The Landlord Mileage Deduction: What Counts and How to Track It | RentAdminly

Driving to your rental, the hardware store, the bank, and your CPA all qualify — but only if you have a real log. Here's the rule and the simplest tracking system.

By Priya Patel | April 25, 2026

Driving to your rental, the hardware store, the bank, and your CPA all qualify — but only if you have a real log. Here's the rule and the simplest tracking system.

The deduction most landlords undercount

The IRS standard mileage rate for 2026 is around 67-70 cents per mile (verify the year's rate). For a landlord who drives 2,500 business miles in a year — entirely realistic — that is roughly $1,700 of deduction. In a 24% bracket, $400 of cash tax savings.

Most landlords undercount this because they do not track in the moment. By April, the trips are gone.

!Pile of gas receipts for tax deduction

What counts as deductible

Trips between your home and:

  • A rental property for inspection, showing, repair, or any rental-business purpose
  • The hardware store for materials specifically for a rental
  • The bank for rental-business deposits or loan business
  • Your CPA, attorney, or insurance agent for rental matters
  • A rental industry meeting (REIA, landlord association, training)
  • A property you are evaluating for purchase as a rental

    • Trips between two rental properties on the same trip are deductible end to end.

    What does not count

  • Commute from home to a regular W-2 job
  • Personal trips that happen to pass a rental
  • Trips primarily personal where you stop at the rental briefly
  • Trips for property you have not yet acquired and have not made an offer on (pre-acquisition trips are sometimes deductible against the property basis but not as current expense)

    • Standard mileage vs actual expenses

    Two methods:

    Standard mileage

    Multiply business miles by the IRS rate. Si

    https://rentadminly.com/blog/mileage-deduction-landlords