How to Track Mileage for Taxes With Gridwise

You’re probably familiar with what a mileage tracker does, but finding the best one for your gig driving can be challenging. Many apps miss the mark when addressing the specific requirements of drivers, especially when it comes to tax deductions. Let’s delve into why it’s crucial to have a reliable mileage tracker tailored for gig drivers and learn how to track mileage for taxes effectively with Gridwise, the premier app for your needs!

Reasons why mileage tracking is crucial for gig drivers

Why do you need a mileage tracker in the first place? Don’t the driving apps tell you how much you drive? In reality, the apps only record the distances you cover on trips. They miss the many miles you drive to and from your gig, and in between trips. Here are some reasons why it’s important to track all your gig-related miles.

• You need to track your tax deductible expenses. This is the number one reason why it’s so important to track your mileage accurately. The IRS rate for business mileage travel is $0.65 for 2023, and will be $0.67 for your 2024 tax year. Now, consider how many miles you put in doing rideshare and delivery work, do a bit of arithmetic, and you’ll come to a rather large sum that will become a substantial deduction from your taxable income.

• You benefit from income optimization and awareness. Here’s another wise way to use your mileage tracker app. When you keep accurate accounts of your mileage and income records, you’ll have the facts about how much money you get from your miles.

• You protect yourself from tax trouble. Reliably separating your business mileage lets you be in compliance with IRS regulations. Nobody wants to get burned by auditors out on the hunt for a bone to pick. Remember that you can deduct miles driven to and from your driving gig, as well as the miles accrued during each gig and in between them. You cannot deduct miles you drive for personal purposes, though. You need a mileage tracker that clearly differentiates between personal and business travel.

Gridwise: Your comprehensive, driver-friendly mileage tracker

Gridwise is more than a  mileage tracker app. Created by gig workers, for gig workers, Gridwise doesn’t require you to adapt a generic tracker to your specific needs. The app gives you driver-friendly features that make it simple for you to track the miles that matter.

Gridwise also has features that assist drivers by informing them about events, traffic, and weather. It will also track your earnings and show you where and when you can make the most money. 

Here’s why you’ll want to make Gridwise your comprehensive mileage tracking partner.

With Gridwise 

• you choose from three options to attain complete control over your mileage figures
• you end the nightmare of manual mileage tracking or guesstimating your gig driving mileage
• you capture the miles you drive between rideshare or delivery trips
• you get fewer disruptions because Gridwise syncs with your driving apps and tracks your earnings seamlessly

Setting up Gridwise for your gigs

Getting started is easy. Your first step, of course, is to download the Gridwise app. Once you have the app loaded on your device, there are just a few more things you’ll need to set up.

First, you’ll need to enable location and motion detection and adjust a few additional settings on your phone. 

Once you do that, you can choose from three ways to track your miles with Gridwise. Begin by deciding whether you’ll use manual or automatic tracking.

Note: Manual tracking is available in the free version. Gridwise Plus members benefit from automatic mileage tracking.

Gridwise offers a total of three options for tracking your mileage. The first two options for manual tracking are available on the free version as well as Gridwise Plus:

1. Use on/off mileage tracking. Turn mileage tracking on and off when you begin and end your shifts. From the Earnings screen, tap the tracking button, and you’ll begin recording your miles. Turn tracking off when you finish your shift, and you will stop recording miles until you enable it at the beginning of your next shift.

Pro Tip: If you’re worried that you won’t remember to turn on tracking when you start your shift, don’t be. As long as you have Gridwise running in the background, a reminder to start tracking will appear every time you drive your vehicle. If you’re not driving for business, simply decline, and be on your way to wherever else you’re going.

2. Type in your mileage figures. If you want to clock your miles separately, and then add them to your records in Gridwise, simply tap the “+” button on the Earnings screen, fill in the information, and tap “Save.”

The third option, automatic tracking, is available to Gridwise Plus members only. 

3. Automatically track your mileage. This feature enables you to set up the tracker to detect when you move your vehicle, and need Gridwise to track your miles. Tracking stops once your vehicle is parked for a preset “idle” time period, which you can select and adjust. This makes accurate tracking more convenient for drivers who might not remember to turn tracking on and off during their shifts.

Wondering what happens if you make a mistake? What if you forget to turn the mileage tracker on or off? What happens if you accidentally track miles that aren’t tax deductible?

With Gridwise, you can always edit your mileage to make such adjustments. Add or delete mileage that you don’t want to include using these easy steps.

The best mileage tracker for tax purposes and more

Other mileage trackers only tell you how many miles you have driven. Because Gridwise is designed specifically for gig drivers, it enables you to track all the miles you drive for business. If you have a side gig or two that don’t involve driving apps, you can still use Gridwise to help you log all those deductible miles as well.

Gridwise Plus drivers benefit from enhanced features, but the free version of Gridwise is a powerful tool that outperforms other mileage trackers because it’s designed for gig drivers, by gig drivers!

Maximize earnings with mileage data analysis

You can use mileage figures for more than just tax deductions. Gridwise stands out as the best mileage tracking app for delivery drivers and rideshare workers alike because it provides insightful reports.

• Compare and contrast your earnings and your mileage with the apps you work with, and determine where your time is best spent.
• Optimize routes, with efficiency in mind. You could find that driving those extra miles from one side of town to the other doesn’t pay off the way you thought they might. Pro tip: Use Where to Drive and When to Drive to show you where you can find the money, and when.
• Check out the correlation between earnings and mileage on different apps to see which are the most profitable.

Here’s how to find those useful Gridwise reports:

On the main screen, tap “Earnings,” and you’ll be whisked away to a summary of earnings for the current week and year. You’ll see your gross earnings, expenses, and mileage deduction figures, by week and by day. You can also see these figures by service—i.e., all the different gigs you work with. 

Stay on top of your data and IRS information

The Gridwise app keeps accurate accounts of your mileage and income, and it pays for you to check in with it from time to time, so you’re on top of your gig driving performance and tax compliance. 

1. Review your data on a regular basis. You don’t want to let mileage get lost should you forget to add it in manually. In a similar way, you’ll want to keep an eye out for any instances where you recorded mileage for a road trip that was pure fun, and hence, not tax deductible.
2. Back up your mileage data and earnings information to a source outside of your mobile device. A telephonic catastrophe could ruin your records, and you won’t want to lose the valuable information you’re collecting with Gridwise.
3. Stay informed. Read up on IRS regulations to ensure that you’re in compliance with all the rules that are related to your mileage and other deductible expenses, as well as those involving work in the gig economy. 

Beyond the best business mileage tracking app: Get more with Gridwise

The next time someone asks you about the best mileage tracking app for DoorDash or any other gig you drive for, you’ll know to tell them about Gridwise. While you’re at it, don’t forget to tell them about all the other driver-focused features the Gridwise app offers, including

• real-time weather, traffic, airport. and events information
• earnings insights
• deals and discounts
• tax help
• insurance and affordable health care options
• money-saving connections to automotive and financial services

All these features are available when you download the free app, but when you join Gridwise Plus, the discounts get deeper and the benefits multiply!

There’s even more value to being a Gridwise driver! The Gridwise community offers support from other drivers, along with special contests and giveaways. Join our Facebook community and follow us on Instagram to connect with awesome Gridwise drivers who share your issues and interests.

More about mileage and other tax deductions for drivers:

• Avoid these mileage mistakes
• Explore options for deducting mileage and other expenses
• Choose the best mileage tracker app
• Maximize your tax deductions
• Download Gridwise today!