Why?  Uncle Sam sets the limit on what you can deduct - it really has nothing to do with what you charge.  I would hate the hassle of keeping track of all of that for invoicing purposes.  If you have three orders for three different clients, which one do you bill for the mileage?  And, suppose after you do those three orders, you go to the next county over for another client?  Do you charge them the mileage from your office, or from the previous county?  If you did the farthest county first, would that change your answer?  What about the final drive from the county back to the office... who pays that mileage?  I assume, of course, that nobody would charge all of them the full mileage from their office - that would be unethical.

I would think that it would be a huge inconvenience to have to track and justify the charges to your clients.  And, I doubt they would appreciate getting charged a different fee depending on the counties you go to, the route you take, how many clients you are working for that day, etc...  Heck, many clients seem to have a problem paying extra for copies - a few even have a problem paying for the search - I can't imagine trying to get them add mileage to my checks.

Why not just raise your price a bit, make it consistent, and deduct your mileage when you do your taxes?  That seems to be easiest thing to do.  Of course, raising your prices is never easy, but I don't think there is much difference between a modest across the board fee increase and a fuel or mileage surcharge. 

However, if a client requests that you deviate from your normal coverage area to travel clear across the state for a special project, then it might make sense to incorporate mileage into your fee agreement.  That, I think, should be the exception that justifies the rule.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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