Track business miles in Excel

You do not need a phone app subscription to log business miles. A simple Excel mileage log — date, purpose, miles — is enough for many US freelancers and sole props, as long as the sheet handles the 2026 mid-year rate change.

Columns that matter

Date — drives which cents-per-mile apply in 2026
Purpose — Business, Medical, or Charitable (and a short note if needed)
Miles — odometer difference or a map estimate you trust
Rate + amount — formulas, not hardcoded cents

Optional start/end locations help you reconstruct a trip later. They do not replace date + miles + purpose.

Why 2026 needs date-aware rates

Business (and medical) optional standard mileage rates change on July 1, 2026. A single “cents per mile” cell for the whole year will under- or over-count after June 30. A good Excel log looks up rate from the trip date so January and August trips both calculate correctly.

Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026: business 72.5¢ per mile
Jul 1 – Dec 31, 2026: business 76¢ per mile

Optional rates from IRS Notice 2026-10 and Announcement 2026-11; charitable rate is statutory. Confirm on IRS.gov before you file. This page is for record-keeping only — not tax advice.

Habit that works

Open the log the same day as the trip (or the same evening).
Fill only yellow input cells; leave gray formulas alone.
Use a consistent purpose label so year-to-date totals stay readable.
Replace sample rows before you rely on the sheet at tax time.

Yellow = your numbers. Gray = formulas. No macros.

Free download

Yellowcell’s free 2026 IRS mileage log is built for this: trip date, purpose, miles, and automatic rates including the July 1 business and medical increases. One-time download. No account required beyond the download page.

Free 2026 IRS mileage log