If you’re self-employed or need to track business miles, you might have wondered: Can I just use Google Maps Timeline to track my mileage? And you know what..it's a fair question! Google Maps is on nearly every smartphone. It tracks your locations automatically, showing a timeline of where you’ve been and when. It seems like a handy way to look back at your trips, so why not use it for mileage logs?
The short answer: Google Maps Timeline can show your trips and distances, but it’s not built for professional mileage tracking. Below, we’ll break down how it works, why it’s not IRS-compliant, and what you should use instead if you want audit-ready mileage logs.
Google Maps Timeline uses your phone’s location data, GPS, Wi-Fi signals, and cell towers, to record where you’ve been. When enabled, Timeline shows you:
You can view your Timeline on mobile or desktop. You can also edit or delete entries manually. For casual personal use, like remembering a restaurant you visited last month or reviewing a vacation, it’s genuinely helpful.
Google’s location tracking is generally very good. It can usually distinguish between driving, walking, and biking. Distances are typically close to reality. However, it isn’t perfect. Tall buildings, poor GPS signal, or incorrect mode detection can lead to errors in distance or route. You can fix these manually, but that quickly gets tedious if you’re tracking dozens or hundreds of trips.
For tax deductions or employer reimbursement, you need more than rough distances on a map.
The IRS requires a mileage log that includes:
Google Maps Timeline doesn’t provide a built-in way to add a business purpose to each trip. You also can’t categorize trips automatically as business or personal. While you can add notes manually, it’s not practical at scale. Additionally, there’s no easy way to generate IRS-compliant reports from Timeline. You can export location data, but formatting it into a usable log is time-consuming and error-prone.
Some freelancers and small business owners try to cobble together logs using Timeline plus spreadsheets. It’s technically possible, but it’s manual, error-prone, and unlikely to satisfy an IRS audit.
You’d need to:
For most people, that’s more hassle than it’s worth.
Instead of relying on a tool that wasn’t designed for mileage logs, consider using an app purpose-built for this job.
Everlance, for example, automatically detects drives, tracks them in the background, and lets you classify trips as business or personal with a single swipe. It also generates IRS-compliant reports with all the required details. You don’t have to manually edit routes or guess your distances later. Your trips are automatically logged, categorized, and exportable for taxes or reimbursement.
Google Maps Timeline is excellent for remembering where you went last weekend. It’s convenient, familiar, and generally accurate. But it isn’t designed for professional mileage tracking, and it can’t deliver the reliable, audit-ready logs you need for taxes or reimbursement.
If you drive for work even occasionally, it pays to use a mileage-tracking app that does the hard work for you. You’ll save time, reduce stress at tax season, and keep more of what you earn.
Over 4 million drivers have put their mileage tracking on cruise control with Everlance, the top rated mileage & expense tracker.
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Brad Thibeau is the Head of Growth & Partnerships at Everlance. Brad has worked at Everlance since 2021 with a focus on helping self employed people save time and money on their taxes.
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