Template, checked August 23, 2026
Mileage log template
The columns the CRA and the IRS ask for, nothing decorative, in a file you can open in a spreadsheet or print. A Canadian version in kilometres, a US version in miles, a French version for Québec. No email address wanted in exchange.
- CRA version (kilometres), CSVOpens in Numbers, Excel or Google Sheets. Two example rows and the two odometer rows.
- CRA version (kilometres), PDF to printLetter, landscape, 14 rows a page. Print a few for the glovebox.
- IRS version (miles), CSVBusiness purpose and a parking and tolls column.
- IRS version (miles), PDF to printLetter, landscape.
- Version française (registre des déplacements), CSVColonnes en français, pour l’ARC et Revenu Québec.
What goes in each column
| Column | What to write | Who asks for it |
|---|---|---|
| Date | The day of the trip. One row per leg; a return trip is two rows, or one row with the round-trip distance and “return” in the purpose. | CRA, IRS |
| From, To | Addresses or place names a reviewer could find. “Client site, Laval” or “Client office, Burlington” is enough; “out” is not. | CRA and IRS want the destination; From makes the distance checkable |
| Purpose | Why the trip was business: site visit, delivery, client meeting, supplier pickup. Name the client where you can. | CRA, IRS |
| Odometer start, end | Optional per trip. Required as a pair for the year: the reading on January 1 and on December 31 (or your fiscal year bounds). The CRA asks for the readings; the IRS asks for the total miles they give. | CRA, IRS |
| Distance | Kilometres (CRA) or miles (IRS). From the odometer pair or a mapping app. | CRA, IRS |
| Work or Personal | Lets one file hold every trip, so the business share (business over total) can be totalled at the bottom. The IRS version also separates commuting, which Schedule C asks for on its own line. | The business-use percentage needs both |
| Parking and tolls | IRS version. Claimed in addition to the standard mileage rate; keep the receipts. | IRS |
The two rows people forget
The first and last rows of the year are odometer readings, not trips. Without them there is no total distance, and without a total there is no business-use percentage in Canada and no total-miles box on Schedule C in the United States. Take the reading on January 1 and on December 31, photograph the dash if you like, and write both down. The odometer readings and year bounds post explains how the pair also works as a monthly sanity check.
Totals at the bottom
Add three lines under the last trip: total business distance, total distance from the odometer pair, and business divided by total. Price the business distance with the mileage calculator: in Canada that is the employer allowance at the CRA tiers, in the United States the standard-mileage deduction or reimbursement at the IRS rate. The self-employed on the actual expense method apply the percentage to vehicle costs instead, on either side. If you keep the log for a full year, the CRA lets you use a three-month sample in later years as long as it stays within 10 points of the base year; the rule is in what the CRA wants in a mileage logbook. The IRS has no sampling rule for a car you drive all year; the split year post covers what changes on July 1, 2026.
How long to keep it
Canada: six years from the end of the tax year. United States: for as long as the return can be examined, generally three years from the date you filed, and longer for the car itself. A PDF export and the receipts in the same folder is enough in both.
The template is our own file, not a government form. Not tax advice.
Questions
Which columns does the CRA require?
For each business trip: the date, the destination, the purpose and the distance. For the year: the odometer reading at the start and at the end, and a separate record for each vehicle. The CRA’s motor vehicle records page is the source. The template adds From, Client and Work or Personal because they make the log easier to defend and to total.
Which columns does the IRS require?
For each business trip: the date, the destination, the business purpose and the miles, recorded at or near the time. For the year: the total miles the car was driven, which is what Schedule C, Part IV asks for. Publication 463 is the source. Parking and tolls are claimed on top of the standard rate, so the IRS version has a column for them; From, Client and Business or Personal are there because they make the log easier to defend and to total.
Do I need the odometer columns on every row?
No. The CRA wants the readings at the start and end of the year, and the IRS wants the year’s total miles, which the same pair gives you. Per-trip readings are optional; they are there because a start and end reading is the simplest way to get a distance without a GPS.
Is a spreadsheet enough for the CRA?
Yes, if it is kept as you go and has the fields above. What the CRA questions is a log written from memory at year end. The reconstructing a mileage log post covers what happens then.
Is a spreadsheet enough for the IRS?
Yes, if it is kept as you go and has the fields above. Publication 463 calls this an adequate record: a log, trip sheet or similar record, with the elements written at or near the time. What the IRS questions is a log reconstructed from a calendar at filing time. Keep it generally three years from the date you filed.
What does Odie do differently?
The same columns, filled in by the phone: the trip starts when your car’s Bluetooth appears, ends when you park, and you tap Work or Personal. The year report has the odometer pair and the totals. The template is for people who would rather keep the log by hand, and it costs nothing.
Your next work trip can log itself.
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