Mileage Tracking for Electricians
Many electricians drive 10,000 to 20,000 business miles a year. At the 2026 IRS standard rate of 72.5 cents per mile, that is a deduction range of $7,250 to $14,500 for the workers who can claim it.
Who can deduct
Self-employed electricians (sole proprietors, LLCs, contractors with no W-2 employer) deduct business mileage on Schedule C at 72.5 cents per mile. W-2 electricians (union or shop employees) cannot deduct on the federal return; pursue employer or union mileage provisions instead.
How electricians actually drive
An independent electrician running residential service calls commonly logs 14,000 to 18,000 miles a year. Commercial electricians covering wider territories log 16,000 to 22,000.
Typical deductible trips
The trips below are the ones electricians most commonly forget to log, plus the obvious ones. Auto-tracking catches all of them, including the small ones that add up.
- Driving to residential and commercial service calls
- Driving to supply houses for parts and materials
- Driving to job-site walkthroughs and estimates
- Driving to required state licensing renewals and CE
- Driving to inspections or to meet a building inspector on site
How TruMile helps
TruMile auto-detects every drive using motion plus location, so the trips above get logged whether you remember them or not. Smart classification learns your repeat routes (between regular client homes, between job sites, to your supply store) and starts tagging them automatically after a few trips.
At year-end, one tap turns your trip log into an IRS-compliant CSV or PDF you can hand to your accountant or paste into Schedule C. The math is already done.
Free for 40 auto trips a month, every month. If you are anywhere near the high end of the typical mileage range, the unlimited Pro tier at $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year usually pays for itself in the first week of tax season.
FAQ for electricians
I run a one-truck operation as a sole proprietor. What's deductible?
Every business-purpose drive: service calls, supply runs, estimates, vendor visits, training. Your truck is a 100% business vehicle if you have another vehicle for personal use, simplifying the math.
Do I have to track personal use of my work truck?
If the truck is used for both business and personal, yes. The business-use percentage matters for actual-expense calculations and for any future sale of the vehicle. The standard mileage method only requires a log of business miles, not total miles, but you still want clean records.
What about union meetings and continuing education?
If you are 1099 self-employed, drives to CE and licensing events are deductible. If you are W-2 union, those drives are not federally deductible, but some union locals reimburse for required attendance.
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