Care Visit Mileage Log

Who this is for

A mileage log for the journeys that care involves. Each line takes the date, where from, where to and why, with the odometer at the start and the end; the distance is worked out from the two readings and the amount from whatever rate you write at the top, and both are totalled at the foot.

Paid carers claiming mileage from an agency, family carers keeping track of what the driving costs, personal assistants paid through a direct payment, and anyone who has to show where they went and how far.

What this helps you track

• Every journey with the date, the two places and the reason
• Distance per journey from two odometer readings rather than a guess
• The amount per journey at the rate you enter — none is supplied
• Totals for distance and amount for the sheet or the claim period
• A dated record a claim or a query can be checked against

How to use it

1. Write your name, the vehicle, the period and the person or people visited at the top.
2. Enter the rate you have been given, if you claim one, in the rate box; leave it empty if you are only recording distance.
3. Record the odometer at the start of each journey and again at the end — two readings, not one.
4. Say where you went and why in a few words; the purpose column is the one a claim is judged on.
5. The browser and spreadsheet versions work out the distance and the amount for each line and total them; on paper, add the columns up when the page is full.
6. Keep the sheet with the claim, and keep the previous sheets — a query rarely comes in the same month.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What rate should I put in?

Whatever you have been given — by the agency, the person paying you, the scheme or the tax authority where you are. The sheet prints no rate anywhere and takes no view on what one ought to be; it multiplies distance by the figure you enter.

Miles or kilometres?

Either. Write the odometer readings as they are, and the distance and the rate are in the same unit. Say which at the top so a claim is not misread.

Do I need the odometer, or just the distance?

Two readings are safer. A distance on its own cannot be checked; two readings can be reconciled against a fuel receipt or a service invoice if a claim is queried.

Does it cover journeys with the person in the car?

Yes. Hospital appointments, shopping, visits — anything driven because of the care goes on the sheet. Say in the purpose column who was in the car if it matters to the claim.

Can I split private and care journeys?

Keep this sheet for care journeys and use the vehicle mileage log for everything else, or note private trips in the purpose column and leave the rate to apply only where you claim.