What Counts as a Business Mile? 47 Examples

You sit in your car after a long day. You drove to a client, then a coffee shop, then the post office, then a quick lunch, then back to a job site. Which of those miles can you deduct? Most drivers guess. The IRS doesn’t.

Here is the short answer. A business mile is one you drive for an ordinary and necessary purpose of a trade or business you actually carry on, recorded with date, amount, place, and purpose at or near the time you drive. Everything else — every “is X deductible?” question on the internet — is just applying that rule to a fact pattern. This article gives you the rule, then runs it through 47 fact patterns you’ll actually face.

The stakes are real. At 72.5 cents per mile for 2026 (Notice 2026-10), 10,000 business miles is $7,250 off your Schedule C. At a combined 30% rate (income tax plus self-employment tax), that’s about $2,175 in your pocket. Get the classification wrong in either direction and you either overpay the IRS or lose the deduction on audit.

The bigger picture matters too. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), signed July 4, 2025, permanently killed the federal mileage deduction for W-2 employees by making the TCJA suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions permanent under §70110. As of 2026, the mileage deduction is almost exclusively a self-employed lever. That makes getting it right more important than ever.

Key takeaways

• A business mile must serve an ordinary and necessary purpose under IRC §162(a) and be substantiated under §274(d) with four elements: date, amount, place, business purpose.
• Commuting is never deductible unless one of three Rev. Rul. 99-7 situations applies: temporary location outside your metro, temporary location when you have a regular workplace elsewhere, or a qualifying §280A home office.
• A §280A home office is the single most powerful “unlock” — it converts otherwise-personal first/last trips of the day into business miles.
• For 2026 the rate is 72.5¢/mi business, 20.5¢ medical/moving (military and certain intel only), 14¢ charitable.
• W-2 employees cannot deduct unreimbursed mileage federally — OBBBA §70110 made this permanent.

Part A — The framework

Before the list, you need the rule. Every verdict below comes from this framework. Read it once and the 47 examples become obvious.

What actually makes a mile “business”

A business mile is a mile driven in carrying on a trade or business you actively conduct, for a purpose that is ordinary and necessary to that business, and that you can prove you drove. That’s it. Three tests, all of which must be met.

Trade or business means an activity you carry on with continuity and regularity, with a profit motive. Hobbies don’t count. Investment activity doesn’t count. Volunteering doesn’t count (though charitable miles get a separate, smaller 14¢ deduction under §170(i)).

Ordinary and necessary comes from IRC §162(a) and the foundational Supreme Court case Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933). “Ordinary” means common and accepted in your business community. “Necessary” means appropriate and helpful — not indispensable. A rideshare driver buying bottled water for passengers is ordinary and necessary. A solo accountant flying first class to deliver one return arguably is not.

Substantiated is where most drivers lose. The deduction can be 100% legitimate and still die in an audit if the records aren’t there. We cover that next.

§162(a) — ordinary and necessary

§162(a) allows a deduction for “all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business.” The mileage deduction lives here. The general rule for transportation costs is laid out in Treas. Reg. §1.162-2 and Pub. 463.

Three things are not §162 business expenses no matter what:

• Personal expenses (§262 and Treas. Reg. §1.262-1) — including commuting.
• Capital expenditures — buying the car itself; you recover that through depreciation or the standard mileage rate’s depreciation component (35¢/mi for 2026).
• Expenses of one trade or business mixed with another without allocation — see Category 6.

§274(d) — strict substantiation for vehicles

Here is the rule that puts more drivers in tax trouble than any other. Vehicles are “listed property” under §280F(d)(4)(A)(i). Listed property is subject to §274(d) strict substantiation, and §274(d) explicitly overrides the Cohan rule — the doctrine from Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540 (2d Cir. 1930), that lets courts estimate deductions when records are imperfect.

Translation: no records, no deduction. Not “smaller deduction.” Zero.

Treas. Reg. §1.274-5(b)(6) requires four elements for every vehicle expense:

1. Amount of each expenditure or business/total mileage and use percentage.
2. Time of the expenditure or use.
3. Place or description of the travel.
4. Business purpose.

