Mileage Tracking for Sales Professionals

With a career that keeps you traveling most days of the week, the amount of money that goes toward your vehicle is sometimes startling. Fuel costs, repairs, and depreciation all factor in over time. But what if there was a way to lessen the burden? Tax write-offs are a great opportunity for sales professionals to reduce business expenses. Luckily, they can earn back a portion of those expenses with annual mileage tracking. If you don’t already log business miles, consider taking the initiative this year. We’ve outlined the main takeaways for sales professionals to increase their tax deduction and make better use of their time while traveling. 

Can salespeople deduct mileage?

Sales professionals are fully eligible to deduct mileage. Similar to independent contractors, a majority of sales professionals earn their income through commissions only. That being the case, a day-to-day routine for a sales professional is often based on building relationships, negotiating deals, and traveling near and far to pitch a service or product. Whether you’re new to the industry or a seasoned sales professional, there are plenty of itemized expenses to deduct when tax season arrives. Most importantly, every sales professional should be taking advantage of mileage tracking with the help of MileIQ.

How do I keep track of mileage and expenses?

Mileage tracking for sales professionals is lucrative no matter how often you travel for work. Although, the way you keep track of mileage and expenses will differ depending on the type of vehicle you drive. Some sales reps enjoy the added perk of a company vehicle. In this scenario, you can deduct unreimbursed expenses relating to the use of that car. For example, gas, auto insurance, yearly maintenance and repairs. If you drive your personal vehicle for business purposes, then you can claim a per-mile deduction each year. For every mile you drive, you can earn back money if, and only if, accurate records are kept. When the time comes to file, you can use the IRS standard mileage rates to determine your tax deduction. For 2022, the IRS standard mileage rate is 58 cents per mile.

How do I track business miles?

In performing various roles, sales professionals don’t necessarily have the time to jot down every mile driven, especially at the rate they spend on the road. Therefore, an easy and effortless mileage-tracking app is the best solution. For every time you need to track mileage, a sales rep can simply open the application on their Android or iOS device and let it run in the background. As you drive, the app will accurately log every mile, which you can then classify as “Personal” or “Business” when you arrive at your destination. Along with precise recording, MileIQ yields monthly reports detailing the amount of drives you took and how many miles were driven. Essentially, it is the most straightforward and accurate approach for mileage tracking in 2022. 

Why do people track mileage?

There is a ton of value in logging both personal and business miles each year. From a financial aspect, people like to measure how much their vehicle depreciates as well as the expenses incurred from driving that vehicle. Yet, the main motivation behind mileage tracking comes down to job-related deductions. Using automatic mileage tracking allows sales professionals to compute the value of their drives. Not to mention, it makes calculating your yearly deductions significantly easier thanks to MileIQ’s advanced automation technology.