Mileage Tracking for Photographers
Many photographers drive 4,000 to 14,000 business miles a year. At the 2026 IRS standard rate of 72.5 cents per mile, that is a deduction range of $2,900 to $10,150 for the workers who can claim it.
Who can deduct
Most working photographers are self-employed (sole proprietors or LLCs) and file Schedule C. Business mileage is deductible at 72.5 cents per mile in 2026.
How photographers actually drive
A wedding and event photographer with 30+ shoots a year commonly logs 8,000 to 14,000 business miles. A studio-based portrait photographer doing occasional location work logs 3,000 to 6,000.
Typical deductible trips
The trips below are the ones photographers most commonly forget to log, plus the obvious ones. Auto-tracking catches all of them, including the small ones that add up.
- Driving to wedding venues, event locations, and shoot sites
- Driving to client meetings and venue scouting
- Driving to studio rentals or print labs
- Driving to gear pickups, repairs, or rentals
- Driving to model casting calls or location workshops
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 photographers
I drive an hour each way to wedding venues. Is all of that deductible?
Yes, if your studio or home office is your principal place of business and the venue is a temporary work location. Drive there, shoot the wedding, drive back. Both legs are deductible.
What about a road-trip workshop where I'm both teaching and shooting?
Mixed-purpose trips need to be split. The portion of the trip with a clear business purpose (teaching the workshop, scouting locations for a client) is deductible. Pure leisure days inside the trip are not.
Can I deduct miles to the camera shop?
Yes. Picking up gear, dropping off cameras for repair, getting prints made, all of that is business driving for a working photographer.
Start tracking your photographers miles for free.
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