Treas. Reg. §1.274-5T(c)(2)(ii)(A) requires that “adequate records” be made at or near the time of the expenditure or use. “Probative value is greater the closer in time it relates to the expenditure or use,” per §1.274-5T(c)(1). Reconstructing a log from bank statements and texts the week before your audit appointment is almost always insufficient.

The Tax Court applies this strictly. In Royster v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-16, the taxpayer’s logs contained only beginning and ending odometer readings — no destinations, no purposes. The court disallowed three years of vehicle expenses in full and sustained §6662(a) accuracy penalties. In Velez v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2018-46, vehicle expenses were disallowed under §274(d) with a §6662(b)(1) negligence penalty added. In DeLima v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2012-291, the taxpayer claimed her records were lost — the court rejected the excuse because she didn’t prove the loss was beyond her control and didn’t attempt reconstruction from secondary evidence.

The good news: electronic logs win. In Patitz v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-99, the court held electronic logbooks were sufficient contemporaneous records under §274(d). App-based mileage tracking, done in near real time, with the four elements captured, satisfies the regulation.

For deeper coverage see our Mileage Audit Defense Playbook.

Rev. Rul. 99-7 — the three situations

This is the single most important authority for “is my trip from home a commute or a business mile?” — and almost no other article on the internet quotes it. Memorize the three situations.

General rule: Daily transportation between your residence and a work location is nondeductible personal commuting under §262 and Treas. Reg. §1.262-1(b)(5).

Three exceptions:

• Situation 1. You may deduct daily transportation between your residence and a temporary work location outside the metropolitan area where you live and normally work.
• Situation 2. If you have one or more regular work locations away from your residence, you may deduct daily transportation between your residence and a temporary work location in the same trade or business — regardless of distance.
• Situation 3. If your residence is your principal place of business under §280A(c)(1)(A), you may deduct daily transportation between your residence and another work location in the same trade or business — regardless of distance, regardless of whether the other location is regular or temporary.

“Temporary” means a location where work is realistically expected to last, and in fact lasts, one year or less. If your expectation changes mid-engagement, the location is treated as temporary only through the date of the change.

Rev. Rul. 99-7 modified and superseded Rev. Rul. 90-23 and Rev. Rul. 94-47, replacing the older “days or weeks” definition of temporary with the modern one-year rule.

§280A — the home office “unlock”

Situation 3 above is the most valuable line in the tax code for mobile self-employed drivers. Qualify for it and your first trip of the day becomes deductible. Most drivers don’t realize this.

To qualify, you must use a portion of your home exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business under §280A(c)(1)(A). The 1997 amendment (Taxpayer Relief Act §932) added the administrative/management safe harbor: a home office qualifies if you use it for administrative or management activities of your business AND you have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial admin/management activities. This effectively reversed Commissioner v. Soliman, 506 U.S. 168 (1993), for most home-based businesses.

Curphey v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 766 (1980), confirmed that when a taxpayer’s principal place of business is the residence, the rule allowing travel between business locations applies the same way — your home office is one business location, your client site is another, and the trip between them is a business trip.

Practical test for rideshare, delivery, and gig drivers: do you have a desk or dedicated area used only for booking rides, tracking expenses, scheduling maintenance, doing bookkeeping, and managing the business — with no other office? If yes, you likely qualify for the §280A unlock and Situation 3.

See Pub. 587 for the full §280A walkthrough.

The commuting rule

Treas. Reg. §1.262-1(b)(5) is the textual root: “the taxpayer’s costs of commuting to his place of business or employment are personal expenses and do not qualify as deductible expenses.” Pub. 463 and Tax Topic 510 both restate this rule plainly.

Carrying tools doesn’t change it. Advertising on your car doesn’t change it. A long drive doesn’t change it. The only things that change it are the three Rev. Rul. 99-7 exceptions.

