Tax Tricks! - Those Pesky Mileage Records

Dear Agatha the Auditor, I am a Realtor who drives EVERYWHERE! I've been told that I have to record every trip of every mile I drive, whether it's for business, personal, or just commuting.  Do I REALLY have to do that, or is my CPA just being picky? Help, Annoyed Recorder in Scottsdale, ------------------------------------------------------- Dear Annoyed Recorder in Scottsdale, There are many ways to record your travel milage. 1.  You could not record the mileage at all Of course, if you ever got audited, the 26,000 miles that you reported and got a nearly $12,000 deduction would be taken away completely and you would be required to pay back any taxes you saved on that deduction. 2.  Track 3 months of your travel and use that as an average for the 12 months during the year Unfortuantely, this does not prove that you are not seasonal.  For example, we all know that during the Summer, especially in Arizona, the real estate market slows down.  So if you used the first 3 months of the year, the auditor could argue saying that for the summer months the 3 months you recorded are not acceptable and the auditor could determine what rate THEY feel is acceptable! 3.  Track every BUSINESS mile For purposes of the deduction you take on your return, this is the only real mile tracking that the IRS cares about.  Since this is what your deduction may be based on, this is extremely important to protect not only your deduction but also your "good citizen" test in front of the IRS.  If you have immaculate mileage records they may let you slide on other things (like those pesky meal receipts) that tend to get easily lost. Of course, talk to your CPA regarding the details of your situation and what else can be done to help you deduct your mileage costs! Yours, Agatha the Auditor