April 2026 · 7 min read

Contractor Mileage Tax Deduction Guide

Every mile you drive to a job is a tax deduction. Most contractors track zero of them.

The IRS allows contractors to deduct business mileage at 67 cents per mile in 2026. If you drive 15,000 business miles per year, that's a $10,050 deduction you may be leaving on the table. Here's how to track it correctly — and how to connect every mile to the lead it paid for.


Choose Lead Score if…Choose Other Apps if…
Lead Score auto-tracks your business mileage in the background — and links every drive to the lead it was for, so your IRS deductions have full job context.Generic mileage and expense apps produce tax reports. Lead Score produces tax reports with the context of which leads produced those miles and expenses.
You want mileage automatically tracked and linked to leadsYou only need basic mileage logging for taxes
You want IRS-compliant exports plus job contextYour employer provides a mileage reimbursement tool
You want to replace your mileage app and CRM with one subscriptionFree is your hard requirement (try Stride)
Feature Comparison

Lead Score vs Other Apps

Lead Score was built by a contractor who realized his mileage deductions were real money — and that linking every mile to a specific lead turned tax records into business intelligence.

FeatureLead ScoreOther Apps
Mileage per lead tracking Every drive linked to a lead Miles tracked without job context
IRS-compliant CSV export Built in Basic export (varies by app)
Lead qualification scoring 5-factor scoring system Not available
Works fully offline 100% local storage Most require connection
No account required Your device, your data Account required by most
Business purpose per mile Lead name and project type Generic business/personal only
Pipeline analytics Which sources cost most in miles Not available
PDF estimates & invoices Built in Not included
Monthly price $9.99/month $5–9/month (typical)
Free tier First 3 leads, no card Varies — often limited
67¢IRS mileage rate per mile in 2026
$10,050deduction on 15K business miles
5 minto set up mileage tracking

Why most contractors miss their mileage deductions

The IRS wants records. Most contractors have none.

The IRS requires a contemporaneous record of business mileage — meaning you track it as it happens, not at tax time from memory. Most contractors either don't track at all, use a notebook they lose, or run a mileage app that generates numbers they can't connect to specific jobs.

67¢per mile IRS rate 2026
$10,050deduction on 15K miles
0%of miles tracked by most contractors

Every untracked business mile is money the IRS would have given back.

To claim the deduction confidently you need: the date of each business drive, the starting point and destination, the business purpose, and the number of miles. That's exactly what Lead Score's mileage tracking per lead captures — automatically, attached to the lead it was for.

Every mile driven to a qualifying visit, estimate appointment, or job site is a business mile. So is every mile driven to pick up materials, meet a subcontractor, or attend a vendor meeting. Most contractors are deducting less than half of what they're entitled to.

"I want to know not just how many miles I drove but which jobs those miles went to."

MileIQ user feedback, 2025

How Lead Score handles contractor mileage tracking

IRS-compliant records with the business context the IRS actually wants.

Lead Score logs mileage per lead in your activity log. When you drive to a qualifying visit, you record the miles in that lead's activity. Your export includes the date, lead name, project type, and miles driven — exactly what the IRS wants to see.

67¢/miIRS standard rate 2026
Every milelinked to a lead
IRS-readyCSV export built in

Your dashboard shows total business miles, miles per lead source, and miles to won versus lost leads. This isn't just useful for taxes — it shows you which lead sources cost you the most in drive time.

Lead Score exports IRS-compliant CSV mileage reports. Every mile is labeled with the lead it was driven for, making your records cleaner and your deductions more defensible than a generic mileage app.


The Real Cost

What your current app stack actually costs.

Most solo contractors run 4–5 separate apps. Here's the monthly total — and what Lead Score costs to replace all of them.

Typical contractor app stack — per month
MileIQ (mileage)$8.99
Joist or Invoice Simple (estimates + invoices)$8–32
HelloLeads or similar (lead tracking)$5
Expense tracking app$5–10
Monthly total$27–56/month
Lead Score replaces all of the above
Lead scoring + mileage + estimates + invoices + expenses$9.99/month
Your annual savings$204–552/year

Or go annual at $59.99/year — less than $5/month for the full stack.


Pricing

Clear pricing. No surprises.

Other Apps

Mileage only — no lead context

  • ✗ No lead qualification
  • ✗ No pipeline analytics
  • ✗ Separate tool — one workflow

Bottom Line

Who should use what.

Our Verdict

If you're a contractor driving to qualifying visits, estimate appointments, and job sites and want IRS-compliant mileage records with business context, Lead Score is the right tool — it costs less than one missed deduction.

If you need fully automatic GPS trip detection without any manual input, a dedicated app like MileIQ or Timeero handles that. Lead Score requires you to log miles when you log the site visit — the tradeoff is that every mile comes with full business context.


FAQ

What contractors ask before switching.

What counts as a deductible business mile for contractors?×
Driving to customer sites for qualifying visits, estimates, and jobs. Driving to pick up materials or supplies. Driving to meet subcontractors or vendors. Driving to the bank to deposit business income. Not deductible: commuting from home to a regular place of business.
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?+
67 cents per mile for business use in 2026. On 15,000 business miles that's $10,050 in deductions. You can also choose to deduct actual vehicle expenses instead of the standard rate, but most contractors find the mileage rate simpler and more favorable.
What records does the IRS require for mileage deductions?+
The IRS requires a contemporaneous record including: date of the drive, starting location and destination, business purpose, and miles driven. Lead Score's activity log captures all of this per lead.
Does Lead Score export mileage for taxes?+
Yes. Lead Score exports all lead data including mileage to CSV. The export includes the date, lead name, project type, and miles driven — everything you need for your accountant or tax software.
Do I need a separate mileage app if I use Lead Score?+
Not for your business mileage. Lead Score tracks mileage per lead visit. For personal mileage that's not connected to a specific lead (like driving to a supply store), a free app like Stride handles that. Most contractors find Lead Score covers 80–90% of their business mileage.


Every mile you drive to a lead is a deduction. Are you tracking them?

Lead Score connects every business mile to the lead it was for.

Free tier · No account required · iOS & Android · Works offline

© 2026 Contractor School · contractorschool.co

Written by the Contractor School team based on publicly available pricing and feature information. Last updated April 2026. Lead Score is not affiliated with or endorsed by Other Apps.

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