Temporary vs. indefinite — the one-year rule

A work location is temporary if work there is realistically expected to last (and does last) one year or less. A location where work is expected to last more than a year — or that turns out to last more than a year — is indefinite, not temporary, and Situations 1 and 2 stop applying.

This trips up consultants on multi-year engagements and contractors on long projects. Year-one work at a client expected to last 18 months is not temporary, and home-to-client trips are personal commuting (unless Situation 3 applies via a home office).

The metropolitan area question

“Metropolitan area” is undefined in the Code and regulations. Bogue v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2011-164, aff’d 522 F. App’x 169 (3d Cir. 2013), holds that the inquiry is facts-and-circumstances — there is no bright-line mileage. Bogue was a contractor whose New Jersey home was within ~20 miles of five Pennsylvania jobsites. The court held the sites were not outside his metropolitan area, even though some required crossing state lines.

Practical guidance: if your drive falls inside the local commuting pattern most people in your area accept as “in the metro” — including across state lines or into adjacent counties — assume it’s inside the metro and Situation 1 doesn’t apply. The further out, the more rural, and the more obviously beyond ordinary local commuting, the stronger the argument.

First and last trip of the day

For drivers without a §280A home office and without a regular outside work location, the first trip from home each day and the last trip back home are commuting — even for rideshare and delivery work. This is the harshest result in mileage law and the single biggest deduction lost by gig drivers who don’t qualify their home office.

With a qualifying home office (Situation 3) or a regular outside workplace plus today’s location being temporary (Situation 2), every trip from home becomes business.

W-2 vs. Schedule C — the divide OBBBA made permanent

Until 2017, W-2 employees could deduct unreimbursed business mileage as a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the 2% AGI floor. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended that through 2025. OBBBA §70110 made the suspension permanent. Notice 2026-10 explicitly states the business standard mileage rate “cannot be used to claim an itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses, except for certain educator expenses.”

So in 2026, W-2 employees federally cannot deduct unreimbursed mileage at all (narrow above-the-line exceptions exist for reservists, fee-basis officials, qualified performing artists, and certain educators). Self-employed Schedule C filers, real estate agents under §3508, and direct sellers under §3508 can.

See our OBBBA Tax Changes for Self-Employed Drivers pillar for the full breakdown.

Table of contents — jump to any of the 47 examples

Category 1: Commuting vs. business (8) — 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8

Category 2: Client and job site visits (10) — 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18

Category 3: Business errands (10) — 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28

Category 4: Platform-specific rideshare & delivery (10) — 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38

Category 5: Mixed purpose & gray area (5) — 39 · 40 · 41 · 42 · 43

Category 6: Special circumstances (4) — 44 · 45 · 46 · 47

Part B — The 47 examples

Each example uses the same format: a verdict (✓ / ✗ / ⚠), the rule in one sentence, the primary authority, and a “but if” caveat where the answer can flip.

Category 1 — Commuting vs. business

The line between commuting and business is where the most money is lost — or wrongly claimed. Start here.

1. Home to your regular office (no home office). ✗ No. Driving from your residence to a regular place of business is personal commuting. Authority: Treas. Reg. §1.262-1(b)(5); Rev. Rul. 99-7 (general rule). But if: You qualify a §280A home office, see Example 2.

2. Home to your regular office (with a qualifying §280A home office). ✓ Yes. With a qualifying home office as your principal place of business, the trip from one business location (home office) to another (outside office) is a deductible business trip. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §280A(c)(1)(A); Curphey v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 766 (1980). But if: The home office fails the exclusive-and-regular-use test, you fall back to Example 1.

3. Home to a temporary work location inside your metro area. ⚠ Depends. Deductible only if you have a regular work location away from home (Situation 2) or a §280A home office (Situation 3) — otherwise nondeductible commuting. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situations 2 and 3; Bogue v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2011-164. But if: Neither a regular outside workplace nor a home office exists, the trip is commuting even if the location is short-term.

