rate applies to EVs identically. But claiming charging on top of it deducts the same cost twice, and low running costs make the rate better for you, not worse. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →The IRS pays three rates, not one: 76¢ business, 23.5¢ medical, 14¢ charity from 1 July. Both of the smaller ones need you to itemise, and medical needs 7.5% of AGI first. Who it helps and who it does not. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →HMRC pays 55p then 25p in miles on an April tax year. The CRA pays 73¢ then 67¢ in kilometres on the calendar year. The ATO pays 91¢ and then stops dead at 5,000 km. Why a single trip can straddle two rates. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →Find missing trips, classify business miles, reconcile your odometer, and keep a usable mileage record with one short weekly review. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →Don’t overpay on the 1099 or guess restaurant miles in April. Tips vs base, home-to-hotspot vs restaurant-to-customer, Eats and UberX on one account without double-counting, 72.5¢ / 76¢ by trip date. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →One log per odometer. Elect standard vs actual per car. Apply 72.5¢ / 76¢ by trip date. Do not merge two VINs on Part IV. Sale, loaner, rental, spouse car. Qualitative only — no GSC.
Read more →App gross is not take-home. Count unpaid wait and deadhead, price miles at 72.5¢ / 76¢ (or actual costs) without stacking gas, then divide. Per-platform, no double-counted miles. Qualitative only — no GSC.
Read more →Leaving MileIQ, Everlance, Stride, or a spreadsheet? Export first, map the five IRS fields plus total vehicle miles, import or stage a rebuild, then keep same-day classification. 72.5¢ / 76¢ by trip date.
Read more →Hands-free start/stop on the car screen and the wrist. The IRS log still lives on the iPhone: same-day purpose, five fields, 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date. CarPlay is Pro. Auto-detect works without either.
Read more →Honest comparison: price after the 30-trip vs 40-trip cap, auto-detect, IRS log fields, and 2026’s 72.5¢ / 76¢ split. TaxMiles is id 6758579463 — not Everlance. Who TaxMiles is not for.
Read more →Agents file Schedule C, not employee expenses. Showings, closings, inspections and sign installs are business miles — the drive to your brokerage office is not. Reimbursement, mixed trips, and the 72.5¢ / 76¢ split.
Read more →Business vs commuting vs personal for rideshare and delivery: first pickup, deadhead, temporary workplace, dual-purpose trips, airport queues, and errands with the app open. Apply 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date.
Read more →Phone and data are not inside 72.5¢ / 76¢. Claim the business percentage, split a family plan honestly, add mounts and chargers, and park the dollars on the right Schedule C lines. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →1099 Grubhub income, which miles to a hotspot and to restaurants count, tips vs contribution, 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date, extras that stack, and quarterlies. Home-to-hotspot is usually commuting.
Read more →1099 Spark Driver income, store pickup vs customer delivery miles, 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date, extras that stack, quarterlies, and multi-app without double-counting. Home-to-store is usually commuting.
Read more →1099 shopper income, which miles to the store and to customers count, tips vs batch pay, 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date, extras that stack, and quarterlies. Home-to-store is usually commuting.
Read more →Generally 3 years from filing / 2 years from payment; longer if income was underreported or no return was filed. Export before you delete an app. A reconstruction is weaker than a live log.
Read more →Federal 1099-K is back to more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions; 1099-NEC is $2,000. Neither form is your profit. Mileage still sits between gross and taxable. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, not on the 1099. Mileage comes off first. Half of SE tax is deductible. $400 trigger, $184,500 Social Security wage base. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →1099 Flex income, which miles to the station and between blocks count, 72.5¢ then 76¢ by trip date, extras that stack, and quarterlies. Home-to-warehouse is usually commuting.
Read more →Five IRS fields, total vehicle miles, business/commuting/other, June 30 rate split, CSV vs PDF, multi-app without double-counting. A reconstruction is weaker than a live export.
Read more →Months-later rebuilds fail: memory fades, platform miles are empty, purpose is missing. Capture close to the trip, run a Friday review, and treat reconstruction as weaker evidence.
Read more →IRC 280A exclusive + regular use, $5/sq ft vs Form 8829, and when a real principal place of business can flip home-to-first-pickup drives. Do not fake an office to mint miles.
