Is the Excel mileage log free?
Yes. The workbook downloads without an account and opens in Excel, Excel for Mac, and the free Excel apps. Nothing in it is locked, and there is no trial or sign-up step.
Free Excel workbook
Mileage Log Template (Excel)
A free .xlsx workbook with three sheets: a trip log whose Amount column calculates itself, a summary that totals the log by month, and the instructions inside the file.
9 columns, with 100 rows ready to fill · The Amount column multiplies each trip's distance by its rate · No macros and no account: one .xlsx file you keep · The current official rate for 6 countries is in the table below
What the download contains
Three sheets in one workbook. The log is where the trips go, the summary is what you send with a claim, and the instructions travel with the file.
Mileage Log
One row per trip. The header row holds the filter buttons, and the Amount column fills its formula into a row you add.
Summary
Driver, vehicle, distance unit and year, the totals for the log, and one row for each month of the year.
Read me
The same instructions as this page, inside the file, for whoever opens the workbook next.
| Date | Start Location | Destination | Purpose | Distance | Unit | Rate | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-03 | Office | Client Site | Business meeting | 24.5 | mi | 0.725 | 17.76 | Quarterly review |
| 2026-01-05 | Home | Hospital | Medical visit | 12.0 | mi | 0.205 | 2.46 | Follow-up appointment |
| 2026-01-08 | Warehouse | Charity Center | Charity delivery | 18.2 | mi | 0.140 | 2.55 | Donation transport |
The example rows carry the US rates in force for January 2026: 72.5 cents per mile for business, 20.5 cents for medical, and the fixed 14 cents for charity. They show what belongs in a row; replace them with your own trips and the rate that applies to you.
The Amount column fills itself in
=IF(COUNT(E2,G2)<2,"",ROUND(E2*G2,2))
This sits in every row of the log: it multiplies that row's distance by its rate, rounds to cents, and stays blank until both cells hold a number. The file ships with 100 rows set up this way, and the Summary sheet totals the first 2000 rows, so trips added at the bottom still count.
What each column has to hold
The log is only as good as the entries in it, and in Excel the cell format is part of the entry. These are the ones a reviewer reads, and what breaks when Excel holds them as something else.
| Column | Keep it as | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| Date | A real date (Format: Date) | A date typed as text sits on the left of the cell, and the month rows on the Summary sheet skip it. |
| Start Location | Text | Spell a place the same way every time you drive there, so the filter groups those trips instead of splitting them. |
| Destination | Text | A round trip is two rows: office to client site, then client site back to the office. |
| Purpose | Text someone else can follow | Name the meeting, the client, or the job. "Work" answers nothing when the trip is questioned a year later. |
| Distance | A number, not text | Type the digits alone. "24.5 mi" is text, so the Amount column treats the row as empty and the total misses it. |
| Unit | mi or km (Data → Data Validation → List) | Keep one unit per sheet. A total that adds miles to kilometres is not a figure you can claim or deduct. |
| Rate | A number with up to 3 decimals (Format: 0.###) | 0.725 has to display as 0.725, not as 0.73. Use the rate in force on the trip's own date, not one rate for the file. |
| Amount | A formula (leave it alone) | It multiplies this row's distance by its rate and rounds to cents. A figure typed over it stops following the row. |
| Notes | Text | Tolls or parking handled separately, passengers, an approval reference: whatever a reviewer would otherwise have to ask about. |
Which rate goes in the Rate column
Your employer's policy rate if it publishes one, because that is the figure the claim is checked against. If it does not, use the official rate for the country and the date you drove; the table below lists the current ones.
| Country | Rate | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United StatesIRS · Business mileage rate for employees and self-employed drivers. | Business rate · 76 cents per mile | 2026 (Jul 1-Dec 31) |
| United KingdomHMRC · Cars and vans, for the employee's own vehicle. | First 10,000 miles · 55 pence per mile; Over 10,000 miles · 25 pence per mile | 2026-27 |
| CanadaCRA · Automobile allowance benchmark; territories pay more. | First 5,000 km · 73 cents per kilometre; After 5,000 km · 67 cents per kilometre | 2026 |
| AustraliaATO · All cars, work-related kilometres only. | Cents per kilometre (up to 5,000 km) · 91 cents per kilometre | 2026-27 |
| New ZealandIRD · Petrol vehicle; diesel, hybrid and electric have their own rates. | First 14,000 km · 120 cents per kilometre; After 14,000 km · 37 cents per kilometre | 2025-26 |
| South AfricaSARS · Simplified flat rate for business travel. | Simplified rate per km (up to 8,000 km) · ZAR 4.95 per km | 2026-27 |
The United States is the clearest case: 2026 (Jan 1-Jun 30) pays 72.5 cents per mile, and 2026 (Jul 1-Dec 31) pays 76 cents per mile. A rate typed once at the top of a sheet cannot express that; a rate in every row can.
Every figure above is read from the same catalog the calculators price with, so the rate here is the rate a calculator on this site would apply.
Turn the log into a tracker
The workbook ships with the per-trip arithmetic and the month totals. These are the extensions it leaves to you, written in the letters this file uses.
- Type a new trip in the first empty row inside the table and the Amount formula comes with it. Past the last prepared row, Excel extends the table only when you type in the row directly under it, so a blank row between the last trip and the next one leaves that trip outside the table, without a formula.
- Set the year in cell B6 of the Summary sheet: the twelve month rows below it read the dates you typed, and the totals above them read the whole log.
- Everything below is an extension the workbook leaves to you: a category split, a total of the rows a filter leaves visible, a month label for a PivotTable, and a lookup that picks the rate for a trip's date.