4. Home to a temporary work location outside your metro area (Situation 1). ✓ Yes. Daily transportation to a temporary work location outside the metro where you live and normally work is deductible. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 1. But if: The engagement extends beyond one year — it becomes indefinite and Situation 1 stops applying from the date your expectation changed.

5. Home to a client meeting at a coffee shop (no home office). ✗ No. Without a §280A home office and without a regular outside workplace plus a same-day temporary destination, the trip is personal commuting. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7; Treas. Reg. §1.262-1(b)(5). But if: You have a qualifying home office, this trip becomes Situation 3 and is fully deductible.

6. Home to the airport for a business trip. ✓ Yes. Transportation to and from a transportation hub for an away-from-home business trip is a deductible travel expense. Authority: §162(a)(2); Treas. Reg. §1.162-2; Pub. 463. But if: The trip is primarily personal with incidental business, only the business portion is deductible.

7. Last delivery or job back home at end of day (no home office). ✗ No. The final leg from your last work location to your residence is the return half of a commute and is personal. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7; Treas. Reg. §1.262-1(b)(5). But if: A home office qualifies you under Situation 3 — see Example 8.

8. Last delivery or job back home (with a §280A home office). ✓ Yes. With a qualifying home office, the trip back to your principal place of business is a trip between two business locations. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §280A(c)(1)(A). But if: You stop for groceries on the way home — only the business portion is deductible; the personal detour is not.

Category 2 — Client and job site visits

This is the meat of self-employed mileage. The rules are simple once you place each leg in the Rev. Rul. 99-7 framework.

9. Real estate agent: home office to property showing. ✓ Yes. Trip from a qualifying §280A home office to a property showing is a business trip between two work locations. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §280A(c)(1)(A); §3508 (statutory non-employee status for licensed real estate agents). See our Mileage Tracking for Real Estate Agents pillar. But if: The agent operates from a brokerage office and uses no qualifying home office, see Example 11.

10. Contractor: home office to job site. ✓ Yes. A contractor with a qualifying home office may deduct travel from home to any job site, regardless of distance or whether the site is temporary. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3. But if: No qualifying home office and the job site is the contractor’s regular workplace, the trip is commuting (compare Bogue v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2011-164).

11. Freelance writer: home to a client coffee meeting. ✓ Yes — if you have a qualifying home office. With a §280A home office, this is a Situation 3 trip between business locations. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §162(a). See our Freelancer + 1099 Mileage Schedule C pillar. But if: No qualifying home office and you have no other regular workplace, the trip is commuting (Example 5).

12. Mobile groomer: home to a customer’s home. ✓ Yes. A mobile service provider whose principal place of business is the home office (where bookings, billing, scheduling, supplies are managed) deducts travel to each customer’s location. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §280A(c)(1)(A); Curphey, 73 T.C. 766. But if: A separate shop or commercial address handles bookings and admin — that becomes the principal place of business and home-to-first-customer is commuting.

13. Consultant to a regular long-term client office (engagement > 1 year — indefinite). ⚠ Depends. If the engagement is realistically expected to last more than one year, the client site is indefinite, not temporary — and home-to-client is commuting unless Situation 3 (home office) applies. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 (one-year rule); §162(a). But if: You have a qualifying home office, Situation 3 still allows the deduction regardless of regular/temporary status.

14. Consultant to a one-time client office. ✓ Yes. A single-visit client site is a temporary work location; deductible under Situation 2 (if you have a regular outside workplace) or Situation 3 (if home office qualifies). Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situations 2 and 3. But if: You have neither a regular outside workplace nor a qualifying home office and the client is inside your metro, the trip is commuting.

15. Driving between two client sites in the same day. ✓ Yes. Travel between two business locations on the same day is a §162 business expense regardless of commuting status. Authority: §162(a); Rev. Rul. 55-109; Treas. Reg. §1.162-2. But if: One leg includes a personal detour, only the business portion is deductible.

16. Client site back to home office. ✓ Yes. With a qualifying home office, the return trip is a trip between two business locations. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3. But if: Without a qualifying home office, the return is the commuting half (Example 7).

