IRS Mileage Log Requirements for Fleet Businesses (2025)

Undoubtedly, operating a fleet of vehicles has its challenges, especially when managing costs. For instance, the most common vehicular costs include frequent maintenance, repairs from fleet accidents, and rising fuel prices. However, one of the best ways to save on these costs and lower your taxable income is by properly tracking your business miles in compliance with the IRS mileage log requirements.

Maintain an IRS-compliant mileage log, and you’ll not only cut costs but also keep the tax man off your back. There are consequences for not keeping an accurate log, but they’re a lot worse than having to pay some taxes. These consequences could include being locked into an audit or having claim denials with unexpected penalties.

Even better is to get a reliable fleet maintenance provider in your corner to keep your fleet tight and tracking handled. With Epika’s preventative maintenance services, you can reduce unnecessary repair costs, extend vehicle lifespan, minimize downtime, and lower your long-term vehicle expenses, which further reduces overall operational costs and maximize revenue (a win-win).

Let’s explore how Epika simplifies IRS mileage log requirements, making it easier than ever to track your miles, save more on vehicle expenses, and lower your taxable income.

Why Is It Important for Fleet Businesses to Track Mileage?

It’s no secret that running trucks costs a company money, whether it’s on fuel or maintenance. Therefore, the IRS has given an advantage to reduce a business’s tax exposure through mileage deductions for valuable savings. However, to claim tax deductions, businesses need to log miles accurately according to IRS mileage log requirements.

A properly maintained IRS compliant mileage log helps you in 3 major ways:

• Claim Valuable Tax Deductions
• If you’re an employee, detailed mileage records ensure hassle-free reimbursement
• The IRS mileage tracker helps you keep a compliant log as well as monitor where the money is leaking.

To claim tax deductions, you need to maintain an accurate mileage log for taxes that documents all your business-related trips.

Using the IRS Standard Mileage Method

This is the simple route, as the IRS gives you a set rate for every business mile you drive covering fuel, maintenance, and even depreciation in one easy-to-use figure.

Additionally, if a company uses GPS tracking for their vehicle fleet, it becomes easier to generate the mileage report.

For instance, if you own 10 trucks and each truck drives 5600 miles monthly, the total miles driven in a year is 672,000. At a rate of $0.70, deductions come out to $470,400. That is significant savings.

Using the Actual Expenses Method

The actual expenses method is a slightly complicated method to log business miles. To maintain a mileage log using this method, you need to track all actual vehicle-related expenses, including gas, repair costs, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and more, and then deduct the proportion used for business purposes.

You’ll need to track total miles driven (business + personal) during the year and calculate the percentage of business use by dividing the business mileage by the total mileage. While maintaining a mileage log, keep all receipts and service records. Lose those documents, and you might miss out on tax deductions or face penalties if the IRS audits your business.

Take this example. If a vehicle racks up 10,000 miles with half being business and it costs $9,500 to run, you’d deduct 50% or $4,750. Now, compare that with the standard mileage deduction: 5,000 business miles × $0.70 = $3,500. Actual expenses give a bigger cut here. But let’s say the following year, costs drop to $5,000. Now, 50% is only $2,500, and the standard method is a better deal. This is why it’s best to check both methods every year before filing.

Note: IRS does allow extra deductions for parking fees and tolls, regardless of the method used.

Standard Mileage vs. Actual Expenses: Which Method Is Best?

Now that you know both, how do you pick?

• If you own the vehicle, consider starting out with the standard mileage method in the first year, then switch later if it makes more sense to you.
• On the other hand, if you use the actual expenses method in the first year, you must keep using that method in future years.
• If you lease your vehicle and select the standard method, you must stick with it for the entire lease period — no switching.

Bottom line: check your numbers every year. Your fleet’s operating costs tend to shift, as should your deduction method

Quick Comparison
Feature	Standard Mileage Method	Actual Expenses Method
How It Works	Deduct a flat IRS rate per business mile	Deduct a % of all actual vehicle expenses
2025 Rate	$0.70 per mile	Varies by your actual costs and how much of the truck’s use was for business
Example Deduction	5,000 mi × $0.70 = $3,500	$9,500 total vehicle costs × 50% business use = $4,750. If costs drop next year, this method might save less.
Best For	Fleets with predictable mileage & lower expenses	Fleets with higher expenses or newer trucks
Flexibility	Can switch later if you own the vehicle	Once chosen, must stick with it (for that vehicle)
If Leasing	Must stick with the standard method entire lease period	Not typically used with leases
Ease of Use	Simple & quick	More detailed, paperwork-heavy

IRS Mileage Log Requirements

With the recent increase in the IRS standard mileage rate, i.e. 70 cents per mile (effective January 1, 2025), it is high time for fleet businesses to accurately track business mileage to claim valuable tax deductions.

