A mileage-log routine for self-employed real estate agents

This workflow is for US self-employed agents. If you are an employee or receive vehicle reimbursement, discuss the applicable reporting arrangements with your employer or accountant before treating mileage as a personal deduction.

Give each journey a useful purpose

“Showing” is more informative than “business,” but a reference makes the entry easier to check later. For example:

• Buyer showing — property reference P-104.
• Attend inspection — listing reference L-208.
• Meet photographer — listing reference L-208.
• Collect signed documents — transaction reference T-316.

Keep the reference key in your business records. Avoid copying unnecessary client financial or personal information into trip notes, especially if you share the report widely. The aim is to identify the business activity and retain supporting context, not turn a mileage log into a client database.

The IRS describes the evidence needed for vehicle business use in its recordkeeping guidance. A useful log captures the date, destination, business purpose and distance, with total annual vehicle mileage recorded as well.

Work through a showing day by leg

Consider this fictional day:

The two showing legs total 12.0 miles. The whole route totals 27.3 miles. Calling the entire day a “showing trip” would hide 15.3 miles of other travel whose treatment needs to be considered separately. This is a recordkeeping example, not a determination of the deductible total.

Ordinary travel between home and a regular workplace is generally commuting. A qualifying home office or particular temporary-workplace circumstances can change the analysis; simply doing some email at home does not establish the answer. Check the IRS transportation rules with your adviser before creating a rule for all home-to-property trips.

Use the calendar as a review aid

After a busy day, compare the mileage log with the appointments that actually happened. A cancelled showing should not become a trip merely because it remains on the calendar. Conversely, an unplanned inspection visit may need a note even if there was no calendar invitation.

For a missing entry, preserve what you know: date, locations, appointment reference and the source of the distance. Label reconstructed records honestly. Do not invent a GPS route or claim that a later estimate was captured automatically.

Review once a week, then preserve the result

Set aside a short recurring review while the visits are still memorable. Check unresolved purposes, duplicate drives, personal stops and vehicle assignments. Export a copy after the review and keep it with the relevant year’s business records.

If the brokerage has a reimbursement process, reconcile what you submit with your own log. Keep the reimbursement record available to your accountant so it can be considered alongside any expense claim.

Choose a log you can keep using

A spreadsheet can work when you reliably record each trip. Automatic capture can reduce entry work, but you still need to review the journey and explain its purpose.

Try FlatMile’s free CSV mileage-log template with your next showing day. If you prefer an iPhone log, FlatMile offers free automatic and manual logging. A subscription or eligible trial unlocks captured-drive details, business/personal classification, and PDF and CSV exports. Its reports organize your records without deciding whether a particular journey is deductible.

Related guides

• Commuting Miles vs. Business Miles: What Counts?
• What an IRS Mileage Log Should Record
• How to prepare a mileage report for your accountant
• Contractor mileage: connect job sites, material runs and return visits
• Photographer mileage: connect shoots, scouting and equipment trips
• Independent cleaner mileage: reconcile repeat visits and changed routes

Browse all mileage guides and resources.