HAJBLPty Ltd

Tax year 2026–27 · AUD · kilometres

Car logbook rules and business car tax in Australia

This is general information, not tax advice. Every money figure is an estimate. Please check your claim with the tax authority in Australia or a registered tax adviser. Updated 2026-11-10. The rules were last checked on 2026-11-09.

What a car logbook needs to contain

Under the rules recorded for Australia, each trip entry should show:

  1. Date
  2. Start odometer
  3. End odometer
  4. Kilometres
  5. Business reason

The logbook period is at least 84 days. The business percentage from that period can then be used for 5 years. Keep your records for 5 years.

  • The 12 weeks must be continuous and represent your normal driving.
  • Record the odometer at the start and end of the logbook period and of each income year you rely on it.

Ways to claim and current rates

Cents per kilometre

A set rate per business km, covering all car costs. Up to 5,000 business km per car per year; no logbook needed, but you must be able to show how you worked out your km.

Capped at 5,000 km a year.

VehicleRateStatusApplies
All vehicles$0.910/kmConfirmed2026-07-01 – 2027-06-30

Logbook method

Claim the business-use % of actual car costs (fuel, servicing, insurance, rego, interest, depreciation). The % comes from a 12-week logbook, valid for 5 years.

A completed logbook is needed for this method.

Worked example (estimate)

Say you drove 5,000 km for work in a year, your car costs came to $8,000 and your logbook shows 60% business use. With the figures on this page the estimates are:

  • Cents per kilometre$4,550.00
  • Logbook method (60% of $8,000)$4,800.00

These are estimates only. A real claim depends on your situation and on conditions this example does not check.

Fuel schemes

Fuel tax credits

Business fuel used off public roads (farm machinery, pumps, generators, a ute driven only on the farm) earns the full credit; heavy vehicles over 4.5 t GVM on public roads earn a lower rate net of the road user charge. Light vehicles on public roads and private use earn nothing.

Who: Businesses registered for GST and for fuel tax credits. · Claimed: Business Activity Statement (BAS) (quarter) Confirmed

  1. ATO fuel tax credit rates (business)
  2. DITRDCA fact sheet: fuel excise relief from 1 July 2026

Other driving-related savings

Tolls on business trips Confirmed

Tolls on work trips can be claimed separately from the cents per km or logbook method. Tolls between home and your regular workplace can’t.

  1. ATO parking fees and tolls
Parking on business trips Confirmed

Parking fees for business trips can be claimed separately from your car expense method (not at your regular workplace).

  1. ATO parking fees and tolls
Electric cars: home charging rate and FBT exemption Confirmed

With the logbook method, home charging of a zero-emission car can be costed at the ATO’s EV home charging rate (PCG 2024/2: 4.20c per km; the ATO rates page lists a revised 5.47c per km for the FBT year from 1 April 2026, so check which applies to your income year) instead of separate electricity records; it doesn’t apply with cents per km, which already covers running costs. Employer-provided zero-emission cars under the luxury car tax threshold are FBT-exempt; plug-in hybrids lost the exemption from 1 April 2025 unless already committed to.

  1. ATO PCG 2024/2 EV home charging rate
  2. ATO electric cars exemption
  3. ATO FBT rates and thresholds (EV home charging rate)
Home to work travel Confirmed

Normal trips between home and your regular workplace are private in Australia and can’t be claimed.

  1. ATO trips you can and can’t claim

Questions

Which ways of claiming a car does Australia allow?

Cents per kilometre and Logbook method. The table above shows the rates for each.

How long do I need to log trips?

The logbook period is at least 84 days. The business percentage from that period can then be used for 5 years. Keep your records for 5 years.

Is the calculator result what I can claim?

No. It is an estimate based on the rates on this page and the numbers you enter. The tax authority decides what is allowed.

Where does Clocked keep my trips?

On your phone. You can export them as a file for your accountant.

How Clocked handles this

Clocked records your trips, works out your business percentage and compares the ways of claiming that Australia allows, using the same rules shown on this page. It makes an export for your accountant. It does not file anything for you.

Sources

Main authority and source: ATO LI 2026/19 cents per km rate

  1. ATO LI 2026/19 cents per km rate
  2. Federal Register of Legislation F2026L00785 (91c/km, 2026–27)
  3. ATO logbook method

Other countries: /clocked/tax/nz/ · /clocked/tax/gb/ · /clocked/tax/ie/ · /clocked/tax/ca/ · Car tax by country

Let Clocked keep the logbook

Clocked records your trips and compares the ways you can claim in Australia, then exports a logbook your accountant can work with.