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The IRS standard mileage deduction is one of the most valuable tax benefits for travel nurses. It covers the cost of using your personal vehicle for work-related travel — but the IRS requires detailed, contemporaneous records.

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IRS Standard Mileage Rates

The rate covers gas, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. You don’t need to track individual vehicle expenses when using the standard rate.

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What Qualifies as Deductible

Your daily commute from your temporary housing to the facility is generally not deductible — it’s treated the same as any employee’s commute. The deduction applies to travel between your tax home and assignment locations.

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IRS Recordkeeping Requirements

The IRS requires a contemporaneous log — records made at or near the time of each trip. Your log must include:
  1. Date of the trip
  2. Destination (or route)
  3. Business purpose of the trip
  4. Miles driven
Reconstructing a mileage log at tax time from memory is not compliant and may not survive an audit. Log trips as they happen.

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W-2 vs. 1099

Under TCJA (now permanent), mileage deductions for W-2 employees are suspended on federal returns. However:
  • 5 states still allow them on state returns (NY, CA, AL, HI, AR)
  • The deduction is included in assignment profitability calculations

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How TaxHomeBase Helps

  • Mileage page — Log trips with date, miles, purpose, origin, destination
  • Purpose categories — tax_home_visit, work_travel, licensing, personal, other
  • Deductibility tracking — Automatic classification based on purpose
  • Summary calculations — Total miles, deductible miles, estimated deduction
  • Export — Mileage Log CSV export for tax preparation
  • Integration — Mileage feeds into Tax Estimate, Assignment Profitability, and Tax Home Analysis