u/Appropriate-Task-568 — reddlx

Saw some discussion about this and wanted to share what I learned the hard way.

Uber tracks online miles, pickup to dropoff. What it doesn't track:

Miles from home to first pickup
Deadhead miles between rides when offline
Miles repositioning to a better area
Miles to get gas or maintenance during a shift
Miles from last dropoff back home

For most drivers that's 20-40% of actual business miles completely unrecorded. At $0.70 per mile that's real money left unclaimed.

The IRS requires a written contemporaneous log for ALL business miles, not just what Uber reports. Date, start odometer, end odometer, destination, purpose. That's it.

I started keeping a small notebook in my center console. Takes 30 seconds per shift. First year I did it properly I claimed significantly more than the previous year just from capturing the miles Uber wasn't tracking.

Anyone else noticed a big gap between what Uber reports and what you actually drove?

Not trying to scare anyone but this is worth sharing.

Got a letter from the IRS a while back questioning my mileage deduction. I'd claimed around 14,000 business miles as a rideshare driver.

What saved me: I had a physical mileage log. Every trip, dated, with start and end odometer, destination, and whether it was a pickup or personal trip. My accountant said it was one of the cleanest records she'd seen and the audit was closed with no changes.

What I wish I'd done earlier: started logging from January 1 instead of March when I first started driving. Lost nearly two full months of deductions I couldn't reconstruct.

The numbers are real — $0.70 per mile for business use. On 14,000 miles that's $9,800 off your taxable income. For most drivers that's $1,500–$2,500 back in your pocket depending on your tax bracket.

The log doesn't have to be complicated. Date, starting odometer, ending odometer, miles, destination, business or personal. That's literally everything the IRS needs.

I keep a small log book in my center console — fill it in at the start and end of every shift. Takes about 30 seconds.

Has anyone else been through an audit or had the IRS question their mileage? What records did you have? Would love to know what's working for other drivers.