Trips

How to Classify Your Trips

How to Classify Your Trips When SmartMiles records a trip, it starts as "Unclassified." You need to classify it so it counts toward your mileage deductions or reimbursement. Trip purposes SmartMiles supports five trip purposes: - Business — Trips for work (client visits, errands for your job, driving between work sites). These are deductible at the standard IRS business mileage rate. - Personal — Commuting, errands, social trips. Not deductible. - Medical — Trips to and from medical appointments. Deductible at the IRS medical mileage rate. - Charity — Driving in service of a charitable organization. Deductible at the IRS charity mileage rate. - Moving — Trips related to a move for work (limited eligibility). Deductible at the IRS medical/moving mileage rate. Classifying a trip in the app 1. Open the Trips tab. 2. Tap on an unclassified trip. 3. Select a purpose from the list. You can also swipe on a trip card to quickly classify it without opening the detail view. Bulk classification If you have many unclassified trips, you can classify them faster by setting up automatic classification: - Frequent Trip Rules — Save a route so future trips between the same start and end locations are classified automatically. See How Frequent Trip Rules Work. - Work Hours — Set your work schedule so trips during those hours are auto-classified as Business. See Setting Up Work Hours. Changing a classification You can change a trip's purpose at any time. Open the trip and select a different purpose. The mileage value will update automatically based on the new purpose's rate. Why classification matters The IRS requires a contemporaneous log of business miles to claim the mileage deduction. Classifying your trips in SmartMiles creates that log. Unclassified trips are not included in your mileage totals or exports.

How to Add a Trip Manually

How to Add a Trip Manually If SmartMiles didn't catch a trip automatically — maybe your phone was off, or you drove a different vehicle without your phone — you can add the trip manually. How to add a manual trip 1. Open the Trips tab. 2. Tap the + button. 3. Enter the start location — search for an address or pick from your saved locations. 4. Enter the end location the same way. 5. Set the date and time the trip started. 6. Select a purpose (Business, Personal, Medical, Charity, or Moving). 7. Optionally add a note and select a vehicle. 8. Tap Save. How distance is calculated SmartMiles calculates the driving distance automatically using the route between your start and end locations. You do not need to enter the distance yourself. The app uses the most direct driving route, which may differ slightly from the exact path you took. Tips - Use saved locations for places you drive to often (like Home and Office). This makes adding manual trips faster. - You can set the end time if you know it — otherwise SmartMiles estimates it from the driving duration. - The trip date cannot be in the future. Manual trips are for recording drives that already happened. - Manual trips follow the same 600-meter minimum as automatic trips. Very short trips may not appear in your trip list.

How to Edit a Trip or Add a Note

How to Edit a Trip or Add a Note You can update a trip's details after it has been recorded. What you can edit - Purpose — Change the classification (Business, Personal, Medical, Charity, Moving). - Note — Add a description of the trip (e.g., "Client meeting with Acme Corp"). - Vehicle — Change which vehicle the trip is assigned to. How to edit a trip 1. Open the Trips tab. 2. Tap on the trip you want to edit. 3. Make your changes. 4. Your changes are saved automatically. Adding notes Notes are optional but helpful. The IRS recommends keeping a record of the business purpose for each trip. A short note like "Drove to job site" or "Office supply run" is enough. You can add or change a note at any time — there is no deadline. What you cannot edit - Start and end locations — These are determined by GPS (or by the addresses you entered for manual trips) and cannot be changed after the trip is saved. - Distance — This is calculated from the route and cannot be overridden manually. - Date and time — These are recorded automatically and cannot be modified.

How to Delete a Trip

How to Delete a Trip If SmartMiles recorded a trip you want to remove — like a trip as a passenger or a false detection — you can delete it. How to delete a trip 1. Open the Trips tab. 2. Tap on the trip you want to delete. 3. Tap Delete. 4. Confirm the deletion. What happens when you delete a trip - The trip is removed from your trip list and totals. - It will not appear in any future exports. - Deleted trips cannot be recovered. When to delete a trip - You were a passenger, not the driver. - The trip was a false detection (e.g., riding a train or bus that triggered vehicle detection). - The trip is a duplicate. You do not need to delete personal trips. Classify them as "Personal" instead — personal trips are excluded from your business mileage totals automatically.

Understanding Trip Purposes

Understanding Trip Purposes Every trip in SmartMiles has a purpose. The purpose determines which IRS mileage rate applies and whether the trip is included in your deduction totals. Purpose types Business Trips related to your work or self-employment. Examples: - Driving to a client meeting - Running work errands (office supplies, post office) - Traveling between job sites - Driving for a rideshare or delivery service Not included: Your regular commute from home to your primary office. The IRS does not consider commuting a deductible business expense. Personal Any driving that is not for business, medical, charity, or moving purposes. Examples: - Commuting to and from work - Grocery shopping - Social visits - Vacation driving Personal trips are tracked for your records but are not deductible. Medical Driving to and from medical care. Examples: - Doctor, dentist, or specialist appointments - Hospital visits - Picking up prescriptions - Driving to physical therapy The medical mileage rate is lower than the business rate. Charity Driving while serving a qualified charitable organization. Examples: - Delivering meals for a food bank - Driving to volunteer at a nonprofit - Transporting supplies for a charity event The charity mileage rate is set by statute and is typically the lowest rate. Moving Driving related to a work-related move. This deduction is currently limited to active-duty military members who move due to a military order. The moving mileage rate is the same as the medical rate. How purposes affect your totals Your trip summary and exports show totals per purpose. Only trips with a deductible purpose (Business, Medical, Charity, or Moving) contribute to your deduction amount. Unclassified trips are not included in any totals. Choosing the right purpose If you are unsure, Business and Personal are the most common choices. Classify every trip — even personal ones — so your records are complete. The IRS values a thorough log that shows all driving, not just the deductible trips.