Mileage Tracking for Real Estate Agents: What the IRS Wants to See

Why do agents need a mileage log?

Showings, listing appointments, signings, open houses, trips to the title company and runs to hang a sign all add up. For a self-employed agent, car costs are often one of the largest business expenses. They are also one of the easiest to get wrong.

The reason is simple. The IRS does not take your word for it. Publication 463 says records for car expenses should show the mileage for each business use and the total miles for the year. It also says you cannot deduct amounts you approximate or estimate. A guess made in April is not a record.

This guide covers the log, the standard mileage rate, the commuting rule and common habits. It is general education for people who work as independent contractors. Our guide to taxes for Texas agents explains where car costs show up on your return.

What should a mileage log show?

Publication 463 lists what adequate records include for car use. The sample daily log in the publication has the same fields. Here is a simple layout with made-up example rows.

• The date of the trip.
• Your starting and ending odometer readings, or the miles driven for that trip.
• The destination.
• The business purpose, in a few words, such as showing three homes to a buyer client.
• The total miles you drove the car for the year, business and personal together.

Does the log have to be written at the moment of the trip?

The IRS says you should record the details at or near the time of the use. Publication 463 also says that if you keep a log weekly and it accounts for the week's use, the log is considered a timely kept record.

It adds that a record made close to the event carries more weight than a statement prepared later. For most agents, a short weekly habit is realistic. Friday afternoon works well. Open your calendar, look at the week's showings and appointments, and fill in the log while you still remember the details.

What is the standard mileage rate?

The IRS sets a rate per business mile each year. You can use it instead of tracking every actual car cost such as gas, repairs and insurance. The IRS lists the business rate as 70 cents per mile for 2025. For 2026, it lists 72.5 cents per mile for January 1 through June 30 and 76 cents per mile for July 1 through December 31. The IRS page was last updated July 28, 2026, and rates can change, so check the page for the year you file.

Publication 463 says you can deduct actual expenses or the standard mileage rate, plus business-related tolls and parking. Tolls matter in North Texas. If you drive the toll roads for client work, keep those statements with your log.

A small example with made-up numbers shows the idea. If an agent logged 6,000 business miles in a year when the rate was 70 cents, the mileage figure would be 6,000 times 0.70, which is 4,200 dollars. That is only arithmetic, not a promise about what any agent will drive or deduct.

Standard mileage or actual expenses: which one?

With actual expenses, you add up the real cost of running the car and deduct the business share. With the standard rate, you multiply business miles by the IRS rate. Both need a mileage record, because even actual expenses are split by business miles and total miles.

Publication 463 says that if you use your car for both business and personal driving, you can divide expenses based on the miles driven for each purpose. So the log matters either way.

There are timing rules too. For a car you own, the IRS says you must choose the standard mileage rate in the first year the car is available for use in your business. You can later switch to actual expenses. The rate also cannot be used in certain cases, for example if you use five or more cars at the same time. Because these rules affect several years of returns, ask a tax professional before you pick.

Is the drive from home to the office deductible?

Not usually. Publication 463 states that you cannot deduct commuting expenses no matter how far your home is from your regular place of work. Working on the phone during the drive does not change that.

There is an exception that matters to agents. If your home office qualifies as your principal place of business, the IRS says you can deduct daily transportation between home and another work location in the same trade or business. Whether your home office qualifies depends on your facts, so do not assume it does. Ask a tax professional before you log trips from home.

For many agents the simplest rule is to log trips that go to a client, a property or another business stop, and to leave plain commutes out.

What counts as a business trip for an agent?

These are common examples. Each one still has to fit your own facts, so confirm with a professional.

• Driving to a showing, a listing appointment or an inspection.
• Driving to a closing at a title company.
• Going to a client to sign documents.
• Placing or picking up a sign or lockbox for a listing.
• Driving to a photographer or stager for a client's property.

What habits keep a log accurate?

Good logs are boring. They are short, regular and complete.

• Use one method and stick to it, such as a notebook in the car, a spreadsheet or a mileage app.
• Record the odometer reading on January 1 and December 31 so total yearly miles are not a guess.
• Write the purpose as you enter the trip, not at year end.
• Save toll and parking receipts in the same folder as the log.
• Back up the log. A photo of each notebook page is enough.
• Keep your records as long as you may need to prove a deduction. The IRS says to keep records for as long as they matter to a return.

What mistakes should new agents avoid?

Most trouble comes from habits, not from rules.

• Rebuilding a year of trips from memory at tax time.
• Logging commuting trips as business trips.
• Forgetting short trips, which add up over a season.
• Mixing personal errands into a business trip without separating them.
• Copying round numbers such as 20 miles for every showing.
• Skipping the log because you plan to use the standard rate. The rate does not replace the record.

How The Bauer Group fits

The Bauer Group is a Frisco brokerage welcoming licensed DFW agents. Opportunities are earned, not guaranteed. If you would like a calm conversation about how an office supports new agents with training and planning, you can start on the join page.

Education only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm licensing rules with TREC and ask a CPA or enrolled agent about your own taxes. Last reviewed October 29, 2026.