Distance for one category
=SUMIFS('Mileage Log'!$E$2:$E$2000,'Mileage Log'!$J$2:$J$2000,"Business")
Add the column at the end of the log, in column J: type Category in the header cell and Excel extends the table to take it in. Nothing the workbook already points at moves, and Business, Personal, Commuting or Medical is what the total counts.
Amount for one category
=SUMIFS('Mileage Log'!$H$2:$H$2000,'Mileage Log'!$J$2:$J$2000,"Business")
Reads the Amount column, so a category whose trips were claimed at different rates still adds up to one figure. Change the word in the quotes to total another category.
Total of the rows a filter leaves visible
=SUBTOTAL(109,'Mileage Log'!$H$2:$H$2000)
Filter the table by month or category with the header buttons, then read the figure for what is on screen. SUBTOTAL skips the rows a filter removed, and 109 also skips rows hidden by hand; SUM would count every row in the range.
Month label for a PivotTable
=IF(A2="","",YEAR(A2)&"-"&TEXT(MONTH(A2),"00"))
Put this in column K of the trip's row — the column after the Category column — and copy it down. Insert → PivotTable then groups the log by month: the label in Rows, Category in Columns, Amount in Values.
Rate by trip date
=VLOOKUP($A2,Rates!$A$2:$B$20,2,TRUE)
Keep a sheet with one row per rate change — the date it started in column A, the rate in column B, oldest first — and each trip picks up the rate that was in force on its own date. TRUE matches the last row whose date is not after the trip's. On Microsoft 365, =XLOOKUP($A2,Rates!$A$2:$A$20,Rates!$B$2:$B$20,,-1) is the same lookup written once.
How to use the workbook
The same steps the Read me sheet carries, so the file and this page cannot describe two different workflows.
- Save your own copy first, in a folder you back up, and use one workbook per driver per year.
- Work on the Mileage Log sheet. Row 1 names the columns, and the rows under it are examples you can delete.
- Type the date, the route, the purpose, the distance, the unit, and the rate you are claiming for that trip.
- Leave the Amount column alone: it multiplies that row's distance by its rate and rounds to cents.
- Open the Summary sheet and set the driver, the vehicle, the distance unit, and the year the log covers.
Keep a log that holds up
A log is evidence, and the entries are what a reviewer reads. These are the habits that keep the workbook usable months later.
- Use one distance unit per sheet. The Unit column holds mi or km, and a total that adds miles to kilometres is not a figure you can claim.
- Add a Category column to the right of the table when you have to report business, personal, and commuting separately; the SUMIFS formula that totals each category is on the mileage log page of the site named at the bottom of this sheet.
- The Summary sheet reads the whole Distance and Amount columns, so a trip added at the bottom of the log is counted without editing a formula.
- Rates change. Put the rate in force on the day you drove in that row, not one rate at the top of the sheet.
- This workbook records the trips you type. It is not an official tax form and it does not decide whether a trip is reimbursable or deductible.
Where this comes from
The recordkeeping notes follow the four tax authorities below. The workbook's own behaviour — a table that carries its formula into a new row, and a subtotal that skips filtered rows — is documented by Microsoft.
Frequently asked questions
Does the workbook calculate the amount for each trip?
Yes. The Amount column multiplies that row's distance by its rate and rounds the result to cents, using =IF(COUNT(E2,G2)<2,"",ROUND(E2*G2,2)) in the first row and the same formula down the column. Delete the example rows and it keeps working for the trips you type.
Why is the Amount column blank for a row I filled in?
The Amount formula needs a number in both Distance and Rate for that row. A distance typed as text, such as 24.5 mi, counts as nothing, so keep the unit in the Unit column and type the digits alone. If the value sits on the left of the cell, the cell is text: set Format → Number and type the number again.
Which rate goes in the Rate column?
The rate you are claiming for that trip. If your employer's policy pays a set rate per mile or kilometre, use that figure, because it is the one your claim will be checked against. Otherwise use the official rate for the country and the date you drove, tier by tier, which is what the rate table above lists — and keep it per row, because official rates change.
Can I open the workbook in Google Sheets or Numbers instead?
Yes. Every formula in the workbook is a plain cell reference, so the totals and the month rows still calculate after Google Sheets, Numbers, or LibreOffice opens the file. What changes is Excel's own behaviour: a new row outside Excel does not carry the Amount formula down, so copy it into the rows you add.
How do I add trips as the year goes on?
Type each trip in the first empty row inside the table. The file ships with 100 rows ready, and the Summary sheet reads the first 2000 rows of the log, so passing the last prepared row does not break the totals — Excel extends the table when you type directly under it. A blank row between the last trip and the next one is what stops that, and the trip then arrives without the Amount formula.
Can I log kilometres instead of miles?
Yes. Put km in the Unit column and enter both the distance and the rate in kilometres, then set the same unit on the Summary sheet. Keep one unit per sheet: a total that adds miles to kilometres is not a figure you can claim, and the workbook will not warn you.
How do I separate business, personal, and commuting trips?
Add a Category column in column J of the log, type Business, Personal, Commuting or Medical in each row, and SUMIFS totals each one — the formula is in the tracker section above. A PivotTable built on the same column shows the split by month as well.
How do I get the log to a manager, payroll, or an accountant?
Send the month they asked for as a document rather than a workbook: File → Export → Create PDF, or print the log and repeat the header row with Page Layout → Print Titles. If payroll wants data, File → Save As → CSV UTF-8 gives a plain file to import, and keeping the .xlsx as your working copy means the formulas are still there afterwards.
Is this an official IRS or CRA form?
No. MileagePilot publishes this workbook. It is not an official form, it does not decide whether a trip is reimbursable or deductible, and your employer or tax authority can ask for records the workbook does not hold. The sources below are where the recordkeeping rules are stated.
Use the log with the next tool
Price the trips you recorded, check a distance, or move to another format when the log is ready to submit.