MileBug for iPad is now here!

So many users have requested a version of MileBug for iPad. It only makes sense as many people now have iPads, but who may not have an iPhone or iPod Touch. While it's true that the iPhone version has worked for many people on the iPad via the 2x magnifier, having a UI that is optimized for the iPad will be a great improvement.

Last night MileBug was released as a Universal App, which means it can be installed on either an iPhone/iTouch or an iPad and it will detect which device it's running on...and present the right UI for the right screen! Buy once and use on both!

MileBug is a great mileage tracker for business deductible miles. Track miles by odometer readings and/or GPS. Trip miles are automatically converted to tax deductions and made available in reports fit for Word/Pages (html) and Excel/Numbers (CSV).

Check out some screenshots of MileBug on the iPad!

Buy MileBug for iPad in the Apple App Store!

New IRS 2013 Mileage Rates for Tax Deduction and Reimbursement

The new rates from the IRS are now out for mileage reimbursement when driving your own vehicle for business, charity, and/or medical/moving purposes. Please look for a new release of MileBug containing these rates in the next week or so, depending on Apple's review process.

Business:            56.5 cents/mile
Charity:               14 cents/mile
Medical/Moving: 24 cents/mile

Both the business and medical/moving rates went up 1 cent/mile while the charity rate remained the same. For more information, you can refer to the official IRS announcement.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/2013-Standard-Mileage-Rates-Up-1-Cent-per-Mile-for-Business,-Medical-and-Moving

MileBug for WP7 hits #4 in Business!

With just over 2 months in the Windows Marketplace, MileBug for Windows Phone (WP7) hits #4 in the Business category! And to top it off, it has a 4.5-star rating! Thank you everybody!

Please leave reviews so we know what you like and what we can improve. Spread the word!

Start the New Year right by tracking your trips!

Welcome to 2012! Even though it's potentially a few months before you start putting together your taxes for 2011, right now is the time to start your 2012 taxes the right way by tracking ALL your business miles, charity miles, and medical miles. And MileBug is here for you to do just that.

How does $1000 tax deduction sound?
The IRS left the very nice tax deduction rate for business miles at $0.555/mile. That's $5.55 for every 10 miles you drive your personal vehicle for business purposes. If you average 10 miles per trip, and 2 trips per week, that's over 1000 miles on the year for a very respectable tax deduction of over $550! If you drive more than a couple trips per week and they average more than 20-30 miles or more, then you're looking at well over a $1000 deduction. And who couldn't use that?

"Favorite Trips" make logging the short trips easy and thus profitable, too!
What about the little trips? The short trips to the supply store, or to the post office? Too much hassle? Not with MileBug. And the little trips add up, too. Set up a Favorite Trip for each of these common outings, and it's a quick few taps to log the trip. Two to three miles here, 3-4 miles there...and you have another hundred or more on your tax deduction.

MileBug on iOS (iPhone), Android, and very soon Windows Phone 7
Apple and Google have emerged as the giants in the mobile app world with iPhone apps and Android apps. MileBug is available for both. Microsoft is making great efforts to join the party with the new Windows Phone 7, and MileBug is almost there, too. It's been submitted...just awaits approval and release from the Microsoft powers that be. We're upgrading both iPhone and Android versions, too. So keep the feature requests coming!

Happy New Year everyone! Let's make it great!

IRS Announces 2012 Tax Deduction Rates

OK, they've finally posted the new rates! Very little change from the mid-2011 rates. Here's an excerpt from the official IRS.gov website:

"Beginning on Jan. 1, 2012, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The rate for business miles driven is unchanged from the mid-year adjustment that became effective on July 1, 2011. The medical and moving rate has been reduced by 0.5 cents per mile."

For the full statement, see the irs.gov website --> http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=250882,00.html

Happy driving!

IRS 2012 Mileage Rates Will Be Announced in December

Every year the IRS updates the rates at which we can take a deduction for miles driven for business, charity, or medical reasons. Typically these rates are announced in early December. So hang on for another couple weeks and we'll have those for you.