Read more →Already on 72.5¢ / 76¢? Parking, tolls, loan interest, phone, supplies, and a qualifying home office can still sit on top. Gas and insurance cannot. Schedule C line pointers.
Read more →Federal unreimbursed employee mileage was suspended through 2025 — confirm 2026 Form 2106. Many states still allow the miles. Get reimbursed first; keep a five-field log.
Read more →Unpaid miles between paid trips while you are available for work are usually business; hotspot staging too. Home bookends follow commuting rules. Log purpose; apply 72.5¢ then 76¢ by date.
Read more →Same-day multi-app drivers: one physical mile is one deduction. Reconcile platform summaries against one GPS log, keep the five IRS fields, export for a CPA. 2026’s 72.5¢ / 76¢ by date.
Read more →Jan 1 / Dec 31 bookend photos, monthly snapshots, and a five-field trip log so Part IV total miles are more than an app screenshot. 2026’s 72.5¢ / 76¢ apply only to business miles.
Read more →Standard mileage is not all-or-nothing. Business parking and tolls can sit on top of 72.5¢ then 76¢; gas and insurance cannot. Airport lots, reimbursements, Line 9.
Read more →Line 9 vs actual-expense lines, Part IV, when Form 4562 is required, where 2026’s 72.5¢ then 76¢ go, and how multi-app drivers combine miles without claiming both methods.
Read more →The depreciation baked into the mileage rate lowers basis. How to total business miles by year, apply 2026’s 35¢ component, and estimate gain or loss when you sell.
Read more →Honest comparison: price after the 40-trip cap, auto-detect, IRS log fields, and 2026's two rates (72.5¢ through June 30, 76¢ from July 1). TaxMiles is Gigabyte LLC, id 6758579463 — not MileIQ.
Read more →Form 1040-X, the records you need, the three-year refund window, and when amending is — and is not — worth it. Practical steps, not legal advice.
Read more →A step-by-step for gig and 1099 drivers: split the log at June 30, apply 72.5¢ then 76¢, keep only business miles, and recalculate the September 15 estimate.
Read more →Hand a CPA a dated five-field log — not an April reconstruction. Weekly 10-minute review, miles the apps skip, 72.5¢ / 76¢ by trip date. Education, not tax advice.
Read more →A step-by-step half hour: the 5-minute safe-harbor calculation, taking the mileage deduction off the top before you pay, and how to rebuild a June–August log from platform history and your calendar if tracking lapsed.
Read more →Nothing is withheld and the 1099 shows gross — the gap between that number and your real profit is where your money lives. Mileage across multiple apps, the write-offs that stack with it, and the quarterlies.
Read more →Q3 is due September 15 — and it covers three months while Q2 covered only two, which is why people come up short. The safe harbor that caps the penalty, and how summer mileage cuts the payment itself.
Read more →A rare mid-year change: 72.5¢ for January–June, 76¢ for July–December. What it's worth, why one annual total × one rate is now wrong, and how to fix your log before filing.
Read more →The one car-deduction choice that follows you for years. The first-year election, the lease lock-in, and worked examples where each method wins by thousands.
Read more →The drive to work is never deductible — except when it is. The commuting rule, the home-office exception that flips it, and how gig drivers should log the first trip of the day.
Read more →The 25–30% rule explained: the self-employment tax math, a set-aside table by income level, 2026 quarterly deadlines, and the deductions that shrink the number.
Read more →Five fields, contemporaneous notes, and 2026’s 72.5¢ / 76¢ date stamp. What a log has to show if someone asks — and why a year-end guess or platform total is not that log.
Read more →Driving for Uber or Lyft? Your mileage deduction alone could save you thousands. Learn which miles count, what forms you need, and how to pay less in taxes.
Read more →From mileage to home office to retirement contributions, these deductions can cut your tax bill by thousands. Most freelancers miss at least three of them.
Read more →Don’t lose the deduction or reconstruct in April. Four methods, the IRS five fields, and 2026’s two rates — 72.5¢ through June 30, 76¢ from July 1 by trip date. Hub to logs, commuting, and CPA export.
Read more →The complete 2026 rate guide — 72.5¢ through June 30, 76¢ from July 1 — plus who qualifies, what counts as a business mile, and how to calculate your deduction.
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