17. Real estate agent between two showings. ✓ Yes. Travel between two business locations on the same workday is deductible. Authority: §162(a); Rev. Rul. 55-109. But if: You detour for lunch alone between showings, only the business legs count — the lunch detour is personal.

18. Home office to the post office to mail a client package. ✓ Yes. With a qualifying home office, the trip to mail business correspondence is a Situation 3 business trip. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3; §162(a). See also Example 21. But if: No qualifying home office, you instead rely on the general business-errand rule (Example 21).

Category 3 — Business errands

Errands trip up many drivers because the IRS doesn’t care about your purpose words — it cares about the business connection.

19. To the bank to deposit business checks. ✓ Yes. A trip whose purpose is depositing business receipts is an ordinary and necessary business activity. Authority: §162(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933). But if: You deposit a mix of personal and business checks, the trip is still business if the business purpose is the dominant reason for going.

20. To the office supply store for business supplies. ✓ Yes. Travel to purchase supplies used in your business is deductible. Authority: §162(a); Treas. Reg. §1.162-1. But if: You also pick up household items in the same trip, the dominant purpose controls — keep the receipt.

21. To the post office to mail business correspondence. ✓ Yes. Mailing business correspondence is an ordinary and necessary business activity. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 535. But if: You also mail personal items, allocate by primary purpose.

22. To the IRS office (or appointment) for a tax matter. ✓ Yes. Travel to address tax matters of your business is a deductible business expense. Authority: §162(a); §212 (tax matters); Pub. 535. But if: The tax matter is purely personal (e.g., a 1040 dispute unrelated to your Schedule C), the trip is not a §162 business expense — though it may be a §212 expense subject to current law limits.

23. To your CPA’s office for a tax meeting. ✓ Yes. Tax preparation and consultation for your business are §162 expenses, and travel to obtain those services is deductible. Authority: §162(a); §212(3); Pub. 535. But if: The meeting concerns only personal returns or investments, the trip isn’t a business mile.

24. To a continuing education seminar. ✓ Yes. Travel to education that maintains or improves skills in your existing business is deductible. Authority: §162(a); Treas. Reg. §1.162-5; Pub. 970. But if: The education qualifies you for a new trade or business, neither the tuition nor the travel is deductible.

25. To a business conference. ✓ Yes. Travel to a conference primarily for business purposes is a deductible business expense. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: The conference is primarily personal/vacation with incidental business, only the business portion of expenses is deductible (Treas. Reg. §1.162-2(b)).

26. To a networking event relevant to your business. ✓ Yes. A networking event where the primary purpose is generating business is an ordinary and necessary business activity. Authority: §162(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933). But if: The event is primarily social with only incidental business contact, deductibility weakens — document who you met and the business purpose.

27. To the auto shop for business vehicle maintenance. ✓ Yes. Travel to maintain a business vehicle is a business trip; the maintenance cost itself is included in actual expenses (or absorbed in the standard mileage rate). Authority: §162(a); Treas. Reg. §1.162-1. But if: The vehicle is mixed-use, allocate by business-use percentage. See our Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses pillar.

28. To the gas station for business vehicle fuel. ✓ Yes. Fuel stops for a business vehicle are part of business operations. Authority: §162(a). Note: if you use the standard mileage rate, fuel is absorbed in the rate and not separately deductible. But if: The vehicle is mixed-use, only the business-use percentage of actual fuel cost counts under the actual expense method.

Category 4 — Platform-specific rideshare and delivery

Gig drivers have the most generous mileage law in practice — and the most-audited. The framework: P1 = app on, no offer; P2 = en route to pickup; P3 = with passenger or order. See our Uber & Lyft Driver Mileage Tax Guide and Delivery Driver Mileage Tax Guide pillars.

29. Rideshare: app on, waiting for a ride (P1). ✓ Yes. Once the app is on and you are available and looking for fares, you are carrying on your trade or business; miles driven while online — including reposition and cruising for fares — are business miles. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463; IRS Gig Economy Tax Center guidance. But if: You drive home and turn the app off, the trip home is no longer in your trade or business (unless Situation 3 applies via a home office).

