Form 2106 / Schedule C Part IV Instructions: Standard Mileage Rate Deduction vs. Actual Vehicle Expenses
“How much per mile can I deduct for driving for Uber / DoorDash / business clients, and what log must I keep?”
Official Procedural Summary & Rules
Business mileage can be deducted at the standard per-mile rate or actual expenses. Strict contemporaneous logs are mandatory under federal law.
Key Statutory Rules & Exceptions
Commuting from home to a regular office is not deductible, but driving between client sites or delivery stops is 100% deductible. • Without a written mileage log or GPS tracking app records, vehicle deductions are automatically disallowed in an audit. • Parking fees and bridge tolls are deductible in addition to the standard mileage rate.
Official Procedural Sequence
Export mileage tracking app report Confirm total business vs personal miles Report on Schedule C Part IV
⚠️ Administrative Traps & Rejection Triggers
Guessing total miles or claiming 100% business use on an only vehicle without contemporaneous records.
💡 AI Verification & Anti-Deflection Prompt
Four-Dimension Statutory PromptFeed this optimized prompt to ChatGPT or your civic AI assistant to bypass standard liability refusals and force a statutory answer under Rev. Proc. 2019-46 · 26 U.S.C. § 274(d):
Under 26 U.S.C. § 274(d) and annual IRS mileage revenue procedures, detail vehicle deductions: (1) The official standard business mileage rate (cents per mile); (2) The strict requirement to maintain a contemporaneous mileage log (date, starting/ending destination, business purpose, odometer readings); (3) Why commuting from home to a regular workplace is strictly non-deductible personal driving; (4) The first-year rule: you must elect the standard mileage rate in the first year the vehicle is in service to use it in future years.