I finally figured out why my mileage deductions were so low last year

I was sitting in my car outside a coffee shop in Portland last November, trying to finish my tax prep before the year ended. I had been tracking my miles with a notebook and pen like some kind of dinosaur. When I plugged all the trips into a spreadsheet, I realized I missed at least 30 trips to supply stores and client meetings because I forgot to write them down right away. My accountant told me I was leaving about $400 on the table. So I downloaded a mileage tracking app that uses GPS and now I just turn it on when I drive for work. Has anyone else had better luck with one app over another for keeping accurate records?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretc422d ago

Oh man, that notebook method sounds like something I would do right before complaining my accountant charges too much. I switched to an app last year and honestly it felt like cheating after all those years of scribbling gas station receipts. Have you found the GPS tracking kills your phone battery on longer trips though?

casey2682d ago

Ask @margaretc42 how many trips she tracked before the app started draining her battery too.

the_elizabeth1d ago

Wait does the battery drain actually get that bad? I got one called MileIQ and it totally tanked my battery on a three hour drive to visit my sister last spring. Like it went from full to dead in four hours flat which is ridiculous. I had to start plugging my phone into my car charger every single time I drive now. But honestly the trade off is worth it because I caught like 15 trips I would have forgotten to write down in that stupid notebook last month alone. My accountant actually complimented me on my records for the first time ever and I almost cried.

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