3 SIMPLE MILEAGE TRACKERS FOR RECORDING WORK EXPENSES

Content by: https://www.gofar.co/blog/simple-mileage-trackers-record-work-expenses/

Of course, you’d like to maximize your tax deductions and save a ton of money. Who wouldn’t?!

But, no way can you remember to catch every business mile because your schedule is full of frenzied activities.

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After all, no one will end up broke because of a few thousand bucks.

Or would they?

Read the lines below and think again.

‘For 2018, the standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car for business use is 54.5 cents (0.545) per mile.’

Source: IRS Publication 463 – Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses , p. 14

Moreover, in 2019, the IRS standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be increased as follows:

• 58 cents per mile driven for business use (3.5 cents more than in 2018),
• 20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (2 cents more than in 2018), and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

Did you know that mileage tracker users can record more than $6,500 in deductions every year?

Would you really be happy leaving all that money on the table?

Yes, we know how much you may hate taxes. You’re not the only one. Here’s what other taxpayers think of it:

Relax.

Although you’ll probably need to talk to your kids about sex eventually, there’s absolutely no need for you to get an IRS tattoo, spend a night in jail or, God forbid, swim with sharks to avoid all the hassle at tax time.

Luckily, we are living in the digital age so there’s an easy way to automate your mileage tracking and many other similar tedious tasks.

For your own convenience, get yourself a reliable mileage tracker which will:

• keep neat and accurate records of all your vehicle expenses necessary for claiming your business mileage
• get mileage reimbursement for work travel expenses, and
• reduce the overall costs of your drives.

It’s high time you abandoned the old-fashioned methods where you used to rely on spreadsheet or pen and paper for noting down your mileage. Time to stop worrying that you’ll forget to write it all down in the middle of a hectic day.

We’ve selected three of the better simple mileage trackers for recording your work expenses, so let’s see how you can benefit from each of them.

1. GOFAR Business Expense and Mileage Tracker

This stylish, award-winning mileage tracker is designed to automatically log your mileage and record your work expenses.

What sets it apart from other similar mileage tracking apps is the fact that this intelligent device ALWAYS logs all your trips as it works even without your smartphone in case you forget or lose it because it relies on the device which detects when your vehicle is on the move.

Business expense reporting is detailed and straightforward. It includes start and ends odometer readings, time and date stamps, and many other relevant data.

You can export all your trips or just the selected ones to Excel choosing the custom IRS rules, and email the report to your accountant.https://player.vimeo.com/video/282257919?dnt=1&app_id=122963

Installing and using GOFAR is a piece of cake. You don’t need any technical know-how.

Want to know the best part?

GOFAR truly helps its users to save almost 10% on fuel (on average) by providing drivers with real-time feedback on their driving efficiency with the use of its Ray, which is synced with the car’s OBD2 port (some saved up to 30%). And it’s tax deductible!

As a bonus, GOFAR also helps you monitor your car’s health and alerts you in plain English when your attention is needed. In other words, it enables you to save money on costly repairs by urging you to react before your car issue gets more expensive.

Free app included with no recurring fees.

Available at: Google Play Store / Apple Store

2. SherpaShare Work Expense and Mileage Tracker

SherpaShare business expense and mileage tracking app is particularly designed with those who make a living driving in mind, such as delivery, rideshare and other professional drivers.

Although the primary goal of creating this app was not tracking work expenses and logging miles for tax deductions, it still does the job very well.

What’s more, SherpaShare automatically tracks your mileage and expenses, provides IRS compliant reports, and allows you to scan your receipts.

The reason why rideshare and other similar drivers find this app valuable is that it offers Smart Driver tools to help them track and increase their profit by advising them on the most profitable routes to take.

It also provides a chat platform where drivers can share their experiences, reports on driving, efficiency and other tips.

These features set SherpaShare app apart from its competitors.

However, this app has its drawbacks, as well.

For instance, the app won’t record your trips unless it’s running in the background. Also, you’ll need to enter the start and end odometer details manually.

In addition, it doesn’t offer estimated tax payments, but you’ll have to ask an accountant for help or make use of accounting software for that purpose.

Price:

Monthly plan – $5.99 per month

Annual plan – $4.99 per month

No free version, but there’s a 14-day free trial available.

Available at: Google Play Store / Apple Store

3. QuickBooks Self-Employed Software

The users of QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) software reported an ‘average of $4,628 in tax savings per year’.

Also, their ‘customers log on average $7,393 in mileage deductions per year’.

This mileage tracker app also automatically tracks all the starting and ending locations of your trips, which enables everyone who drives for business to deduct mileage and vehicle expenses with ease.https://www.youtube.com/embed/230aQPAtsc8?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https:%2F%2Fwww.gofar.co

All you need to do is categorize your trips as personal or business. Here’s how easily you can do it:https://www.youtube.com/embed/RFTyJNYXF3g?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https:%2F%2Fwww.gofar.co

Isn’t it quite simple?

This is not a mileage tracking app only. Quite the opposite.

It a well-known bookkeeping app, but we’d say it’s a comprehensive ‘all-in-one’ app, which also monitors your work expenses and syncs with your bank accounts so it’s particularly useful for small business owners.

Another feature of this tracker is comparing your business miles with your actual vehicle expenses and recommending a greater deduction IRS method to you at the end of tax year.

Besides automatic mileage logging and tracking your expenses, here’s what other features are included in the cheapest, regular version of QBSE:

• Recording customer payments and creating simple invoices
• Attaching receipts to transactions
• Providing reminders on tax payment
• Creating tax detail reports, profit, loss and tax summary
• Calculating estimated tax payments

But, there’s more to it:

Since the mileage tracker is integrated into the QBSE, if you’re using TurboTax preparation software, there’s NO need for you to export the data to a CSV file.

All your mileage, expense and other necessary data will be automatically transferred to your Schedule C.

You can enjoy many perks because this is actually an accounting app with a built-in mileage tracking app.

However, with all these benefits comes a hefty price tag.

Price:

Regular version – US$10 per month

TurboTax Bundle – US$17 per month

Live Tax Bundle – US$24 per month

No free version offered, but there’s a 30-day free trial available.

Available at: Google Play Store / Apple Store

Track Your Mileage and Work Expenses Automatically

Not only are these mileage tracking apps stupid-simple to use, they’re also:

• accurate and dependable,
• Affordable (mostly),
• available for both Android and iOS users and
• IRS compliant.

What’s more, they offer a wide range of outstanding features.

Start tracking and logging your mileage properly so that you become eligible for a significant tax deduction.

No matter whether you’re a rideshare or delivery driver, sales rep, entrepreneur, freelancer or you belong to any other group of mobile workers, get yourself an accurate and simple mileage tracker for recording your work expenses and save your time, money and nerves.

You’ll thank yourself and us later when you experience all the perks of your smart driving buddy.