Glossary · Tax & Accounting
Mileage Log.
Daily record of miles driven, route, purpose, and odometer readings; required for tax deduction support and IFTA reporting.
What it is
A mileage log is a contemporaneous record of business miles driven. The IRS requires it to substantiate vehicle expense deductions under either the standard-mileage method or the actual-expense method. Typical fields: date, start odometer, end odometer, business purpose, destination, and total miles. For truckers, IFTA reporting adds an additional layer — mileage broken out by jurisdiction (state and Canadian province) is required separately from income-tax substantiation.
ELD systems often generate mileage logs automatically that can be exported in IFTA-ready format. The IRS requires contemporaneous documentation — logs created at the time of the trip, not reconstructed later. Reconstructed logs are routinely rejected in audits, and the operator loses the deductions tied to them. Retention: 4 years for IFTA, 3–7 years for income tax depending on the deduction type and whether substantial understatement is at issue.
Why it matters for trucking finance
Inadequate mileage logs are the #1 cause of failed audits for owner-operators. IFTA audits specifically target mileage-by-state inconsistencies — ELD data, fuel receipts, and state DMV registration data must triangulate within tight tolerances or the auditor assesses additional fuel tax plus penalty. Lenders rarely audit mileage logs directly, but a sloppy operator with weak records is harder to underwrite — and a CPA who can't tie out mileage often can't tie out revenue or deductions either. Modern ELD + IFTA software automates most of this; operators still on paper logs leave money on the table in unclaimed deductions and pay more in tax-prep fees as their CPA reconstructs what the software should have captured.
Related terms
- IFTA — Reciprocal fuel-tax agreement among US states and Canadian provinces consolidating fuel-tax reporting for interstate commercial vehicles.
- ACH — Automated Clearing House — electronic bank transfer network used for direct deposit of factoring advances and most carrier-to-broker payments.
- Actual Expenses vs Standard Mileage — IRS allows two methods for deducting vehicle expenses: actual expenses (all costs) or standard mileage rate; truckers typically use actual expenses.
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