Landlord Mileage Deduction: Tracking Trips to Your Rental Property

If you drive to check on a rental property, handle a repair, meet a contractor, or show a vacant unit to a prospective tenant, that mileage is deductible. The rate is 76 cents per mile for trips from July 1, 2026, and 72.5 cents per mile before that (the IRS made a rare mid-year change). A landlord who drives 2,000 miles a year managing a couple of rental properties can claim roughly $1,485: 1,000 miles at 72.5 cents plus 1,000 miles at 76 cents. The rule comes from IRS Publication 527, not Publication 463 alone, because rental activity is usually reported on Schedule E, not Schedule C, and most landlords don't owe self-employment tax on it. The deduction still works the same way: log the drive, keep the log contemporaneous, and choose either the standard mileage rate or actual vehicle expenses.

Sources: IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, which covers local transportation costs for rental activities; IRS Publication 463 for the mileage substantiation standard that still applies.

What rental-property trips count as deductible mileage?

• Driving to the property for repairs, maintenance, or a routine check
• Driving to meet a contractor, inspector, or handyman at the property
• Driving to show a vacant unit to a prospective tenant
• Driving to collect rent in person, if you do that instead of taking it online
• Driving between rental properties on the same day, if you own more than one
• Driving to a hardware store or supplier for something the property needs

What doesn't count?

• A personal errand tacked onto a property visit, only the property-related part of the trip is deductible
• Driving to look at a property before you own it, that's a future capital cost, not a current-year mileage deduction
• Commuting to a day job that has nothing to do with the rental

Why Schedule E instead of Schedule C matters here

Most landlords report rental income on Schedule E, not Schedule C, because they're renting the property itself, not running a service business around it. That's different from an Airbnb host who provides hotel-like services and often files Schedule C instead. The mileage deduction is available either way, but Schedule E rental income generally isn't subject to self-employment tax, so the deduction reduces ordinary rental income rather than self-employment earnings. The mileage log itself doesn't change: IRS Publication 463's four required fields, date, distance, destination, and business purpose, apply no matter which schedule you file.

Standard mileage rate or actual expenses?

You can use the standard mileage rate (72.5 cents/76 cents per mile in 2026) or track actual vehicle costs, gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation, and deduct the rental-business share of those. Most landlords with a handful of properties find the standard rate simpler to substantiate and just as valuable, since the actual-expense method still requires tracking total mileage to work out the business-use percentage.

How do you keep the log contemporaneous?

A quick trip to check on a rental is easy to forget by tax season, especially if managing it is a side activity, not your main job. A paper log, spreadsheet, or auto-tracking app all satisfy the IRS's contemporaneous log requirement. The automatic option just removes the step where you have to remember to write the trip down after you get home from a repair call.

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