Mileage guide
How to Recover a Missing Mileage Log Without Inventing Trips
By FlatMile ·
General US federal recordkeeping information, not individual tax advice. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances; consult a qualified adviser for your claim.
At a glance
To recover a missing mileage log, look for surviving records first, preserve what you find, and reconstruct only the journeys supported by evidence. Keep the reconstruction date and unresolved gaps visible. A plausible route or a typical workweek is not proof that a particular trip occurred.
There are two different problems: restoring a file that existed, and rebuilding information that was never recorded or is no longer recoverable. Treat them separately so a new reconstruction does not overwrite an original you later recover.
Search for the original before rebuilding it
Check your saved exports, the Files app, computer archives and the copies you previously sent to an accountant or employer. Search by reporting period and filename as well as by app name. Ask a recipient for the exact attachment rather than a total copied into an email.
Record where each file came from and when it was generated. Keep it unchanged. Open a duplicate for review and compare the earliest and latest trip dates; a file labelled “annual” may cover only a partial year.
If a phone backup might contain the records, follow the app and device recovery instructions before changing the device. Restoring a backup can affect more than the mileage log. The backup guide explains the distinction between a readable export and device recovery.
Build an evidence register
Use a separate worksheet for the missing interval. The following is a fictional register, not a completed tax claim.
| Possible trip | Surviving evidence | What remains uncertain | Working decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, supplier collection | Dated pickup receipt and job order | Exact route and distance | Investigate distance; do not insert a guess |
| May 8, client visit | Calendar entry only | Whether visit occurred in person | Seek confirmation or retain as unresolved |
| May 11, service call | Signed work order and contemporaneous trip note | Nothing identified in review | Transcribe note and retain original |
| May 14, cancelled visit | Cancellation message | No evidence of travel | Do not create a trip from the appointment |
A purchase establishes some facts, but it may not show who drove, where the journey started or whether a personal stop occurred. A calendar event can have been cancelled. Review what each item proves instead of treating every document as complete trip evidence.
Label reconstruction honestly
IRS Publication 463 says incomplete records require a specific statement and sufficient supporting evidence. It also addresses reconstruction after records are destroyed for reasons beyond your control. Those rules do not guarantee acceptance of any reconstructed spreadsheet.
For each rebuilt entry, retain the underlying source, the date you reconstructed it and an explanation of how you established the distance. Distinguish an original distance reading from a later map estimate. Keep open questions outside the confirmed total until you and your tax preparer resolve their treatment.
Do not backdate a new file to make it look contemporaneous. Do not multiply one remembered route by every weekday of the year. If evidence supports only some journeys, say so explicitly in the handoff.
Reconcile recovered files without double counting
A restored export may overlap the worksheet you started. Match dates, vehicle, direction, timing and purpose before combining rows. Keep a decision log for duplicates and conflicts. The duplicate-trip review procedure gives a safe file-based approach.
Finish with a short cover note: missing period, recovery sources, confirmed entries, reconstructed entries and unresolved questions. Send that with the accountant package. Start a current log immediately while the older recovery work continues; a past gap need not become a new one.