How real estate agents should track mileage in 2026
Showings, listing appointments, inspections and closings can add up to your biggest deduction. Here's how to log them so they hold up.
By the Tallibook team · Updated · 6 min read
What counts as a business mile for an agent?
Driving you do to earn commissions counts: showings, listing appointments, open houses, inspections, appraisals, closings, dropping off documents, putting up signs, and trips to the brokerage for meetings or training.
Ordinary commuting doesn't. Driving from home to your regular office and back is personal. If your home office is your principal place of business, trips from home to clients and properties generally count as business.
What's the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
The IRS changed the business rate in the middle of 2026, so the date of each trip matters:
- January 1 – June 30, 2026: 72.5 cents per mile
- July 1 – December 31, 2026: 76 cents per mile
Example: 4,500 business miles in the first half of the year and 4,500 in the second half is 4,500 × $0.725 + 4,500 × $0.76 = $3,262.50 + $3,420.00 = $6,682.50. Parking fees and tolls for business trips are deductible on top of that.
What should you write down for each trip?
The IRS expects records made at or near the time of the trip. For each one, note:
- The date
- Where you went (start and destination, or the property address)
- The business purpose ("Showing 412 Oak St to the Lopez family")
- The miles driven
Also note your car's odometer reading at the start and end of the year. That gives you total miles, so you can show the business share.
Standard mileage rate or actual car costs?
Most agents use the standard mileage rate because it's simple and usually generous. It already covers gas, oil, repairs, insurance and depreciation, so you can't deduct those on top.
The actual-cost method adds up what the car really cost and deducts the business share. It needs every receipt for the year, and it can come out ahead for expensive cars with fewer miles.
How to make logging painless
- Log trips the same day. A two-tap habit beats rebuilding a year of showings from your calendar in April.
- Save common routes (home to the brokerage, home to your farm area) and repeat them in one tap.
- Attach each trip to the client and the deal, so you can see what each closing really cost you.
- Keep parking receipts and toll statements with the trip.
Tallibook does all of this on your phone: it applies the right IRS rate for each trip's date, ties trips to deals, and gives you a mileage log and Schedule C summary at tax time.
Common questions
Can I deduct the drive from home to my first showing?
If your home office is your principal place of business, generally yes. If you work from a brokerage office, the drive from home to the office is commuting, but driving from the office to showings counts.
Can I deduct gas and mileage?
Not for the same car in the same year. The standard mileage rate already includes gas. Parking and tolls are extra.
Do I need a GPS app?
No. The IRS cares that the record is accurate and made at or near the time. A quick log with date, place, purpose and miles is enough.
Sources
General information for US sole proprietors, checked October 2026. Not tax advice.