🧾 Tax Guide 2024

Mileage Tax
Deductions — The Complete Guide

If you drive for work, you're leaving money on the table without proper mileage records. Here's everything you need to know — CRA rates, IRS rates, what qualifies, and what the taxman wants to see.

2024 Mileage Rates

Set by the CRA (Canada) and IRS (United States) for the 2024 tax year.

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Canada — CRA Rates

Canada Revenue Agency 2024

First 5,000 km (employees) $0.70/km
Each km after 5,000 $0.64/km
Northwest Territories / Yukon / Nunavut +$0.04/km
Self-employed (actual expense method) % of total vehicle costs

Source: Canada Revenue Agency T4044. Rates subject to annual revision.

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United States — IRS Rates

Internal Revenue Service 2024

Business miles $0.67/mile
Medical / moving $0.21/mile
Charitable purposes $0.14/mile
Actual expense method Track all vehicle costs

Source: IRS Notice 2024-08. Rates are updated periodically.

What driving qualifies?

Not all kilometres are deductible. Here's what counts and what doesn't.

✓ Eligible trips

  • ✓ Client meetings and site visits
  • ✓ Travel between two work locations
  • ✓ Driving to pick up supplies or materials
  • ✓ Real estate showings and property visits
  • ✓ Delivery and courier runs
  • ✓ Medical appointments (US only, limited)
  • ✓ Volunteer driving for registered charities (US)
  • ✓ Travel to temporary work locations

✗ Not eligible

  • ✗ Commuting from home to your regular office
  • ✗ Personal errands while on a business trip
  • ✗ Driving to pick up lunch for yourself
  • ✗ Personal trips of any kind
  • ✗ Fines, tolls, and parking tickets
  • ✗ Vehicle purchase cost (separate capital expense)

What records do you need to keep?

Tax authorities require a contemporaneous mileage log — not something you reconstruct at year end.

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Date
The date of each trip
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Start & end location
Addresses or at least area descriptions
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Distance
Kilometres or miles travelled
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Purpose
Business reason for the trip

🇨🇦 CRA retention requirement

Keep mileage records for 6 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

🇺🇸 IRS retention requirement

Keep mileage records for at least 3 years from the date you filed the return (6 years if you underreported income).

How WayPal makes tax season easy

Every trip logged in WayPal contains exactly what the CRA and IRS require.

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Complete trip logs

Date, start location, end location, distance, and purpose — logged automatically or in seconds.

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Instant value calculation

Enter your mileage rate and WayPal calculates the dollar value of every trip and your total deduction.

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Tax-ready export

Export a clean PDF or CSV summary that you — or your accountant — can submit with your return.

Start tracking before you forget another trip

Every unlogged kilometre is money you're leaving on the table. WayPal is free and takes 2 minutes to set up.

Download WayPal Free →