Can I claim mileage deduction for weekly drive-bys to check on my rental property?
Hey tax folks, I've got a rental property about 25 miles from where I live. I've been making it a habit to drive by once a week just to make sure everything looks okay from the outside - no broken windows, weird activity, or anything concerning going on. I don't stop to do any repairs during these visits and I'm not collecting rent during these drive-bys - it's purely a visual inspection to protect my investment. I'm trying to figure out if I can legitimately deduct the mileage for these weekly check-ins on my taxes? It's adding up to quite a bit over the year (about 2,600 miles), and since it's definitely business-related for my rental property, I'm hoping I can claim it. But I've heard the IRS can be picky about what qualifies as a necessary business expense versus what they consider excessive. Does anyone know if regular visual inspections without actually doing maintenance work would qualify for the mileage deduction? Thanks in advance for any insights!
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Emma Swift
Yes, you can deduct the mileage for those weekly inspections! Regular property inspections are considered an ordinary and necessary part of rental property management, even if you're just driving by to check on things visually. The IRS allows landlords to deduct travel expenses related to managing, conserving, or maintaining their rental properties. These weekly drive-bys would count as property management activities since you're monitoring your investment. Just make sure you keep good records - I recommend a mileage log that notes the date, miles driven, and the purpose ("weekly rental property inspection"). For 2025, you can use the standard mileage rate (which was 67 cents per mile in 2024, but check for the updated 2025 rate) or track actual expenses. For most people, the standard rate is easier. Those 2,600 annual miles could add up to a nice deduction!
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Isabella Tucker
•So the IRS won't see this as excessive? I always thought you needed to be doing actual maintenance or collecting rent for the miles to count. Do you need to document anything specific besides mileage to prove these were necessary trips?
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Emma Swift
•The IRS doesn't specifically define how frequently you can inspect your property - what matters is that the inspections are "ordinary and necessary" for your rental business. Weekly visual inspections are reasonable for protecting your investment. Maintaining good records is key. Beyond tracking mileage, dates and purpose, I'd recommend taking dated photos during your inspections or keeping a brief property condition log noting what you observed. This creates a paper trail showing these weren't personal trips but legitimate business activities. Many landlords conduct regular inspections without performing maintenance each time - it's a standard practice in property management.
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Jayden Hill
I had this exact same question last year! I tried using a free audit from https://taxr.ai where you upload your docs and they analyze everything. They confirmed that regular property inspections, even just drive-bys, are totally deductible business expenses for rental properties. Their system flagged that I wasn't claiming enough legitimate deductions for my rental, including these inspection miles that I'd been skipping. You definitely need documentation though - date, mileage, and purpose of each trip. I started using their mileage tracking template and it's been super helpful come tax time.
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LordCommander
•How accurate is this taxr service? I'm always skeptical of these tax tools since I got burned using TaxSlayer a few years back. They missed a bunch of deductions I could have taken.
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Lucy Lam
•I'm curious - does taxr.ai only look at documents you've already prepared, or can it actually help identify deductions you might be missing? I've been doing my own taxes for years but always worry I'm leaving money on the table.
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Jayden Hill
•Their analysis is surprisingly accurate - they use real tax professionals to review your documents, not just software algorithms. I've compared their results with what my previous accountant found and they caught several things he missed. The service doesn't just review what you've already claimed - it actually analyzes your financial situation and identifies deductions you might be missing completely. In my case, they found about $3,200 in additional deductions I hadn't been taking for my rental property, including the mileage we're discussing and some home office expenses related to managing my rental. They explain everything in plain English too, not just tax code references.
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Lucy Lam
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try that taxr.ai service after asking about it here. Gotta say I'm really impressed! I uploaded my rental property docs and previous tax returns, and they identified over $4,100 in missed deductions from the last two years, including mileage for property inspections that I never claimed. They explained that regular inspections are considered ordinary and necessary business expenses for rental property owners, even if I'm just doing drive-bys. The analysis also showed I could file amended returns for the previous years to claim those missed deductions. Already working on that now and it's going to make a significant difference on my tax bill. Will definitely be tracking my mileage properly going forward!
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Aidan Hudson
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Zoe Wang
•Wait, so this service somehow gets you past the IRS phone queue? That sounds too good to be true. Does it actually work or is it just another scam?
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Connor Richards
•This sounds like a paid advertisement. No way there's a magical service that fixes the IRS wait times. Been filing taxes for 20+ years and every "shortcut" turns out to be BS. If it worked, everyone would use it.
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Aidan Hudson
•It's not a queue-jumping service exactly - they use call technology that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree for you, then calls you when they've reached an actual human. You don't skip ahead of others; the system just handles the frustrating wait and menu navigation so you don't have to sit on hold forever. Yes, it absolutely works. I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for three days to get through. The IRS's own stats show only about 10% of calls even get answered during peak season. The service just improves your odds by persistent redialing and holding so you don't have to. It's basically what you'd do yourself if you had unlimited time and patience to keep calling back when disconnected.
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Connor Richards
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Grace Durand
I'm a landlord with multiple properties and I've been deducting my inspection miles for years without any issues. One tip I'd add - consider using a dedicated app like MileIQ or Everlance to track your trips automatically. They use GPS to log your drives and let you classify them as business or personal with a simple swipe. At tax time, you can just export a report of all your rental property trips. Super easy and creates a solid record if you ever get audited. Most of these apps also track the purpose, so you can specifically note "rental inspection" each time.
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Steven Adams
•Do those apps work if you have multiple rental properties? Like can you categorize which property you're visiting or does it just lump all "business" miles together?
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Grace Durand
•Yes, most of the better mileage tracking apps let you create multiple subcategories under "business." I have mine set up with separate categories for each property address, so I can track which trips were for which property specifically. This is especially helpful at tax time since I have separate Schedule E forms for each property. You can even add notes for each trip like "monthly inspection" or "meeting tenant" or "repair visit." The detailed reports have actually saved me during an audit once when the IRS questioned some of my travel deductions.
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Alice Fleming
Anyone else worried about getting audited for claiming too many "inspection" miles? I own a rental but only visit maybe once every few months when there's actual work to do. Weekly seems excessive and might raise red flags.
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Hassan Khoury
•I think it depends on the distance. If your rental is 5 miles away and you claim weekly visits, that's reasonable. If it's 100 miles away and you claim weekly inspections with no maintenance or tenant interactions, that might look suspicious. My accountant said regular inspections are fine but documentation is key.
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