It’s January. You’re staring at your tax documents. And you’re realizing you forgot to track your mileage. Again.
Here’s the good news: if you’ve been using Google Maps or Apple Maps for navigation, those apps save your trip history. That data can help you reconstruct a year’s worth of business trips and claim those deductions.
It’s not perfect. You’ll need to do some work. But it’s a lot better than guessing or leaving money on the table.
Google Timeline (Android & iPhone)
If you use Google Maps or have a Google account signed into your phone, there’s a chance Google has your location history. As of 2024, Google Timeline data is stored on your phone, not in the cloud—so you’ll need to export it directly from your device.
On Android:
Go to Settings > Location > Location Services > Timeline > Export Timeline Data. You’ll need to authenticate, and the data exports as a JSON file.
On iPhone:
Open the Google Maps app. Tap your profile icon, then tap the three-dot menu (⋯) and navigate to Timeline settings to view and export your data.
Important: Google now keeps only about 90 days of Timeline data by default. If you didn’t opt in to keep your history before December 2024, older data may have been deleted. Check your Timeline settings and enable cloud backup to prevent future data loss.
Apple Maps / Significant Locations (iPhone)
Apple is more private by default, so the data is stored on your phone, not in the cloud. It’s also less detailed. But it can still help.
Step 1: Find Significant Locations
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations. You’ll need to authenticate with Face ID or your passcode.
Step 2: Review your history
You’ll see a list of cities, and within each city, specific addresses you’ve visited frequently. Tap any location to see dates and times.
The limitation: Apple only stores “significant” locations—places you visit often or stay for a while. One-off trips might not show up. And there’s no built-in export feature.
Other Sources of Trip Data
Don’t stop at the obvious. Here are other places your trips might be documented:
- Calendar appointments — Check your work calendar for client meetings, site visits, conferences
- Email — Search for “directions” or addresses. Meeting confirmations often include locations
- Credit card statements — Charges at gas stations, parking lots, and restaurants can jog your memory about trips
- Toll records — If you use E-ZPass, SunPass, or similar, you can request a statement of all your toll transactions
- Ride-share apps — Uber and Lyft keep complete trip histories in the app
- Photos — Check the location metadata on photos. Your phone tagged where you were when you took them
Turning Raw Data Into a Mileage Log
Having location data is step one. You still need to turn it into something the IRS will accept. Here’s what a valid mileage log needs:
- Date of each trip
- Start and end locations
- Miles driven
- Business purpose (client meeting, supply run, etc.)
Go through your location history and identify business trips. For each one, note the date and addresses. Then use Google Maps to get the distance. Finally, write a brief business purpose based on your memory, calendar, or email.
Yes, this takes time. A few hours, probably. But at 72.5 cents per mile, recovering even 5,000 miles means $3,625 in deductions. Use our calculator to see what your recovered miles are worth. That’s worth an afternoon.
Once you’ve reconstructed your trips, read our guide on adding manual entries the right way so your records hold up if the IRS ever asks questions.
Is This Legal?
Using location history to reconstruct mileage is legitimate, but there are rules. The IRS prefers “contemporaneous” records (logged at the time of the trip). Reconstructed records are acceptable if:
- They’re based on real data (location history, receipts, calendar)
- They’re as accurate as you can make them
- You keep documentation of how you created them
What’s not okay: making up numbers or inflating your mileage. That’s fraud. But using your phone’s data to recover trips you actually took? That’s just good record-keeping, after the fact. If the IRS does ask about your records, here’s exactly what to do when you get that letter.
Don’t Do This Again Next Year
Reconstructing mileage is tedious. An automatic tracking app eliminates the problem entirely. Install it once, and every business trip gets logged with GPS-verified distance and timestamps.
At tax time, you export a clean report instead of digging through a year of location history.
The best time to start tracking was January 1st. The second best time is today. Here’s our complete guide to automatic mileage tracking to get set up in minutes.
