Mileage Tracking for Social Workers
Many social workers drive 6,000 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 $4,350 to $10,150 for the workers who can claim it.
Who can deduct
Most social workers are W-2 employees of government agencies, hospitals, or nonprofits and cannot deduct mileage on the federal return. The W-2 deduction was eliminated by TCJA in 2018 and made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill. State-mandated reimbursement (CA, IL, MA, NY) is the available path. Private 1099 clinical social workers and independent therapists can deduct on Schedule C at 72.5 cents per mile.
How social workers actually drive
A field social worker doing home visits commonly logs 8,000 to 12,000 work miles a year. Office-based social workers log far less.
Typical deductible trips
The trips below are the ones social workers most commonly forget to log, plus the obvious ones. Auto-tracking catches all of them, including the small ones that add up.
- Driving to client home visits (W-2: pursue reimbursement; 1099: deductible)
- Driving between schools or facilities for caseload coverage
- Driving to court hearings, hospital case meetings, or family conferences
- Driving to required CE and licensing renewals (1099 deductible)
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 social workers
My agency drags its feet on mileage reimbursement. Anything I can do federally?
On the federal side, no. W-2 mileage deductions are gone permanently. If you are in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, or New York, your employer is required by state law to reimburse business mileage; document your trips thoroughly and pursue the reimbursement.
I do supervised therapy hours on the side as 1099. Are those drives deductible?
Yes. Drives to your private clients, supervision sessions you pay for as part of becoming a licensed clinical social worker, and CE you self-fund are deductible business mileage at 72.5 cents per mile.
Are mileage notes in my client files enough?
If your agency requires you to log visits, that documentation can support a state reimbursement claim. For 1099 work, you still need a separate IRS-compliant log with date, destination, purpose, and miles for every business trip.
Document every business mile.
A clean log is what wins state-mandated reimbursement claims (CA, IL, MA, NY) and what protects you if your employer's records are off. 40 auto trips a month, free forever.
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