Uber's Tax Summary vs. Your Own Mileage Log: Which One Do You File With?

When Uber's own Tax Summary shows fewer miles than your personal log, file with your own log, as long as it is well kept, not Uber's number. The platform's summary was never built to be your complete tax record, and it says so in its own fine print.

Source: Does Uber Track Your Miles? and IRS Publication 463, on what qualifies as adequate substantiation.

What Uber's Tax Summary actually measures

Uber's Tax Summary reports "online miles," which already bundle together the miles driven while waiting for a request, the miles driven to reach a pickup, and the on-trip miles themselves. What it misses is driving that happens while you are offline: the deadhead drive home after your last drop-off once you've logged off, and the drive to wherever you first go online each day. It is a convenience document built from Uber's own trip data, not an IRS-compliant mileage log, and Uber itself does not represent it as one.

The IRS does not care which number came from the platform

Section 274(d) requires a taxpayer's own adequate record: date, purpose, and miles for each business drive. It has no special status for a platform-generated document, and it does not privilege Uber's number over your own just because it came from the company. If your own contemporaneous log shows more accurate, better-substantiated mileage, that is the number that belongs on your Schedule C.

When the two numbers conflict, ask why before you decide

• Does your own log include offline driving, like the deadhead home, that Uber's summary excludes? If so, your number is likely more complete, not wrong.
• Did you have periods where your own tracking app glitched or was turned off? If so, Uber's number might catch driving your own log missed.
• Are the two numbers close, within a normal range for tracking-method differences, or wildly apart, which suggests a tracking problem worth investigating before filing either one?

How to defend your own number if it is higher than Uber's

Keep your own log's export, with trip-level detail, as the primary support. If ever asked, the explanation is straightforward: Uber's Tax Summary only reflects online driving, your own log also captures other offline business driving, like repositioning between apps, and the deadhead drive home too if your home office qualifies as your principal place of business, otherwise that leg is commuting. That is a documented, well-understood gap, not an inconsistency that undermines your claim.

A worked example

Uber's Tax Summary shows 9,200 online miles for the year. A driver's own GPS-tracked log, covering the same period, shows 12,600 total business miles, the 3,400-mile difference being repositioning between apps while offline, plus the drive home after logging off because this driver's home office is their principal place of business, none of which Uber's summary captures. The driver files using their own 12,600-mile figure, worth about $2,500 more in deductions at the 2026 split rate (1,700 miles at 72.5 cents plus 1,700 miles at 76 cents) than Uber's number alone would have supported, and keeps both records on file in case either is ever questioned.

Does the same logic apply to Lyft's driver summary?

Yes. Lyft's own driver dashboard has the same structural limitation as Uber's Tax Summary: it reports trip-based mileage tied to accepted rides, not the full scope of a driver's business use of their vehicle. Whether you drive for one platform or both, the same rule applies, your own well-kept log is the number to file with when it is more complete than either platform's own figure.

What if my own log shows fewer miles than Uber's summary?

Investigate why before choosing either number. A gap in your own tracking, a phone that died, an app that was not running, is common and worth identifying and, where possible, filling in defensibly rather than defaulting to Uber's larger figure without understanding the source of the difference.

Can I just use whichever number is bigger?

No. Use the number your actual driving supports, backed by a real record. A bigger number with no substantiation behind it is a liability, not a benefit, if it is ever reviewed.

Should I still download Uber's Tax Summary if I keep my own log?

Yes, keep it as a secondary reference. It is useful for cross-checking your own log's trip count and general pattern, even though it is not your primary record for filing.

Why it's worth keeping your own log even if you're never reviewed

A driver who already keeps their own log loses nothing if their return is never questioned, but gains a real defense if it is. A driver relying solely on Uber's summary has no fallback if that summary is ever challenged as insufficient on its own. Framing the extra tracking as protection, not busywork, makes it easier to stick with once the novelty of a new tracking habit wears off.

A tracker built to capture the full shift, not just Uber-visible trips, keeps this decision simple. Try TruMile →

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