The best time to find a hole in your mileage log is December, not April. A short audit now catches missing trips while you can still reconstruct them and confirms you're using the right rate for the right dates, mistakes that are far harder to fix once you're filing.
Source: IRS Publication 463, mileage log substantiation requirements.
Check 1: Are there gaps where trips should be?
Scan month by month. A week with zero trips during what should have been a normal work week is the single biggest red flag in an audit, it usually means the app didn't catch something, not that you didn't drive. Reconstruct anything missing now, while calendars, receipts, and memory are still fresh.
Check 2: Did you use the right rate for the right half of the year
2026 has two IRS standard mileage rates, not one: 72.5¢ per mile for trips before July 1, and 76¢ per mile from July 1 onward. A log or spreadsheet that applies one flat rate to the whole year will overstate or understate your deduction. Check that every trip after the July 1 change is calculated at 76¢, not carried over at the old rate.
Check 3: Does every trip have a business purpose recorded?
Distance alone doesn't satisfy the IRS, Publication 463 requires date, distance, destination, and purpose for every trip. If your log has miles but no purpose field filled in for a chunk of the year, that's the fix to make before your log becomes evidence rather than a to-do item.
Check 4: Odometer readings at both ends of the year
Total annual mileage (business and personal combined) supports your business-use percentage. Photograph or record your odometer on January 1 and December 31, most auditors ask for this even when every trip is separately logged.
How far back can I still fix this?
As far back as your credit card statements, calendar, and delivery-app or rideshare-app trip history go. The closer you audit to year-end, the more of that evidence still exists.
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