Mileage Log Template: The IRS Pub 463 Table 5-2 Columns, Explained
General information, not tax or legal advice. Talk to your tax preparer about your situation.
A usable mileage log has the columns from the sample log in IRS Publication 463, Table 5-2: date, destination, business purpose, start and stop odometer readings, miles for the trip, and expense type and amount, with weekly and year-to-date totals. The IRS notes that the table is not an official form. Any format that records these details works.
Search for a mileage log template and you'll find hundreds of spreadsheets. Most of them borrow, knowingly or not, from one page in IRS Publication 463: Table 5-2, a sample Daily Business Mileage and Expense Log. This page sets out those columns, what goes in each one, and how to turn the log into the numbers your return needs.
The Table 5-2 columns
Table 5-2 in Pub 463 is labeled "THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL INTERNAL REVENUE FORM". It's an example of a worksheet you can use, and its columns line up with the details the IRS asks you to record. Here they are, with what to put in each:
| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Date | The day of the trip. |
| Destination (city, town, or area) | Where you went, such as a client's town or a service area. |
| Business purpose | Why you went: "client site visit", "supply pickup", "passenger trips". |
| Odometer: start | The reading when the trip began. |
| Odometer: stop | The reading when the trip ended. |
| Miles this trip | Stop minus start. |
| Expense: type | For example tolls or parking (the IRS table says "gas, oil, tolls, etc."). |
| Expense: amount | What you paid. |
At the bottom, the table has a weekly total row and a total year-to-date row.
Why these columns
Pub 463 says that for car expenses you need records of the mileage for each business use and the total miles for the year, along with the date and business purpose of each use. The columns above capture those details trip by trip. The odometer columns also give you a check: the miles in each row should add up to the distance the odometer moved. For what the IRS asks a log to show, see what the IRS requires in a mileage log.
Paper, spreadsheet or app
Pub 463 says a record prepared on a computer is considered an adequate record. A spreadsheet or app export with the same columns counts. It also says you don't have to write down every detail on the day it happens: a log kept on a weekly basis that accounts for use during the week is considered a timely kept record.
How to use the template
- Write the odometer reading on January 1, or on the day you start using the car for business.
- Add a row for each business trip: date, destination, purpose, start and stop readings, miles.
- Add tolls and business parking in the expense columns. These can be deducted on top of the standard mileage rate (Pub 463).
- Total each week. Fill in the weekly total and carry it into the year-to-date line.
- Write the odometer reading on December 31. End minus start is total miles for the year.
Example: one week with three business trips of 18, 42 and 11 hypothetical miles gives a weekly total of 71 miles. In September 2026, 71 × 76¢ = $53.96 at the standard rate. Estimates, not tax advice.
From the log to your return
At year end, the log gives you three numbers: business miles, commuting miles and total miles. The Instructions for Form 4562 explain that Part V asks for these for each vehicle, along with questions about personal use and whether you have written evidence. See Form 4562 Part V vehicle records for that section, line by line.
If you use the standard mileage rate, multiply business miles by the rate for each half of 2026: 72.5¢ per mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026 (IR-2025-128 / Notice 2026-10) and 76¢ per mile for July 1 to December 31, 2026 (IR-2026-29 / Announcement 2026-11), per the IRS standard mileage rates page. If you use actual expenses, the log gives you the business-use percentage that splits each cost.
Common gaps in homemade logs
- No purpose column. Miles without a reason are hard to tell apart from personal driving.
- Only business trips, no total. Without total miles for the year you can't figure a business-use percentage.
- Commutes mixed in. Driving between home and your regular place of work is commuting (Pub 463). Label it separately. See commuting vs business miles.
- Filled in once in April. A log rebuilt months later is weaker than one kept weekly. If you're already behind, see how to rebuild a missing mileage log.
Skipping the manual entries
If you drive a Tesla, the car already records trips and odometer readings, which can fill most of these columns for you.
CyberDeduct builds a mileage log around IRS Pub 463 from your Tesla's own trip and odometer data. You connect your Tesla account once through Tesla's standard account sign-in (OAuth); CyberDeduct never sees or stores your password. You confirm each trip's purpose and export a PDF or CSV log plus a Form 4562 Part V worksheet for your tax preparer. See how the log is built or see plans.
Frequently asked questions
Does the IRS have an official mileage log form?
No. The sample log in Pub 463, Table 5-2 is marked as not an official IRS form. It's an example; any format that records the required details works.
What columns should a mileage log have?
Date, destination, business purpose, start and stop odometer readings, miles for the trip, and expense type and amount, with weekly and year-to-date totals, following Pub 463, Table 5-2.
Is a spreadsheet mileage log acceptable?
Pub 463 says a record prepared on a computer is considered an adequate record, provided it holds the required details.
Do I have to fill in the log every day?
No. Pub 463 says a log kept on a weekly basis that accounts for use during the week is considered timely kept.
What totals do I need at the end of the year?
Business miles, commuting miles and total miles for each vehicle, which Form 4562 Part V asks for (Instructions for Form 4562).
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Talk to your tax preparer about your situation.
CyberDeduct is an independent product of LIKE LLC and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tesla, Inc. Tesla is a trademark of Tesla, Inc.