STR mileage deduction basics: what to log for every trip
Supply runs, turnovers you handle yourself, a drive to meet a contractor or greet a guest. A self-managed short-term rental host racks up real miles over a year, and those miles can turn into a meaningful deduction. Mileage is also one of the first things reviewers question, because the deduction depends entirely on your own records rather than a form a bank or a platform sends you.
This is educational content. It is not tax advice. Vehicle deductions have exceptions based on your business structure, your filing method, and how many vehicles you use. Confirm your own situation with a CPA before you file.
Two ways to deduct vehicle costs
The IRS gives you two methods for a vehicle used partly for business. The standard mileage rate multiplies a published per-mile rate by your business miles for the year. The actual expense method totals your real vehicle costs, including gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation, then applies the percentage of miles driven for business. Publication 463 covers both methods in full (IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses). Most hosts with a single vehicle and moderate business use choose standard mileage because the log is simpler to keep.
The choice you make in a vehicle's first year of business use has lasting effects. Starting with standard mileage generally leaves the door open to switch to actual expenses in a later year, using straight-line depreciation from that point forward. Starting with actual expenses, particularly if you claim accelerated depreciation such as bonus depreciation or a Section 179 deduction, generally locks that vehicle out of the standard mileage rate for the rest of its use in your business. Because the first-year choice is hard to undo, confirm which method fits your situation with a CPA before you file that first return for a vehicle.
The 2026 rate comes in two tiers
The IRS raised the business standard mileage rate mid-year in 2026, something it rarely does. Miles driven from January 1 through June 30, 2026 use 72.5 cents per mile. Miles driven from July 1 through December 31, 2026 use 76 cents per mile. Keep the two periods separate in your log, because applying one rate to the full year will overstate or understate the deduction.
| Period | Rate per mile |
|---|---|
| January 1 to June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents |
| July 1 to December 31, 2026 | 76 cents |
Example: a host drives 220 business miles between January and June, and 340 business miles between July and December. The first-half miles are worth 220 × $0.725 = $159.50. The second-half miles are worth 340 × $0.76 = $258.40. The two totals add up to $417.90 for the year. A single rate applied to all 560 miles would give the wrong figure.
Source: IRS newsroom, 2026 business standard mileage rate, checked September 2026.
What counts as business mileage for a host
Trips that serve the rental business are the ones you can count. Common examples for a self-managed host include driving to buy cleaning supplies or replacement items, dropping off or picking up laundered linens, doing a turnover yourself between guests, meeting a contractor or inspector at the property, and driving between two or more listings you manage.
The common trap is the trip from your own home to a rental property you do not live in. Publication 463 treats driving between your home and a regular place of business as personal commuting, and commuting miles are not deductible no matter how far the drive is. A home office used regularly and exclusively for the rental business can change this analysis for some hosts, so if your driving pattern relies on that setup, get a professional to confirm it applies before you claim the miles.
What a compliant mileage log needs
Publication 463 expects a record made at or near the time of the trip, called a contemporaneous record. A log updated weekly counts as timely. A log rebuilt from memory in April the following year does not carry the same weight if it is ever questioned. Each trip entry should include:
- The date of the trip
- Where you drove, stated specifically enough to show a business purpose
- The reason for the trip, such as "turnover clean" or "buy replacement towels," rather than a vague word like "errands"
- The miles driven for that trip
You also need your vehicle's odometer reading at the start and end of the tax year, and again if you start or stop using a given vehicle for the rental partway through the year. Those readings, combined with your trip log, let you show total annual mileage alongside the share that was business use.
Mixed trips and part-year logs
A single trip sometimes serves two purposes, such as a drive to a home improvement store for both a personal project and rental supplies. Publication 463 expects you to allocate mileage between business and personal use for a trip like that rather than counting the whole drive as business. Log the trip once and note the business portion, or log it as a personal trip and add a separate short business trip if the supply run happens on its own leg.
Hosts who forget to log every week of the year are not automatically out of luck. Publication 463 allows an adequate record for part of the year to stand in for the full year, as long as you can show the logged period is representative of your driving pattern the rest of the year. A host whose rental driving is steady month to month could support the full year with a detailed log covering a representative stretch, backed by other evidence like receipts and booking dates. A host whose driving swings with a seasonal calendar, busy summer months against a quiet winter, would need a sample from each kind of period to make the same case, since a single busy month would not represent a slow one.
Where the deduction lands on your return
Hosts filing Schedule E report vehicle mileage on line 6, Auto and travel, the same line covered in our guide on Airbnb expense categories. Hosts filing Schedule C use a similar line for car and truck expenses instead. Which form applies to your rental in the first place depends on the services you provide and the average length of stay, covered in Schedule C or Schedule E for your short-term rental. Depending on your filing details, claiming vehicle expenses can also require completing Form 4562, Part V, so check the current instructions for your form before you file.
Mistakes that shrink or sink the deduction
A handful of habits cause the most trouble. Reconstructing a year of mileage from memory at tax time instead of logging trips as they happen. Folding a personal errand into a business trip without separating the miles. Skipping the odometer reading at the start of the year, which leaves no baseline for the total. Applying the wrong 2026 rate to a trip because the log does not record which side of July 1 it fell on. Treating every drive near the property as business mileage, including the plain commute from home covered above. Each of these is a recordkeeping gap, and each is avoidable with a habit of logging the same day you drive.
The habit matters more than the tool. A paper notebook kept in the glove box, a phone note, or a dedicated tab in your bookkeeping workbook all satisfy the IRS as long as the entries are timely and specific. Pick one place to log every trip, keep it in the vehicle or on the phone you carry on rental errands, and treat a missed entry as something to fill in that same evening rather than at the end of the month.