Real estate
Tax rules, reimbursement structures, dominant software and the two field roles (agents and mortgage brokers) — across four countries.
Real estate consumes mileage at a rate few sectors rival. An active agent runs 50 to 80 showings per month between listing, presentation and closing — almost always on a personal vehicle. For 1099 agents in the US or self-employed brokers in Brazil, every undocumented mile is money left on the table: the IRS standard rate of US$ 0.67/mi (2025) applied to 2,000 mi/month is US$ 1,340/month — US$ 16,080/year. The math is identical in Mexico and Colombia, just denominated differently. Mortgage brokers add notary, title-company and closing trips — formal events that require physical receipts and naturally lend themselves to audit-ready logs.
Brokerages rarely publish clear mileage policies because most of the workforce is independent. This guide consolidates IRS, Receita Federal, SAT and DIAN rules into a single reference — including the specific traps (inspection visits are deductible, neighborhood scouting without intent is not) that separate the agent who recovers 18% of base income from the one who recovers 0%.
In the US, 1099 agents report income on Schedule C (Form 1040) and deduct mileage on line 9 — Vehicle Expenses. The two options are (a) the IRS standard rate of US$ 0.67/mi in 2025 or (b) the actual-expense method (fuel, maintenance, depreciation, prorated insurance). Method choice happens in the first year of business use; once on actual expense, you cannot switch back. Mortgage brokers operating as sole proprietors follow the same Schedule C; W-2 loan officers depend on their employer's accountable plan, governed by 26 CFR 1.62-2 — without it, the reimbursement is taxable W-2 income.
In Brazil, the self-employed broker logs operating expenses (fuel, IPVA, maintenance, prorated insurance, depreciation) in the Livro Caixa do Profissional Autônomo, declared annually in IRPF. The Receita accepts mileage substantiated by standardized receipts when there is a counterparty (brokerage paying reimbursement); for the pure autônomo, the cost goes directly as a deduction. CRECI can audit mileage on hybrid comp models, which requires daily tracking.
In Mexico, corredores inmobiliarios under actividad empresarial pay ISR and IVA; fuel and maintenance are deductible against a CFDI issued to the agent's RFC. Brokers under RESICO (revenue up to MXN 3.5M) use a simplified regime with limited deductions but lower progressive rates — mileage tracking still pays off for internal records.
In Colombia, the régimen ordinario allows deducting transport expenses tied to economic activity; the presumptive regime limits deductions, but mileage records remain useful as DIAN audit defense.
Three reimbursement structures dominate:
1. **Direct per-km** — The brokerage pays a per-km rate per substantiated showing. The most transparent and tax-efficient model: when documented by a standardized receipt (date, origin, destination, map, distance, purpose, integrity hash), the payment is non-taxable in Brazil (does not enter the CLT payroll) and in the US (accountable plan).
2. **Monthly stipend** — Flat monthly amount regardless of volume. Simple for finance, but taxable if it exceeds substantiated expense — which invariably happens for agents who travel little in a given month.
3. **Split commission with no separate reimbursement** — The dominant model in US brokerages and many Brazilian ones. Transport cost is built into the split (typically 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 in favor of the agent). The agent deducts all mileage on Schedule C or livro caixa, with no brokerage reimbursement. This is the model where rigorous documentation pays for itself the most — the gap between informal and audit-ready logs is thousands of dollars per year in recovered tax.
Common mistakes we see in audits and livro caixa reviews:
Agents who document every showing as an auditable event recover, on average, 18% of base salary or net commission as reimbursement or tax deduction. The point is not to work more — it is to stop losing money already spent.