Mileage Tracking for Resellers — How to Turn Yard Sale Trips Into Tax Deductions
How to track mileage on yard sale and garage sale sourcing trips for IRS tax deductions at $0.725/mile. Automate tracking with Garage Sale HQ Pro.
If you buy items at yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, or flea markets to resell, your driving mileage is tax-deductible. At $0.725 per mile (2026 IRS standard rate), those Saturday sourcing trips can add up to thousands in deductions.
What Qualifies as Deductible Mileage?
The IRS allows you to deduct mileage for business-related driving. For resellers, this includes:
- Sourcing trips — Driving to yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores, flea markets, auctions
- Post office runs — Shipping items you've sold
- Supply pickups — Getting packing materials, poly mailers, boxes
You cannot deduct your regular commute to a day job or personal errands.
How Much Can You Save?
| Scenario | Miles/Week | Miles/Year | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casual (1 trip/week) | 30 | 1,560 | $1,131 |
| Active (2 trips/week) | 60 | 3,120 | $2,262 |
| Full-time (4 trips/week) | 120 | 6,240 | $4,524 |
Even casual garage sale shoppers who resell can save over $1,000/year.
How Garage Sale HQ Tracks Mileage
Garage Sale HQ Pro automates mileage tracking on every route:
Setting Up Your Route
- Search for yard sales and save them to My Stops
- Build a route — Select your stops and set your start location
- Start the route — Mileage tracking begins from your start location
During Your Route
As you check in at each yard sale or garage sale stop:
- Distance is calculated between your actual visited stops
- Skipped stops are excluded from mileage (you only count miles you actually drove)
- Tap Log Gas to record gas station stops with amounts
- Tap Log Food to track restaurant and coffee expenses
Completing Your Route
When you finish your route:
- See total miles driven
- Toggle "Include return to start" for round-trip mileage
- View your estimated IRS deduction
- Export to CSV or upload directly to My Reseller Genie
The Pro Dashboard
Your Pro Reports Dashboard gives you a complete picture:
- Mileage tab — Miles per trip chart, route history with clickable summaries
- Gas tab — Gas spending per trip, searchable/editable expense table
- Food tab — Food spending per trip, same searchable format
- Purchases tab — Everything you bought at yard sales (inventory tracking)
- Reviews tab — Your ratings and notes on each sale
Export any tab to CSV, or use the Upload to MRG button to send everything to My Reseller Genie with proper tax categories.
Tools for Resellers
Stay organized on the road:
- Portable printer — Print shipping labels on the go
- Scanning app phone mount — Keep your phone visible for navigation
- Collapsible crate — Organize purchases in your trunk
- Inventory notebook — Backup your digital records
Custom Routes for Non-Yard-Sale Trips
Pro users can also create Custom Routes for other business trips:
- Flea markets and trade shows
- Thrift stores and consignment shops
- Auctions and estate sales
- Antique malls and wholesale markets
Same mileage tracking, expense logging, and CSV exports — just without the yard sale listings.
Pro Pays for Itself
Pro costs $19.99/month. At $0.725/mile, you only need 28 miles of tracked trips to cover that cost. Most resellers drive that before lunch on a Saturday.
Start your free 7-day Pro trial — no commitment, cancel anytime.
This is not tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional before claiming deductions. IRS standard mileage rate for 2026: $0.725/mile.