Gig Driver Records: Which Mileage and Expense Records Should I Keep?
Published October 29, 2026
If you drive for a rideshare or delivery app, the records you keep decide how much of your driving the IRS will accept as a business expense. You need a log that shows when you drove, how far, and why. You also need receipts for costs you deduct on their own, such as parking and tolls. The IRS wants records made at or near the time of each trip, and a weekly log that accounts for each week’s use counts as timely.
Which mileage records does the IRS expect?
Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses, describes what a car record should show: the date and mileage of each business use, the business purpose, and the total miles you drove the car for the year. You also keep the date you started using the car for business. Publication 463 says a log kept weekly, one that accounts for the week’s use, is considered a timely kept record. You do not have to write down each trip the same day, but you should not rebuild a whole year from memory in April.
Which mileage rate applies in 2026?
The IRS sets a standard mileage rate each year. For 2026 it started at 72.5 cents per mile (Notice 2026-10). The IRS then raised the business rate to 76 cents per mile for business travel on or after July 1, 2026 (Announcement 2026-11). Use the rate that matches the date of each trip. Under the standard rate, you cannot also deduct gas, insurance, repairs, or depreciation for that car, but business parking fees and tolls are deductible on top of the rate (Publication 463).
What about actual expenses instead?
You can also figure the business share of actual car costs, such as gas, insurance, repairs, registration, and depreciation. That method needs every receipt and a business-use percentage: business miles divided by total miles. Publication 463 says you may compare both methods. If you use the standard rate for a car you own, you must choose it in the first year the car is available for business use. In later years, you can switch between the standard rate and actual expenses. Choose the method that gives the larger deduction for your situation, then keep records for that method.
What is a worked example?
Illustration only, with made-up round numbers: Leo drives for a delivery app. From January through June 2026 he logs 4,000 business miles. From July through December he logs 5,600 business miles. During the year he also pays $180 of business parking and $60 of tolls.
Standard rate, first half: 4,000 × $0.725 = $2,900.
Standard rate, second half: 5,600 × $0.76 = $4,256.
Parking and tolls, added separately: $180 + $60 = $240.
Total: $2,900 + $4,256 + $240 = $7,396.
Every mile in this example is a business mile from one pickup or drop-off to the next. Miles from home to the first pickup, or from the last drop-off back home, are generally commuting and not deductible under Publication 463, so Leo would leave them out.
What is the most common mistake?
Rebuilding the log at tax time. An app’s trip history is useful evidence, but Publication 463 says a record made later has less value than one made at or near the time of the trip. Another common mistake is counting commuting. Publication 463 treats travel between home and a regular work location as commuting, and that is not deductible. Check the commuting rules before you count those miles.
What should I do next?
A simple setup you can keep up each week:
- Log each business trip with the date, start and end, miles, and a short purpose, such as “delivery pickup, restaurant zone.”
- Export your app’s trip and earnings history at least once a month and save it with your log.
- Record the odometer reading in January and in December, and note the date you first used the car for business.
- Keep receipts for business parking, tolls, and any supplies you buy for the work.
- Check the income reports the platform sends, such as Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-K. Publication 334 notes that the Form 1099-NEC threshold for reportable payments made after 2025 is $2,000, but all of your income is taxable even when no form arrives.
If you want help sorting your records before you file, see how it works. This article is general information, not advice about your specific return.
Sources: IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (2025 returns edition), car expense records, timely kept records, standard mileage rate, parking fees and tolls, and commuting; IRS Notice 2026-10 (2026 standard mileage rate, 72.5 cents); IRS Announcement 2026-11 (2026 business rate of 76 cents for travel on or after July 1, 2026); IRS news release IR-2025-128; IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business (2025 returns edition), Form 1099-NEC reporting threshold. This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