30. Rideshare: driving to passenger pickup (P2). ✓ Yes. Driving to retrieve a passenger after accepting a ride request is plainly business mileage. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: The trip is canceled mid-route and you continue on for personal errands, only the miles before the cancellation are business.

31. Rideshare: with passenger (P3). ✓ Yes. Miles driven with a paying passenger are unambiguously business miles. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: None — these are the safest miles you’ll log.

32. Rideshare: drop-off back to a busy zone (deadhead repositioning). ✓ Yes. Repositioning miles after a drop-off, while the app is on or you are actively returning to a working zone, are part of carrying on the business. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463 (transportation expenses while engaged in business). But if: You go off-app and stop for groceries or personal errands on the way, the personal portion is not deductible.

33. Rideshare: to airport TNC lot to queue. ✓ Yes. Travel to a designated rideshare staging lot to wait for fares is travel within the trade or business — provided the app is on or you are otherwise actively conducting business when you arrive. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: You’re heading to the airport to drop off a family member and incidentally queue afterward, the family drop-off is personal.

34. Delivery: app on, waiting for orders. ✓ Yes. Online and available, driving to “hot spots” or repositioning to better zones, you are engaged in your trade or business. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463; IRS Gig Economy Tax Center. But if: You drive home with the app off and the day’s work is over, that final leg is commuting (unless Situation 3 applies).

35. Delivery: restaurant to customer. ✓ Yes. The core delivery leg is unambiguously business mileage. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: You take an obviously circuitous personal route — only the reasonable business portion is supportable.

36. Delivery: multi-app stacking (Uber Eats + DoorDash + Grubhub simultaneously). ✓ Yes. Miles driven while multiple apps are simultaneously on count as business miles — but the same mile can only be deducted once. Don’t sum the apps’ own mileage reports. Authority: §162(a); §274(d); Treas. Reg. §1.274-5(b)(6) (no double-counting). See our Delivery Driver Mileage Tax Guide. But if: You rely on platform mileage reports — each platform only reports its own P2/P3 miles; you’ll under-claim P1 and stacking miles. Use your own GPS log.

37. Delivery: customer back to a “good zone.” ✓ Yes. Returning toward a higher-demand area while the app is on or you are actively pursuing the next order is part of carrying on the business. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: You head home for the day with the app off, the trip back is commuting (Example 7) unless Situation 3 applies.

38. Instacart: store to customer. ✓ Yes. The shopping leg and the delivery leg both occur in the course of the trade or business. Authority: §162(a); Pub. 463. But if: You add a personal stop on the way to the customer, only the business mileage counts.

Category 5 — Mixed purpose and gray area

These examples are where most drivers either over-claim or under-claim. The rule: dominant purpose controls.

39. Personal errand stop during a business day. ⚠ Depends. Small, incidental personal stops along an otherwise business route generally don’t taint the surrounding business legs — but pure personal-detour mileage is not deductible. Authority: §262; Treas. Reg. §1.262-1; Pub. 463 (allocation by primary purpose). But if: The detour adds significant miles, allocate by reasonable method.

40. Lunch alone during a business day. ✗ No. Eating lunch alone is a personal expense and travel to it is personal — even on a business day. Authority: §262; Treas. Reg. §1.262-1; Moss v. Commissioner, 80 T.C. 1073 (1983) (lunch alone not §162). But if: Your lunch occurs at a temporary distant work location away from your tax home overnight, it may be a §162(a)(2) travel meal — different rule.

41. Lunch with a client (business meal). ✓ Yes — for the travel. Travel to a bona fide business meal with a client is a business mile; the meal itself is 50% deductible under §274(n). Authority: §162(a); §274(k), (n); Treas. Reg. §1.274-12. But if: The meal lacks a business purpose beyond goodwill or is lavish/extravagant, §274 limits apply.

