Applies to: Phone & web

Report calculations look wrong

If the dollar values or totals in MileLedger reports look different from what you calculated manually, the most common cause is a mismatch between the mileage rate configured in Preferences and the rate you were expecting. This guide explains how MileLedger calculates report figures and how to correct them.

Steps

  1. 1

    Check your configured mileage rate

    Open More → Mileage Rates (or Settings → Per-Mile Rates). Note the active estimate type and today’s $/mi. Compare it to the IRS standard business mileage rate for your tax year if you are using tax-deduction estimates.

  2. 2

    Verify the correct IRS rate for your period

    Current IRS business mileage rates: 2024 $0.67/mile, 2025 $0.70/mile, 2026 H1 (Jan–Jun) $0.725/mile, 2026 H2 (Jul–Dec) $0.76/mile. The IRS publishes official rates at irs.gov/tax-professionals/standard-mileage-rates.

  3. 3

    Recheck your manual calculation

    Use the **same miles shown in the app** (one decimal place) and the same rate. Multiply, then truncate to cents (do not round up). Differences often come from using extra GPS precision, rounding half-up, including personal trips, or a different rate period.

  4. 4

    Clear filters and check totals with no filtering active

    In the Reports or Expenses tab, clear all filters and compare the total shown to your expectation. Apply filters one at a time to identify which filter is causing the discrepancy.

How MileLedger calculates mileage values

MileLedger estimates mileage value as: **miles shown (1 decimal) × your active rate** in **More → Mileage Rates**. Leftover mile fractions and leftover cents are **truncated** (never rounded up). Example: a drive shown as 3.5 mi at $0.77/mi is valued at $2.695 and shown as **$2.69**, not rounded up to $2.70 or $2.71.

Rates are set by you (or seeded from IRS periods for tax/employer kinds). MileLedger does not silently rewrite past estimates when the IRS publishes a new notice — add or update a rate with the correct effective dates.

To align with IRS rates, set the tax-deduction rate to the official figure for your tax year (2024: $0.67/mi; 2025: $0.70/mi; 2026 H1: $0.725/mi; 2026 H2: $0.76/mi).

Why a total looks different from a hand calculator

Miles on screen are one decimal place. If you multiply a more precise GPS figure (e.g. 3.59) by the rate, you will get a higher dollar amount than MileLedger, which uses 3.5.

Mileage estimates truncate to cents; many calculators round half-up. $2.695 becomes **$2.69** in MileLedger, not $2.70.

Expense amounts still use normal currency rounding to cents — only mileage reimbursement/tax estimates use truncate-down.

Filters and Business vs Personal categorization also change which drives and expenses are included.

IRS rate period mismatch

If you configured your mileage rate at the start of a year and did not update it for a mid-year rate change, drives recorded after the rate change use the old rate. For example, drives after 1 July 2026 should use $0.76/mile, not $0.725/mile. Update the rate in Preferences and note that this affects future calculations — it does not retroactively recalculate past drives.

Important notes

  • MileLedger's mileage rate in Preferences is user-configurable and is not automatically updated when the IRS announces rate changes. Update it manually at the start of each year or when a mid-year change takes effect.
  • Report calculations in MileLedger are for reference only and do not constitute tax advice. Consult a tax professional for your specific deduction amount.

Common problems

My mileage value is higher than the IRS rate would produce.

Your configured mileage rate in Preferences may be set above the IRS rate — possibly an employer reimbursement rate. If you want the report to reflect IRS-standard values, update the rate in Preferences to the current IRS rate.

The estimated deduction in MileLedger does not match the IRS Mileage Deduction Calculator on the website.

The web tool applies IRS rates by date period, including mid-year rate changes. MileLedger applies a single fixed rate you configure in Preferences. If your drives span a rate-period boundary, the totals will differ unless you manually update the rate in Preferences mid-year.

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Still stuck? Contact support or browse Troubleshooting.