The drive to the gig is
a tax deduction you are not claiming
Every round trip to a paid gig is deductible at the IRS standard rate — 76¢ a mile right now. BandMate measures the trip from your door to the venue, logs it against the gig, and hands you the whole year as a spreadsheet.
One 60-mile round trip a week is about $2,189 off your taxable income for the year. Most working musicians never claim it, because nobody writes the trips down at 1am.
General information, not tax advice. Rates are the published IRS standard mileage rates; what you can claim depends on your own circumstances.
The 2026 rates
The business rate changed in the middle of 2026, so a single figure for the year would be wrong either side of July. BandMate applies the rate that was in force on the day of each trip.
| Driving for | Period | Rate per mile |
|---|---|---|
| Paid gigs and rehearsals | Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026 | 72.5¢ |
| Paid gigs and rehearsals | From Jul 1, 2026 | 76¢ |
| Volunteer / charity gigs | All of 2026 | 14¢ |
What it does for you
The point is not a mileage calculator. The point is a log that exists by the time you need it.
Measured from your door, not guessed
Save your home address once. Add a gig, and BandMate works out the round-trip distance to that venue and logs it against the gig. No odometer readings, no notes app, no reconstructing a year in April.
Rated by the day you drove
The rate is not one number for the year. 2026 ran at 72.5¢ a mile through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1. Each trip is priced at the rate in force on its own date, so the total holds up.
Volunteer and charity gigs kept separate
A benefit show is not a paid one. Those drives are logged at the charitable rate of 14¢ a mile and reported on their own line, instead of being quietly mixed into your business miles.
Exports the way a preparer wants it
A per-trip log — date, venue, miles, rate, deduction — plus yearly and monthly totals, as CSV. Hand it over, or type one number onto your Schedule C.
Rehearsals count too
Driving to practice is travel between business locations, so it is deductible at the business rate as well. Most musicians miss this one entirely.
Only counts trips you actually made
Mileage is tied to gigs you were confirmed for and paid on, not to every date on the band calendar. A log that claims drives you did not make is worse than no log.
Three things, once
- 1
Save your home address. Used only to measure distance — never shown on your public band page and never shared with venues.
- 2
Add your gigs as you book them. Pick the venue and BandMate works out the round trip and logs the deduction against that date.
- 3
Export at tax time. A per-trip log plus yearly and monthly totals, as CSV, for you or your preparer.
And while you are in there, the rest of the money side:
- Payment splits across the band
- Who has been paid and who has not
- Expenses and gear depreciation
- Earnings by band and by year
Musician mileage, answered
Can musicians deduct mileage to gigs?
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Generally yes, if you are performing as a business rather than a hobby — which for most working musicians means the income lands on a Schedule C. The drive from your home to a paid gig and back is business travel, deductible at the IRS standard mileage rate: 72.5¢ a mile for the first half of 2026 and 76¢ a mile from July 1. This is general information, not tax advice — your own situation is worth a conversation with whoever files your return.
What is the IRS mileage rate right now?
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76¢ per mile for business driving, effective July 1, 2026. It was 72.5¢ a mile from January 1 until June 30, 2026 — the IRS revised it mid-year. The charitable rate, which applies to volunteer gigs, is fixed by statute at 14¢ a mile.
How much is that actually worth?
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Take one 60-mile round trip a week — a fairly ordinary regional gig. That is $2,880 miles a year, or about $2,189 of deduction at the current rate. What that saves depends on your bracket, but it comes straight off the income you are taxed on, and most musicians never claim it because nobody wrote the trips down.
Do I need receipts for mileage?
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Not receipts — a log. The standard mileage method needs a contemporaneous record of each trip: the date, where you went, the business purpose and the miles. That is exactly the shape of what BandMate keeps, because every trip is attached to a gig with a date and a venue.
Does driving to rehearsal count?
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Yes, as travel between business locations, at the business rate. Practices are logged the same way gigs are.
What about a gig I played for free?
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If it was for a qualified charity, the drive is deductible at the charitable rate of 14¢ a mile, and BandMate tracks volunteer gigs on that separate line. A free gig for a for-profit venue is a business expense question rather than a charitable one.
Is the mileage tracker free?
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Yes on the free plan, which covers up to 10 gigs with mileage, payment splits and expense tracking. Past that, Band is $19 a month for the whole band with unlimited gigs. Member seats are always free.
Start with your next gig
Add it, let BandMate measure the drive, and watch the deduction appear. Free account, no card, and the log is yours to export whenever you want it.
Also worth a look: everything else BandMate does for bands · pricing