Real estate & rental
Real Estate Agent Mileage Calculator
Works the mileage deduction, where the log is what makes it defensible.
Result
Not tax advice. Deduction rules, mileage rates and self-employment tax treatment change annually and depend on your entity, your state and the rest of your return. Use this to plan a set-aside, and confirm the actual figures with an accountant before filing anything. The standard mileage rate changes every year and sometimes mid-year. Choosing the actual expense method in the first year a vehicle is used restricts your ability to switch later, and either method requires a contemporaneous log rather than a reconstruction.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Business miles times the standard mileage rate for the year, or alternatively the actual expense method apportioned by business use. Agents drive a great deal for work, so the deduction is substantial, and the two methods give different results with rules about switching between them.
What moves the number
- Business miles driven and recorded.
- The standard rate for that tax year.
- Whether the actual expense method would give more.
- Commuting miles, which are generally not deductible.
Where this one goes wrong
The deduction depends on contemporaneous records: date, mileage and business purpose for each trip, which an app can capture automatically and a year-end estimate cannot. A reconstructed log is the weakest position in an examination. Commuting between home and a regular place of business is generally not deductible either, and the treatment of a home office changes that analysis, so the distinction is worth getting right rather than assuming all driving counts.
Before you quote
- Record date, mileage and purpose for each business trip.
- Confirm the current year's standard rate.
- Understand which trips are commuting and not deductible.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
What records does the mileage deduction require?
Contemporaneous ones: date, mileage and business purpose per trip. An app captures this automatically, and a year-end reconstruction is the weakest possible position if the deduction is ever examined.
Is all my driving deductible?
No. Commuting between home and a regular place of business generally is not, though the presence of a qualifying home office changes the analysis. Getting that distinction right matters, since agents drive enough for the difference to be large.
Standard rate or actual expenses?
They give different results and there are rules about switching between them, particularly once depreciation has been claimed. Running both for a year is worthwhile, and the choice is one to make with a preparer rather than by default.
The formula
standard deduction = business miles x the standard rate; actual = vehicle costs x business use share
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How to use this calculator
- Business miles per week. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 220.
- Weeks worked per year. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 50.
- Standard mileage rate. Set annually. Check the current figure.
- Combined marginal tax rate (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 30%.
- Actual vehicle costs per year ($). Fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation.
- Share of driving that is business (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 70%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to standard mileage deduction, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Business miles per week | 220 |
| Weeks worked per year | 50 |
| Standard mileage rate | 0.67 |
| Combined marginal tax rate | 30% |
| Actual vehicle costs per year | $9,200 |
| Share of driving that is business | 70% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard mileage deduction main result | $7,370 |
| Business miles per year | 11,000 |
| Tax saved | $2,211 |
| Actual expense method | $6,440 |
| Better method | Standard mileage |
11,000 business miles gives a $7,370 deduction, worth $2,211 in tax. The actual expense method would give $6,440, so Standard mileage is better here.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only actual vehicle costs per year, this is what happens to standard mileage deduction. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Actual vehicle costs per year ($) | Standard mileage deduction |
|---|---|
| $4,600 | $7,370 |
| $6,900 | $7,370 |
| $9,200 example above | $7,370 |
| $13,800 | $7,370 |
| $18,400 | $7,370 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Business miles per week
- A number, between 0 and 5000, starting at 220.
- Weeks worked per year
- A number, between 0 and 52, starting at 50.
- Standard mileage rate
- Set annually. Check the current figure.
- Combined marginal tax rate (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 60, starting at 30%.
- Actual vehicle costs per year ($)
- Fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation.
- Share of driving that is business (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 70%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Standard mileage deduction | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Business miles per year | A number. |
| Tax saved | A money figure. |
| Actual expense method | A money figure. |
| Better method | A category or planning selection, rather than a measured quantity. |
What is not in this number
Property figures here exclude the costs that decide whether a deal works: vacancy, maintenance, management, capital expenditure and the transaction costs at both ends. A return that looks strong before those frequently does not survive them.
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