Amazon Flex delivery driver - Do I have to track EVERY address I go to, or just overall miles on the route from start to finish?

[joshuawilliams83]

Amazon Flex delivery driver - Do I have to track EVERY address I go to, or just overall miles on the route from start to finish? There are up to about 50 addresses on a route so that seems like it would be ridiculous to track. Also I do not make any other stops on the route, so I would think that starting odometer and ending odometer would suffice. Right or Wrong? Thanks!

[afc472 · Accepted solution]

The overall mileage would suffice.  Here is an excerpt from Pub 463 on Travel, Ent, and Car Expenses - seems like you situation fits perfectly with the example.  The key really is the IRS wants contemporaneous daily records, so keep a daily log of total miles driven on your route - don't try to guesstimate end of week, month, or year.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf

(page 26)

Car expenses. You can account for several uses of your car that can be considered part of a single use, such as a round trip or uninterrupted business use, with a single record. Minimal personal use, such as a stop for lunch on the way between two business stops, is not an interruption of business use. 

Example. You make deliveries at several different locations on a route that begins and ends at your employer's business premises and that includes a stop at the business premises between two deliveries. You can account for these using a single record of miles driven.

[joshuawilliams83]

Wow, that is just what I was looking for. Thanks so much and thanks for the documentation to back it up! 🙂

[Critter]

In your situation the total miles for the route for the day would be correct. The daily delivery manifest will be your supporting document if you are ever audited.

[joshuawilliams83]

Kind of what I was thinking, only I have no manifest supplied, it's all app based on my phone with no way to save it. Thanks for the insight!