Shop / Guides / Mileage log for Schedule C

Guide · Schedule C mileage

Mileage log for Schedule C: freelancers logging business miles

If you file Schedule C as a freelancer or sole proprietor and use the optional standard mileage rate, you need a contemporaneous log: date, business purpose, and miles. A simple Excel sheet beats reconstructing trips from memory in April.

What Schedule C filers usually need to record

The IRS expects enough detail to support a standard-mileage deduction. In practice that means:

• Date of each trip (drives which 2026 cents-per-mile rate applies)
• Business purpose or short note (client meeting, supply run, job site)
• Miles driven for that trip (odometer or a map estimate you trust)
• Purpose type when relevant: Business vs Medical vs Charitable

Start/end locations help if you need to reconstruct a trip later. They do not replace date + miles + purpose. This page is for record-keeping only — not tax advice. Confirm current rules and rates on IRS.gov before you file.

Why 2026 makes date-aware logging matter

Optional business and medical rates change on July 1, 2026 (IRS Notice 2026-10 / Announcement 2026-11). Business miles are 72.5¢ Jan 1–Jun 30 and 76¢ Jul 1–Dec 31. A hardcoded “one rate for the year” spreadsheet understates or overstates second-half trips. Yellowcell’s free log looks up rate from trip date and purpose so Schedule C–style totals stay consistent.

A simple weekly habit

1. Open the mileage log once a week (or after each client day).
2. Add one row per trip: date, purpose, miles.
3. Leave gray formula cells alone; fill yellow input cells only.
4. Replace sample rows before you trust year-to-date totals.
5. At year-end, use the business-mile total with your tax preparer or Schedule C worksheet — do not treat the spreadsheet as a filed return.

Miles alone are not enough for many freelancers

Schedule C also needs income and expense categories. If you only track miles today, start with the free log. When you also send client invoices and want a Schedule C–style expense sheet in the same workbook, use the Freelance Invoice Kit.

Free download

Yellowcell’s free 2026 IRS mileage log is built for freelancers who need date-aware rates and a clean export of business miles for Schedule C record-keeping.