Using your own car for work? Which trips should you record?
Picture a retail worker who drives from home to their regular store in Campbelltown. At lunchtime the manager sends them to the Narellan branch to cover a shift. After work they drive straight to a second job. It’s one day and one car, but those trips don’t all belong in the same column when it’s time to do their tax return.
Start with why you made each trip
For employees, the ordinary drive between home and a regular workplace is generally private. The length of the commute, an early start or a lack of public transport doesn’t usually change that. The picture can be different when you drive as part of your duties or travel directly between separate jobs on the same day. Here’s how that looks for the retail worker, assuming they paid the costs themselves and weren’t reimbursed.
- Home to Campbelltown store
- Generally no. Travelling to their usual workplace.
- Campbelltown to Narellan store
- Generally yes. Sent to another branch by the same employer.
- Narellan store to second job
- Generally yes. Driving directly between jobs on the same day.
Some trips from home need a closer look. Being sent directly to a genuinely alternative workplace can be different from driving to another site that’s already a regular part of your roster. Carrying bulky equipment can also be an exception in limited circumstances, such as when it’s essential for the job, difficult to carry and there’s no secure place to leave it at work. Keep a note of what made the trip unusual. The ATO’s work travel guidance explains the distinctions.
Choose the records before you choose the method
Cents per kilometre. This method uses the ATO rate for the income year and caps the claim at 5,000 work kilometres per car. You don’t need fuel receipts to calculate the claim, but you need to show how you worked out the work kilometres. A diary recording the date, destination, work purpose and distance gives you something to refer back to. The rate already covers car running costs, so don’t add fuel, registration or servicing to the same car claim.
Logbook. Keep a logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks that reflect your usual driving. Record the start and end odometer readings for each work journey, where you went and why. You’ll also need odometer records and evidence of the costs you claim. For example, if your representative logbook shows 600 work kilometres out of 2,400 total kilometres, your work use is 25%. That percentage helps work out the deductible share of eligible costs; it doesn’t make every bill fully deductible. See the ATO’s car expenses guide for the records for each method.
These methods apply to an eligible car you own or lease. If you use a borrowed car, an employer-provided vehicle or a vehicle that isn’t a car for tax purposes, check the rules before using either method.
What to write down after your next trip
- Date and start and end locations.
- Work purpose: “manager asked me to cover Narellan” is more useful than “work trip”.
- Distance travelled and, for a logbook entry, the starting and ending odometer readings.
- Any reimbursement and any private detour that needs to be separated.
Start with your next drive. One line per trip is easier to keep up with than reconstructing a year of branch visits at tax time. Bring any unusual trips up separately when you discuss your return.