42. Driving the kids to school on the way to a client. ⚠ Depends. The portion of the trip with a primary personal purpose (the school drop-off) is personal; the additional incremental business mileage is deductible. Authority: §262; Treas. Reg. §1.262-1; Pub. 463 (allocation by primary purpose). But if: The school is essentially on the direct business route (no measurable detour), conservative practice is to claim only miles beyond the school.

43. Volunteering — driving for a charity. ⚠ Different rule. Charitable driving is deductible at 14¢/mi (statutory, unchanged), not the business rate, and claimed as a §170 charitable contribution, not as a §162 business expense. Authority: §170(a), §170(i); Pub. 526. The charitable mileage rate is set by statute at 14¢ and is not affected by IRS annual notices. But if: The driving has a substantial personal-pleasure element (a charity-sponsored fishing trip), no deduction is allowed.

Category 6 — Special circumstances

These are the cases where competitors most often get the answer wrong.

44. Multiple businesses run from the same vehicle. ✓ Yes — with allocation. Mileage for each separate trade or business is deductible on that business’s Schedule C; you must allocate by trip purpose, and the same mile cannot be deducted twice. Authority: §162(a); §274(d); Treas. Reg. §1.274-5(b)(6). But if: Activities aren’t truly separate trades or businesses (e.g., they’re hobbies or one is investment activity), you cannot deduct as §162.

45. Driving to a temporary out-of-town assignment (Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 1). ✓ Yes. Daily transportation between your residence and a temporary work location outside your metropolitan area is deductible — even without a regular workplace and without a home office. Authority: Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 1. But if: The assignment is expected to last more than one year or in fact lasts more than one year, it becomes indefinite and the deduction ends as of the date your expectation changed.

46. Driving for a side gig while on a W-2 employer’s clock. ⚠ Depends. Miles driven while actually conducting the W-2 job are not deductible (your employer’s costs, not yours). Miles driven in the separate Schedule C side gig are deductible only if the side gig is a genuine, separate trade or business with a profit motive — not the same activity wearing a different hat. Authority: §162(a); §262; OBBBA §70110 (W-2 unreimbursed deduction permanently disallowed). See our OBBBA Tax Changes for Self-Employed Drivers pillar. But if: Your “side gig” is actually serving your W-2 employer’s customers off-the-clock without separate clients, profit motive, or independence, the IRS may recast the miles as W-2 — and thus nondeductible.

47. Driving from one part-time gig to another (between businesses). ✓ Yes. Transportation between two trades or businesses on the same day is a deductible business expense. Authority: §162(a); Rev. Rul. 55-109; Treas. Reg. §1.162-2. But if: One activity is W-2 employment and the other is also W-2, the leg between them is no longer federally deductible after OBBBA §70110.

Part C — Applying these rules to your own driving

How to apply the framework

Run every trip through this four-step decision:

1. Is this trip in a trade or business I actually conduct? If no, stop — it’s personal. If yes, continue.
2. Does it start or end at my residence? If no, it’s a normal between-business-locations trip and almost certainly deductible. If yes, continue.
3. Do I have a qualifying §280A home office? If yes — Situation 3 — deduct it. If no, continue.
4. Do I have a regular outside workplace AND is today’s location temporary? If yes — Situation 2 — deduct it. If no, ask: is the location outside my metro AND temporary? If yes — Situation 1 — deduct it. If no — it’s commuting.

Most drivers, applied honestly, qualify for either Situation 2 or Situation 3 most days. The few who don’t have a real planning problem to solve — either set up a §280A home office that genuinely qualifies, or accept that first/last trips are not deductible.

Recordkeeping for each type

For every business mile, capture four elements at or near the time of the trip:

• Date (auto-captured by any GPS app).
• Amount/mileage (auto-captured).
• Place — start and end locations or a sufficient description of the route.
• Business purpose — a few words specific enough to identify the business activity (“client meeting — Acme Co.”, “DoorDash delivery”, “showing 123 Oak St.”, “supply run — Staples”).

The single biggest substantiation failure is missing or generic purposes (“business” alone is not enough; see Royster, T.C. Memo. 2010-16). For platform drivers, tag P1/P2/P3 phases — that detail wins audits.

