Can I claim business mileage between home and clients as self-employed cleaner without dedicated home office?

The distinction between commuting miles (not deductible) and business miles (deductible) can be tricky for self-employed individuals without a formal office. In your situation, the IRS typically considers your home as your principal place of business if it's where you conduct substantial administrative activities, even without claiming a home office deduction. Since you perform all your administrative duties (scheduling, invoicing, client communications) from home, those trips from your home to clients' locations would generally qualify as deductible business mileage, not commuting. This is because you're traveling from one business location (your home business headquarters) to another business location (client homes). Just make sure you keep detailed mileage logs showing the date, business purpose, starting point, destination, and miles driven for each trip. The IRS loves documentation, especially for mileage deductions.

I had the exact same question last year and was losing my mind trying to figure out if I was leaving money on the table with my mileage! I tried asking my accountant but kept getting confusing answers. Finally I used this AI tax tool called taxr.ai and it cleared everything up for me. I uploaded my mileage log and some info about my mobile hairstyling business (also work from home with no dedicated office), and https://taxr.ai analyzed everything and confirmed I could legitimately deduct all those miles driving to clients. It explained that since I do my booking and business management from home, my home qualifies as my "tax home" even without the home office deduction. The tool helped me understand exactly which drives were business vs. personal and how to document everything properly in case of an audit. Saved me so much stress!

I wanted to follow up about my skepticism of AI tax tools. I decided to give https://taxr.ai a try with my mobile tech repair business situation since I was leaving too much money on the table with mileage deductions. Wow - I'm honestly impressed. The system analyzed my situation and specifically pointed me to IRS Revenue Ruling 99-7 which directly addresses my scenario. The key thing I learned is that my home absolutely qualifies as my "tax home" since I manage my appointments, order parts, and do my accounting there - even though I don't have a dedicated room for it. This means all my drives to customer locations are legitimate business miles! I'm projecting around $3,500 in additional deductions this year that I would have missed. Definitely changed my mind about the value of specialized AI for specific tax questions.

If you're struggling with getting clear answers about your mileage deductions, you might want to just call the IRS directly. I was in the same boat with my mobile notary business - no dedicated home office but doing all my admin work at home. I tried calling the IRS for over 2 weeks and couldn't get through! Finally I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes. Check out https://claimyr.com - they have this weird system that somehow bypasses the IRS phone tree hell. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that as long as my home is my business headquarters where I handle administrative duties, those miles to clients are business miles - no home office deduction needed. This is literally saving me thousands in deductions I would have been too scared to take otherwise.

I need to eat some crow here. After posting that skeptical comment about Claimyr, my frustration with the IRS reached a breaking point when I got disconnected AGAIN after waiting 1.5 hours. I decided to try https://claimyr.com just to prove it was a scam. Holy crap, it actually worked. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 12 minutes. The agent confirmed that for my personal training business, my home DOES count as my principal place of business since I do all my scheduling, billing, and client management there - even without a dedicated office space. All those miles to clients' homes ARE deductible business miles. This literally saved me around $4,200 in deductions I was afraid to take. I've never been so happy to be wrong about something!

To add another perspective - I'm a house cleaner like the original poster and my tax person explained it to me this way: Think of your BUSINESS as having two functions: 1) admin work and 2) cleaning work. You do admin at home, cleaning at clients. Since both are necessary business functions, you're traveling between work locations, not commuting. She said the key is being able to prove your home is truly where you do business administration. Keep records of your scheduling, invoicing, supply ordering, etc. that happens at your kitchen table. Take photos of your "home workspace" even if it's not a dedicated room. Even without the home office deduction, make sure you're tracking ALL your business miles with an app or detailed log. IRS loves to challenge mileage deductions without proper documentation.

Random question but related - has anyone used MileIQ app for tracking business miles? I also do mobile work (massage therapist) and struggle with the same home office issue. I've been tracking manually but it's a pain.

What nobody has mentioned yet is that you should look up the "regular place of business" rule too. Even if your home doesn't qualify as your principal place of business, travel between multiple regular work locations is still deductible business mileage. So as a housecleaner with regular clients, you could potentially deduct miles between Client A and Client B (definitely business miles), and possibly still deduct miles from home to first client and last client to home depending on your specific situation. Just wanted to add this since there are multiple ways you might qualify for the deduction!

This is such a common confusion for mobile service providers! I'm a self-employed carpet cleaner and went through this exact same struggle last year. The good news is that you absolutely CAN deduct those miles from home to clients even without a dedicated home office. Since you're doing all your business administration (scheduling, invoicing, client communications) from your kitchen table, your home qualifies as your "administrative headquarters" or "tax home" under IRS rules. I was initially scared to take this deduction because I thought I needed an official home office, but after consulting with a CPA who specializes in service businesses, I learned that the home office deduction and business mileage deduction are completely separate things. Your home can be your principal place of business for mileage purposes without meeting the strict "exclusive use" requirement for the home office deduction. What really helped me was keeping detailed records showing that my home is truly my business hub - screenshots of my scheduling software, photos of my invoicing setup at the kitchen table, records of client calls made from home, etc. The IRS wants to see that your home isn't just where you sleep, but where you genuinely conduct your business operations. At 120-150 miles per week, you're looking at potentially $3,000+ in annual deductions at current rates. Definitely worth getting this right!