The CRNA’s Guide to Mileage and Travel Deductions
As a 1099 CRNA, you probably already know the power of business deductions to reduce your tax bill. But one category often overlooked—or misunderstood—is mileage and travel expenses.
Whether you’re driving to multiple hospitals, traveling between contracts, or attending continuing education courses, these costs can add up to thousands of dollars in deductions each year. The key is knowing exactly what counts, how to track it, and how to stay compliant with IRS rules.
At CBFC, we help independent CRNAs maximize every deduction they’re entitled to—without creating audit risk. Here’s your complete guide to mileage and travel deductions as a CRNA.
1. Mileage Deductions: What Counts and What Doesn’t
The IRS allows you to deduct business-related mileage, but the rules are specific. For CRNAs, this often includes:
Deductible mileage:
Driving from your home to a temporary worksite (not your permanent “tax home”)
Traveling between multiple hospitals or surgery centers in a single day
Trips to pick up supplies or equipment for your CRNA business
Driving to a CME event, conference, or required training
Not deductible:
Your daily commute from home to your primary work location
Personal errands, even if they occur on the same day as work travel
Travel for volunteer work (this has separate charitable mileage rules)
2. Two Ways to Calculate Your Mileage Deduction
You can choose between two IRS-approved methods each year:
Standard Mileage Rate Method
For 2025, the IRS standard mileage rate is TBD cents per mile (note: we update this annually).
Simply multiply your total business miles by this rate.
This rate already includes depreciation, fuel, maintenance, and insurance costs.
Actual Expense Method
Deduct a percentage of your actual vehicle expenses (fuel, repairs, insurance, registration, etc.) based on the percentage of business miles driven.
Requires more detailed recordkeeping.
May be more beneficial if you have high operating costs or drive a more expensive vehicle.
At CBFC, we help CRNAs run the numbers both ways to see which method offers the bigger deduction.
3. Tracking Mileage the Right Way
The IRS requires contemporaneous records—meaning you must track mileage as you go, not recreate it at year’s end.
Your mileage log should include:
Date of the trip
Starting location and destination
Purpose of the trip (e.g., “Anesthesia shift at Hospital B”)
Miles driven
Pro tip: Use a mileage tracking app like MileIQ, Everlance, or QuickBooks Self-Employed. These automatically log your trips and make it easy to categorize them.
4. Travel Deductions Beyond Mileage
Mileage is just the beginning. As a CRNA, you can also deduct ordinary and necessary travel expenses when you are away from your tax home for work.
Potential travel deductions include:
Airfare, train, or bus tickets
Hotel or lodging costs
Rental car expenses
Ride-sharing services (Uber, Lyft, taxis)
Parking fees and tolls
Meals while traveling for business (usually 50% deductible)
Shipping costs for work-related items to your temporary location
5. Understanding Your Tax Home
Your tax home is the city or area where you normally work—not necessarily where your house is. For 1099 CRNAs, your tax home might be:
Your primary hospital location (if most work is done there)
Your metropolitan area if you rotate between multiple facilities locally
Why it matters: Travel deductions are only available when you are working away from your tax home. If your assignment is in your tax home area, mileage to and from work is considered commuting (not deductible).
6. Special Considerations for Travel CRNAs
If you’re a travel CRNA taking contracts away from your permanent residence, your travel deductions can be substantial—but only if you maintain a valid tax home.
To preserve your tax home:
Keep a regular place of business where you return between assignments.
Maintain living expenses in your home city (mortgage, rent, utilities).
Return to your home area between contracts when possible.
Without a recognized tax home, the IRS may consider you an “itinerant worker,” and your housing and travel stipends could become taxable.
7. Common Mistakes That Trigger IRS Scrutiny
We’ve seen well-meaning CRNAs lose deductions in audits because they:
Failed to keep a mileage log
Claimed personal trips as business mileage
Deducted commuting miles to a primary job site
Didn’t track actual lodging receipts and relied on estimates
Claimed 100% business use of a personal vehicle without proof
The fix? Keep detailed records and separate business from personal use.
8. How CBFC Helps CRNAs Maximize Travel Deductions
We work with CRNAs to:
Identify every eligible mileage and travel deduction
Choose the calculation method that saves the most money
Maintain compliant documentation to protect against audits
Integrate deductions into a broader tax strategy to lower total liability
Because we specialize in CRNA finances, we know the industry-specific travel patterns and how to document them for maximum benefit.
Final Thoughts
Mileage and travel deductions can be a powerful tool for reducing your taxable income as a 1099 CRNA—but only if you understand the rules and keep accurate records. Done right, these deductions can save you thousands each year without raising red flags.
Ready to make sure you’re capturing every dollar you’re entitled to?
Schedule a consultation with CBFC and let’s build a tax strategy that makes the most of your travel as a CRNA.