See our How to Track Mileage for Taxes pillar for the full substantiation deep dive.

When method choice matters

The standard mileage rate (72.5¢/mi for 2026) is simpler and often more generous for high-mileage drivers; the actual expense method may beat it for low-mileage drivers with expensive vehicles. You generally must choose the standard rate in the first year you place the vehicle in service to preserve the option to switch later. See our Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses pillar for the decision framework.

Frequently asked questions

Can I deduct miles from my home to my first client of the day?

Yes, if you have a qualifying §280A home office (Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3) or a regular outside workplace and today's client is a temporary location (Situation 2). Otherwise, that first trip is commuting.

Is mileage to the bank or post office deductible if I'm self-employed?

Yes, when the trip's primary purpose is a business activity (depositing business receipts, mailing business correspondence). Mixed-purpose trips are allocated by primary purpose.

Do 'deadhead' miles between rideshare passengers count as business miles?

Yes. Miles driven while the app is on — including repositioning, cruising for fares, returning to a busy zone — are part of carrying on your trade or business under §162(a).

Can I deduct miles between Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash when I multi-app?

Yes, but you can only deduct each mile once. Use your own GPS-based log rather than summing each platform's report, which will both miss P1 miles and double-count overlapping driving.

What is a temporary work location and how long can it last?

A location is temporary if work there is realistically expected to last (and in fact lasts) one year or less. The expectation matters: if you initially expected a six-month gig and it extends to 18 months, the location becomes indefinite as of the date your expectation changed (Rev. Rul. 99-7).

Can a real estate agent deduct mileage from home to a showing?

Yes, when the agent's home office qualifies under §280A(c)(1)(A) as the principal place of business — common for agents under §3508 who manage scheduling, marketing, and admin from home.

Are miles to a business lunch or coffee with a client deductible?

Yes. The travel is a business mile under §162(a); the meal itself is 50% deductible under §274(n) if it meets the business-meal rules.

Can I deduct mileage if I have a home office?

Yes — and the §280A home office is the single most powerful unlock for self-employed drivers, converting otherwise-personal first/last trips into deductible business miles under Rev. Rul. 99-7 Situation 3.

Does carrying business tools or putting ads on my car make my commute deductible?

No. Neither tools-in-trunk nor vehicle advertising converts a commute into a business trip. Only the three Rev. Rul. 99-7 situations do.

Are miles to conferences, training, and continuing education deductible?

Yes, if the education maintains or improves skills required in your existing trade or business (Treas. Reg. §1.162-5). Travel that qualifies you for a new trade is not deductible.

What's the 2026 IRS standard mileage rate, and did OBBBA change anything?

72.5¢/mi for business (Notice 2026-10); 20.5¢/mi medical/moving (active-duty military and certain intelligence community only); 14¢/mi charitable (statutory). OBBBA §70110 made the W-2 unreimbursed-mileage suspension permanent.

Can W-2 employees still deduct unreimbursed mileage in 2026?

No, not federally — except narrow above-the-line cases (reservists, fee-basis state/local officials, qualified performing artists, certain educators). OBBBA §70110 made this permanent. Some states still allow it; check state law.

How do I prove business miles to the IRS without an audit risk?

Maintain a contemporaneous log capturing the four §274(d) elements: date, mileage, place, business purpose. Electronic logs satisfy this when contemporaneous (Patitz v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-99). Reconstructed logs lose (DeLima v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2012-291).

Can I deduct mileage to scout properties, locations, or competitors?

Yes, when the scouting is ordinary and necessary for an active trade or business — e.g., a real estate agent previewing listings, a content creator scouting filming locations, a retailer surveying competitors. Document the business purpose specifically.

Is mileage to a second job or side gig deductible?

Travel between two trades or businesses on the same day is deductible (Rev. Rul. 55-109). Travel from home to a side gig is deductible if a Rev. Rul. 99-7 situation applies. Travel from home to a W-2 second job is not federally deductible after OBBBA §70110.