Business miles vs. personal miles: what actually counts
Which drives count as business miles for self-employed workers — client visits, job sites, deliveries — and which don't, including the commuting trap.
The short answer
Purpose decides, not the vehicle and not what you were wearing. A drive counts as business mileage when its primary purpose is work — visiting a client, moving between job sites, picking up supplies, running a delivery.
What generally counts
Driving between job sites, to a client meeting, to pick up materials or inventory, and between gig or delivery pickups and drop-offs all generally count as business miles.
The commuting trap
The drive from home to your first regular workplace — and back — is commuting, not business mileage, even if you're self-employed and even if you're thinking about work the whole way. Errands and personal detours along the way don't count either.
Mixed trips
Gig and trade work makes this genuinely hard: a single day can mix client visits, personal errands, and a supply run, often with no clean line between them. That's the actual problem a mileage log has to solve — not capturing the drive, but sorting it.
Examples by profession
Realtor— driving to a listing or a client showing counts; the drive from home to the office each morning doesn't.
Electrician— driving between job sites during the day counts; the first drive from home to the first job site usually doesn't.
Delivery driver— miles between pickups and drop-offs count; a personal errand squeezed in between shifts doesn't.
How to keep them separated without spreadsheets
An app that classifies each drive as it happens — and shows you the reason behind the call — turns this from a manual sorting chore into something you only check when it's genuinely unclear.
Frequently asked questions
Does driving from home to my first job count as business mileage?
No. That's commuting, not business mileage, even if you're self-employed and even if you're thinking about work the whole way. Errands and personal detours along the way don't count either.
What if a single trip mixes business and personal stops?
This is common in gig and trade work — a single day can mix client visits, personal errands, and a supply run with no clean line between them. Purpose still decides, but sorting mixed trips is the actual problem a mileage log has to solve.
Do the business-vs-personal rules differ by profession?
The principle — purpose decides — is the same, but what counts looks different by profession: a realtor's listing visits count but the drive to the office doesn't, an electrician's job-site-to-job-site driving counts but the first drive from home usually doesn't, and a delivery driver's pickup-to-drop-off miles count but a personal errand mid-shift doesn't.
This is general information, not tax advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific filing decisions.
Track it automatically instead.
MileClerk logs every drive in the background, classifies it with a reason, and leaves only the uncertain ones for you to review.
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