Mileage Deduction Calculator
Calculate the IRS standard mileage deduction for your craft business. Covers craft shows, supply runs, post office trips, and client meetings with 2023-2026 rates and a tax-savings estimate.
Step 1 of 4: Tax year
Pick the tax year you are filing. The IRS updates the standard mileage rate every January based on fuel and maintenance costs.
Use the year the miles were actually driven, not the year you file.
Standard vs actual expense method
This tool uses the IRS standard mileage method (most common for craft sellers; no receipts required beyond a mileage log). The actual-expense method requires separate accounting of gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and registration, and locks you into that method for the life of that vehicle.
Step 1 of 4
Why craft sellers miss thousands in mileage deductions
Most small craft sellers claim zero mileage. Not because they do not drive for the business, but because they never logged the trips. The IRS allows 70 cents per business mile in 2025, which adds up fast. A weekly farmers market vendor driving 20 round-trip miles per Saturday logs 1,040 miles per year from that market alone. That is $728 of deduction, worth roughly $200-$250 in actual tax savings at a typical sole-prop combined rate.
Once you add in supply runs (even a $40 trip to Hobby Lobby to buy packaging counts), shipping drops, and the occasional wholesale buyer visit, a moderately active craft seller easily logs 2,500-6,000 business miles per year. That is $1,750-$4,200 of deduction per year that most sellers leave on the table.
How to build a compliant mileage log in 5 minutes a week
The easiest path: install MileIQ, Everlance, or Stride. They auto-detect trips and you classify each one as business or personal with a swipe. About 30 seconds per week of active classification once you get the hang of it. Monthly reports export as IRS-compliant logs.
Prefer manual? A Google Sheet or physical notebook works. Log: date, odometer start, odometer end, destination, and business purpose. Update the log within a week of the trip. The IRS is unusually strict about "contemporaneous" logs. Reconstructing your year-long mileage on April 10 is a red flag and the deduction can be disallowed if audited.
Worked example: local farmers market vendor
You drive 20 miles round trip to your weekly farmers market, 26 weeks per year = 520 miles. Plus 6 holiday pop-ups at 40 miles round trip = 240 miles. Plus monthly Hobby Lobby runs, 15 miles × 12 = 180 miles. Plus weekly post office drops, 4 miles × 52 = 208 miles. Plus 2 annual wholesale pitch meetings, 60 miles each = 120 miles.
Total: 1,268 business miles × 70 cents = $888 deduction. At a 28% combined marginal tax rate, that is $248 back in your pocket. For 5 minutes per week of logging. One of the highest ROI habits you can build as a sole-prop craft seller.
Frequently asked questions
Other tax and business tools crafters use together
Mileage is one line on a Schedule C. The rest of the deductions add up faster than most sellers track.
Deduct your home studio
Simplified vs actual-method math with the $5/sqft IRS cap.
What you owe the IRS each quarter
1040-ES estimate with SE tax, QBI, and 50-state income tax.
Write off equipment in year 1
Section 179 for lasers, DTF printers, and embroidery machines.
Craft fair ROI (travel miles included)
Honest net profit on a market after booth, travel, and hours.