Tax mileage deduction for construction workers traveling to multiple job sites - qualifying requirements?

8 The commute rule can be tricky! The basic principle is that regular commuting (home to work, work to home) isn't deductible, but there are important exceptions that might help your situation. If your husband first goes to his employer's shop/office and then travels to job sites from there, those miles FROM THE SHOP TO THE JOB SITES are generally deductible as business travel. The miles from your home to the shop are still considered regular commuting and not deductible. Another possibility: If your husband works at "temporary work locations" (generally job sites where he works less than a year), AND he has a regular place of business elsewhere (like the shop), then the miles from home directly to those temporary locations might be deductible. Also important - your husband needs to be tracking all these miles with a log showing dates, locations, purpose, and mileage. The current standard mileage rate for 2025 is 67.5 cents per mile for business use, which can add up significantly with the miles you're describing.

17 I was in almost the exact same situation with my contractor job last year - constantly driving to different sites and watching my gas bills explode. I tried doing all the mileage tracking manually but kept forgetting and missing miles. I started using this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that basically analyzes all my receipts and work records and tells me exactly what I can claim. It flagged a ton of deductible mileage I was missing because I didn't understand the rules. For construction workers specifically, it knows all those weird rules about temporary work locations vs. regular commuting. Saved me like 6 hours of research and probably caught an extra $2,700 in deductions I would have missed.

3 Just wanted to update on my experience with taxr.ai after trying it - it's legit! I uploaded my husband's work calendar that showed all his job site visits, and a few gas receipts. It identified that since he reports to a home office first (technically our spare bedroom where he does paperwork), his trips to temporary work sites actually DO qualify as deductible business mileage. This was a complete surprise to us because we always thought the "commuting rule" meant nothing was deductible. We're now tracking about 230 deductible miles weekly which at the current rate means almost $8,000 in deductions for the year. Should save us around $1,700 on our taxes!

14 After trying to call the IRS SEVEN TIMES to get clarification on the temporary work location rules, I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They got me connected to an IRS tax specialist in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for weeks. The agent confirmed that for construction workers, if you have a home office where you regularly do business admin work, AND you go to temporary work sites (less than 1 year at each location), those miles from home to the temporary sites are deductible. They also explained that even if the construction company has a main office/shop, as long as your husband doesn't work there regularly (like he just stops by occasionally), the miles from home to temporary work sites can still be deductible.

22 I wanted to follow up after trying Claimyr because I was super skeptical. It actually worked exactly as described! I got through to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes (instead of the 3+ hours I spent trying on my own last month and never getting through). The agent confirmed what others have said about construction workers and mileage. The key thing they emphasized was DOCUMENTATION. They said even if the miles qualify, without a proper mileage log with dates, starting point, destination, purpose, and miles driven, they'll deny the deduction in an audit. They recommended using either a physical mileage logbook or a mileage tracking app that can export reports. I'm actually impressed and kind of shocked I got a straight answer from the IRS!

9 Don't forget that your husband might also be able to deduct some vehicle maintenance costs if he's using it primarily for work! My brother-in-law is in construction and deducts things like: - Oil changes done more frequently due to high mileage - Tire replacements (prorated for business use percentage) - Special equipment added to the truck for work purposes You can either use the standard mileage rate OR actual expenses, but not both. Generally, the standard mileage rate is simpler but run the numbers both ways.

15 Just want to add a warning - my husband is also in construction and we got audited specifically on our mileage deduction a few years back. Keep DETAILED records! Not just mileage but also: - Addresses of each job site - Names of clients/projects - Dates worked at each location - Proof it was temporary work (like contracts showing project duration) The IRS is really cracking down on this deduction. They made us prove each job site was "temporary" and not just a different location of his regular workplace.

As someone who's been through the construction mileage deduction maze myself, I can't stress enough how important it is to establish that "regular place of business" designation early on. The IRS looks at several factors: where you regularly perform administrative duties, store tools/equipment, meet with clients, or conduct other business activities. Even a dedicated home office where your husband does paperwork, billing, or project planning can qualify as his principal place of business. Once you establish that, the temporary work location rules become much more favorable. Each construction site where he works less than a year becomes a "temporary work location," and miles from his principal place of business (including home office) to these sites are deductible. Also worth noting - if he's driving between multiple job sites in the same day, ALL those inter-site miles are deductible business travel, regardless of where he started that morning. The key is documenting the business purpose of each trip. Given the mileage you're describing (400+ miles/week), this could easily be a $10,000+ annual deduction at current rates. Definitely worth getting the documentation system right from the start!