The Best Way to Track Mileage for Gig Drivers

Keep a contemporaneous, IRS-compliant log

The best way to track mileage as a gig driver is to keep a contemporaneous log: record the date, destination, business purpose, and miles for every trip as it happens, not from memory months later. The IRS requires this level of detail, and without it an auditor can disallow your entire mileage deduction even if you genuinely drove the miles. At the 2025 IRS standard mileage rate of 70 cents per mile, that log is worth real money — 15,000 business miles is a $10,500 deduction.

Deductible gig miles include driving to pick up an order, driving to the customer, and the miles between deliveries while you are actively working. UnifyOne by 1Commerce reconstructs your mileage log from your connected gig-platform shift data, so the record is built automatically as you drive instead of being recreated at tax time.

Standard mileage vs. actual expenses

Gig drivers can deduct vehicle costs one of two ways, and most choose the standard mileage rate because it is simpler and often larger:

• ✦Standard mileage — 70 cents per mile (2025); covers fuel, depreciation, oil, tires, and routine maintenance in one figure.
• ✦Actual expenses — track and depreciate every real vehicle cost; more paperwork, occasionally larger for expensive vehicles.
• ✦You generally cannot switch methods mid-year for the same vehicle, so pick deliberately.
• ✦Either way, the deduction is only as good as the log behind it.

Automate the log with UnifyOne

UnifyOne's free Mileage Deduction Calculator at /tools/mileage-deduction-calculator turns miles driven into a dollar deduction instantly at the current IRS rate. For the authoritative rate and rules, see the IRS Standard Mileage Rates page. In the full UnifyOne app, mileage is captured from your shift data and totaled into a running year-to-date deduction, so your log is always audit-ready.

Frequently Asked Questions