We will also publish new versions of MileBug for all platforms that incorporate these new rates. Look for that update and you'll good to go with plenty of time before the New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

GPS Mileage Tracking with MileBug 2.1 - Published on 10/04/11

American Fork, Utah - The popular iPhone mileage log application, MileBug, has full path tracking with map display with the latest version 2.1.

When adding a new trip, select "GPS Tracking" under the odometer readings on the Add Trip screen. This will slide on a Map View and show your current location. Simply tap "Start Tracking" and MileBug will drop a pin every time you move more than 1/10 mile. You can return to Add Trip and fill in the rest of the information, save it, and even leave MileBug to open other apps. As long as MileBug is running in the background (which it does by default), it's tracking your trip.

At any time, you can open the Trip and return to GPS Tracking and see your path on the map. Your path is drawn on the map, with dragable pins every 1/10 mile. To edit your path, you can drag pins around, remove pins, even add new pins. If you happen to forget to turn off GPS tracking when you arrive at your destination, you can easily trim your path to the correct pin when you do remember.

Full Path GPS Tracking is in the full version only. MileBug Lite GPS is only "as the crow flies" and does not include map display.

Since the 2.0 version, Lite users may transfer their data the full version via iTunes File Sharing. Easy to follow instructions are included in the Backup tab inside the MileBug app.

Back in 2008, just 2 weeks after the iPhone SDK was announced, plans were started for the development of MileBug. It eventually went live in the App Store on August 25th, 2008 as one of only 2500 apps then available in the store.

Over the past 3 years, MileBug has enjoyed some recognition:
1) In January 2010, MileBug was highlighted in the What's Hot section of 57 App Stores worldwide.
2) Also in January 2010, MileBug rose to be the #1 Finance app in Ecuador and #2 Finance app in the United States.
3) Featured in the Apple's WorldWide Developers' Conference (WWDC) banners both in 2009 and 2010.
4) The MileBug logo appeared in the front window display of the Apple stores in San Francisco and Salt Lake City.

Popular on the iPhone and iPod touch, MileBug was released for the Android and Nokia/Symbian platforms in the summer of 2010, and Nokia/Qt in Spring 2011.

To make next year's taxes that much easier, and the tax returns that much larger, MileBug helps those driving their own vehicles for business, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction. From small to big business, from realtors to direct sales consultants, MileBug continues to serve those needing a mileage tax break.

"I have used this now for a year and it has been a lifesaver." - customer review

"As a realtor, I am always going somewhere. This program makes it extremely easy to track my miles for tax purposes." - customer review

"Milebug saves you time and money; and is a MUST have for any business owner." - iReviewiPhoneApps

In the U.S., the IRS business rate for 2011 (July-Dec) is 55.5 cents/mile. MileBug for the iPhone/iPod touch helps people track their miles and provides emailed reports for easy submission to employers, accountants, and the IRS.

"MileBug is a mileage tracker for your iPhone or iPod touch that makes it super easy to ... track your mileage. This is great if you need to report your mileage to your boss ... the [IRS] ... or for any personal reasons." - AppStoreApps

"In my job, I need a way to track mileage for work trips around town. MileBug does a great job of providing a really simple (and IRS friendly) method of tracking my trip logs. I really like how I can export the reports to email for reimbursement and reporting." - The Apple Blog

Inside the MileBug app is an option to select kilometers instead of miles. From within the Presets, users can define custom rates for business, charity, medical, and other categories. If you get one rate from your employer for reimbursement, and another rate from the IRS for your side business, you simply create two different business rates.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone and iPod touch
* Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later
* 1.0 MB

Pricing and Availability:
MileBug 2.1 for iOS is $2.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Finance category.

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 55.5 Cents per Mile

For the second time in three years, the IRS is making a mid-year increase in the deduction rates for miles driven for business and medical/moving. It's a nice little healthy jump too! For July 1st through December 31st:

Business rate is now 55.5 cents/mile (up from 51)
Medical/Moving rate is now 23.5 cents/mile (up from 19)
Charity rate remains the same at 14 cents/mile

See the IRS site for the official statement:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=240903,00.html?portlet=6

MileBug 1.5.3 for iPhone Now in App Store!