To claim tax deductions, there are a few IRS mileage log requirements that you need to keep track of to prove the accuracy and business necessity of the expenses. This includes:

• Total annual mileage
  Number of miles you drove the vehicle throughout the year for both business and personal use
• Annual business mileage
  Number of miles you drove the vehicle for specifically business use
• Per-use business mileage
  Number of miles you drove the vehicle for each business-related trip
• Date of use
  Date and time you used the vehicle for business travel
• Business destination
  Place where you drove the vehicle
  Note: Daily commutes to and from your regular worksite are not tax-deductible and shouldn’t be logged.
• Purpose
  The purpose of the business trip

Should I Track Personal Mileage?

Technically, IRS mileage tracking requirements don’t need it, but you should if your vehicles are doing double duty to include personal trips in your mileage report.

Logging miles driven for personal use also provides clarity for both yourself and the IRS since fleet companies need to separate total business mileage from total personal mileage and total commuting mileage for the year.

How to Create a Business Mileage Log

No matter which method you choose to maintain your mileage log – standard mileage rate or actual expenses method; you need to note your vehicle’s mileage at the beginning and end of each year.

Following are the IRS mileage log requirements for business-related trips that you need to keep track of:

• Date of business travel

• Starting and ending points of the trip
• An odometer reading at the start and end of the trip to calculate mileage for the trip
• Reason for travel
• Other travel expenses, such as parking and toll receipts

Fleet businesses commonly record this information and create a mileage report through paper mileage logs or mileage tracking apps.

Paper Mileage Logs

Old-school but still effective for maintaining mileage logs. Just make sure your entries include all the relevant information to meet IRS mileage log requirements.

While paper logs are cheap, they can easily be misplaced or damaged. Paper logs are not ideal for large fleets or teams requiring consistent tracking, as this can be time-consuming.

Mileage Tracking Apps

Apps tied to your fleet management system do all the hard work. They gather GPS data, allow you to tag trips as business or personal, and keep everything organized in a clean, simple format to maintain a mileage log.

Some can even provide IRS-compliant mileage logs in an instant — great when tax season rolls around.

How Long Should You Keep Business Mileage Records?

If the IRS comes knocking, your mileage report is your proof. No log, no deductions. This is plain and simple.

As stated by the IRS:

“You must keep records that support your deduction (or an item of income) for 3 years from the date you file the income tax return on which the deduction is claimed. A return filed early is considered filed on the due date.“

However, if the IRS suspects you underreported your income, they can look five to six years back, or even more. So, to be cautious, store everything, including logs, receipts, and service records, for seven years or more.

How Epika Fleet Can Help You Reduce Your Taxable Income?

Preventative fleet maintenance and repairs are a great investment that can save your business thousands of dollars in the long run. By choosing Epika as your fleet maintenance service provider, you can schedule preventive maintenance, track vehicle performance, lower your long-term vehicle expenses and reduce downtime.

Our services cater to all types of commercial dependent fleets, ranging from light-duty trucks to heavy-duty diesel trucks and trailers. Epika’s technology will keep your records tight and your maintenance done and ensure that you’re always prepared when taxes are due.

Partner with Epika and get the highest quality maintenance and repairs your fleet requires to minimize downtime and maximize tax savings.

FAQs

Is there a state-by-state mileage log requirement for truck drivers?

Nope. The IRS mileage log requirements apply nationwide. All that is needed are logbooks that track time, distance, location, purpose, and crisscrossing geographical lines—rest is unnecessary.

Can fleet businesses use a mileage tracking app to track vehicle usage?

Yes, we recommend this feature. In any case, it is important to record the reason for every visit and tag them correctly (business vs. personal). Makes your paperwork bulletproof.

Do you need to retain mileage logs?

For businesses, it is important to keep mileage logs for 3 years from the date you file the income tax return on which the deduction is claimed.
However, employees who give their records and documentation to their employers and are reimbursed for their expenses are typically not required to keep copies of mileage logs. However, you may have to prove your expenses under any of the following circumstances:

• You claim deductions for expenses that are more than reimbursements
• Your expenses are reimbursed under a non-accountable plan
• Your employer doesn’t use adequate accounting procedures to verify expense accounts

What is the risk of being audited over mileage deductions?

It’s infrequent unless you are claiming 100 percent business use or your documents look disorganized. As long as the paperwork is tidy, you will be okay.

Can I get audited over my mileage claims?

That is possible, but it is not likely. If it does happen, however, your IRS-compliant mileage log will be your lifesaver. Make sure you can show the dates of the trips, reasons for the trips, odometer readings, and all the details.

What formats does the IRS accept for mileage logs?

There is no strict outline, but you need to list at least the date of travel, trip purpose, starting/ending points, and odometer readings. Zipped files and paper copies are equally good. You can present logs in any shape, provided you have Excel, Word, PDF, or app reports.

Conclusion

Mileage tracking can feel like a pain. But if you want to keep more of what you earn, it’s non-negotiable. One way to achieve this is by adhering to IRS mileage log requirements. Additionally, businesses can also cut on vehicle expenses by partnering with a trusted fleet maintenance service provider, such as Epika. Add in our comprehensive maintenance services that save you money, increase productivity, and minimize downtime. That’s how precisely your trucks are driven.

We’ve seen fleets lose thousands just from sloppy logs — don’t be that guy. Every mile you don’t track is money left behind.

Epika Fleet Services on April 22, 2025

• Category: Fleet Management