How to Use the Stride Tax App for Tracking Mileage and Expenses
Effortlessly track mileage and expenses with Stride Tax App, streamline tax summaries, and maintain organized records for audit readiness.
For freelancers, gig workers, and small business owners, tracking mileage and expenses accurately is essential for maximizing tax deductions and maintaining financial health. The Stride Tax App provides an efficient solution to streamline this process, enabling real-time logging of trips and recording expenditures.
By using tools like the Stride Tax App, users can simplify bookkeeping, save time, and reduce errors. This article explains how to utilize the app effectively for precise record-keeping and tax compliance.
Starting a Mileage Log
Maintaining a mileage log is critical for securing tax deductions. As of 2024, the IRS allows deductions for business-related travel at 65.5 cents per mile, providing significant tax savings for freelancers and small business owners. The Stride Tax App makes this process simple by using GPS to detect and log trips automatically.
To start, users download the app and set up a profile with accurate business details, ensuring the app aligns with their activities. The app captures trip start and end points, duration, and distance, allowing users to categorize trips as business or personal. Only business-related travel qualifies for deductions.
For added flexibility, the app allows manual entry of trips, ensuring all business travel is recorded even if the app wasn’t running. Users can also add notes to entries, detailing the trip’s purpose, which can be helpful during tax filing or audits.
Recording Business-Related Expenses
Tracking business expenses is key to optimizing deductions. The Stride Tax App provides a platform to document expenditures, ensuring every business-related cost is accounted for. The IRS requires supporting records, such as receipts and invoices, for all deductions.
The app categorizes expenses according to IRS guidelines, covering areas from office supplies to travel. For example, meals and entertainment expenses, typically deductible at 50%, are automatically tracked. Users can attach digital copies of receipts to entries, reducing physical clutter and improving accuracy.
Integration with bank accounts and credit cards further streamlines the process by importing transactions automatically and prompting users to categorize them appropriately.
Generating Tax Summaries
The app’s tax summary feature consolidates recorded data into a report, offering a clear overview of deductible expenses and mileage. It organizes this information according to IRS tax codes, including updates for 2024, ensuring users are well-prepared for tax season.
Tax summaries break down expenses into categories like travel, meals, and office supplies, reflecting IRS classifications. This organization simplifies tax filing and provides insights into spending patterns, helping users make informed financial decisions. The app also calculates potential tax savings based on the deductions entered.
Keeping Records for Possible Audits
Maintaining accurate records is essential, especially in case of an audit. For freelancers and small business owners, where every expense matters, the Stride Tax App simplifies record-keeping by organizing all income and expense data in one place. The IRS requires detailed documentation to support deductions and reported income.
By storing digital receipts and categorizing expenses, the app complies with IRS guidelines, which recommend keeping records for at least three years after filing. This period can extend to six years if significant underreporting of income is suspected. With cloud storage, the app ensures all data is securely backed up, reducing risks associated with lost or damaged documents.