Dear MileBug Users and Fans!

I'm pleased to announce the arrival of MileBug 1.5.3 to the iPhone. This release brings:
1) iOS4 support

a) fast app switching
b) cleans up the bugs with managing Presets

2) Adds decimal point to the number pad

We've been working hard on an online backup/sync feature, so these support releases have been stretched out. But keep on the lookout as the online sync service is just around the corner!

Get it here: MileBug 1.5.3 in the iTunes App Store
Learn about it here: milebug.com

FALL SALE - 50% OFF!!

To celebrate the changing of the leaves, we're changing the price...for a limited time! MileBug full version is now just $1.99. That's 50% off the normal price of $3.99.

So go get MileBug now: itunes.com/apps/milebug

MileBug 1.4 just released for iPhone and iPod Touch

The wait is over! MileBug 1.4, with support for iPhone OS 3.0, has been approved by Apple and is now available in the App Store. For existing customers, updates are free as always. If you're not yet a MileBug user, you can easily become one for only $3.99.

Here's the link: itunes.com/apps/milebug

What's in the new update?
1) Support for iPhone OS 3.0
2) Blog access
3) Tell a Friend
4) New About Screen
5) New icon for MileBug Lite (really nice!)
6) BUG FIX: 24-hour setting was preventing times later than 11:59

Enjoy!

Reports: Date sorted...or Business/Vehicle sorted?

A couple users have inquired about why the emailed report is not sorted by date. However, upon closer examination, you'll see it is sorted by date...but within each business/vehicle.

When we were designing the report, we had to choose between listing all the trips by date, regardless of business, and listing the trips by business/vehicle. Since each business, and vehicle within a business, needs to be submitted separately to the IRS or to an employer, we opted for grouping the trips by business, then vehicle, sorted by date within a business/vehicle.

So if you look closely, you should see that all the trips for one business are together in chronological order, followed by the trips for the next business, and so forth. If multiple vehicles were used in one business, then the trips are sorted by vehicle first then date.

New IRS Rates: Effective January 1, 2009

The IRS has issued its new tax deduction rates for 2009. Come January 1st, please email yourselves a full report of your 2008 trips, and then clean out the Trips List. Then change the rates for your businesses/charities/medical/other categories to the following:

Business: $.55/mile
Charity: $.14/mile
Medical: $.24/mile

U.S. IRS tax deduction rates

July-Dec. 2008
------------------
Business: $0.585/mile
Charity: $0.14/mile
Medical: $0.27/mile

iPhone GPS: Why NOT use it for mileage tracking?

When we first designed MileBug, our intent was to use the new GPS feature of the iPhone 3G to track mileage. It would require less effort and provide more accuracy in case of IRS audit. Unfortunately the iPhone will not allow 3rd party apps, like MileBug, to run in the background. 

So while we thought it would be great for a user to simply turn on MileBug at the start of a trip and have the whole trip mapped, we realized that if the user chose to do anything else with their phone (take a call, use maps, pass to passenger to play a game, etc) then the pathway during that activity would be lost! Why? Because in order to answer/place a call, get directions, or play a game, the mileage app would be shutdown. We could always pick back up once the user restarted the app after the other activity, but where would that leave the user...with a gap in the trip! And what if they forgot to restart? It's fairly easy to go back and fill in odometer readings, but a little more challenging to go back and fill in GPS coordinates.

We also considered having a simple GPS start point and end point and let Google Maps calculate the route. That may still be an option, but it serves the IRS more than the user. That is, Google Maps will calculate the shortest route, and thus the smallest deduction. What if you got lost and spent another 5 miles wandering? Or if you were given different directions, other than the shortest route? The start/stop GPS points would cheat you out of the deduction you truly deserved.

Please let us know how you feel about using GPS. Did we place too much importance on the concerns we came up with? Would it still be useful in some way? Just click the "comments" link below and let us know.  Thanks!