Car expense
deduction calculator

Work out your work-car claim both ways — cents per kilometre vs the logbook (actual cost) method — and see which puts more back in your pocket.

Rates verified against the ATO · cents-per-km set by LI 2024/19 & LI 2026/19

Your details

Business kilometres this year

Only work trips — client visits, between job sites, business errands. Not your home-to-work commute.

Business-use %

Your work share of total driving (used for the logbook method). Tip: business km ÷ total km. Enter total km to auto-fill it.

Annual running costs ($)

Fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, repairs, lease/interest — the full year, before the work-use split.

+ Add depreciation — decline in value (logbook only, advanced)

Depreciation is genuinely complex. This carries the written-down value forward by the years you’ve owned the car, but it ignores part-year ownership, second-hand effective-life choices, GST adjustments and any prior balancing events. Treat it as a careful estimate and confirm with your accountant.

Vehicle type

Purchase cost ($)

Effective life (years)

Full years owned before this one

Method

Estimate your tax saving

Your marginal tax rate Add 2% Medicare levy

Your comparison

Cents per km

Enter your details →

0 km × 88c$0

Logbook · actual cost

0% × $0 running$0

Where this goes on your tax return

Sole trader / business: it’s a business deduction — it belongs in the business income & expenses section as a motor-vehicle expense, not the individual work-related deductions section.
Employee: it goes under work-related car expenses (the car-expenses label in your deductions).
Lodging through a tax agent or software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks): enter it as a motor-vehicle expense — this calculator’s figure is your supporting workpaper for that entry.
Whole dollars only: car claims are entered in whole dollars — the ATO disregards the cents (e.g. $2,956.50 is entered as $2,956).
Labels move: the ATO and accounting software rename fields most years, so confirm the exact current label in myTax or with your agent rather than relying on a fixed menu path.

Whichever method you choose, keep these

Cents per km: no receipts needed, but a defensible record of your business kilometres — a trip diary, calendar of work travel, or app log. A round 5,000 km claim with nothing behind it is a known ATO audit flag.
Logbook: a continuous 12-week logbook (valid for 5 years if your use pattern stays the same), plus receipts for your running costs and depreciation records.
Both: proof you own or lease the car, and odometer readings. Tolls and parking for work can be claimed on top of either method.

↓ Save as PDF / print Read the full guide →Work-from-home calculator →Sole trader tax calculator →

General information only, based on ATO rates and rules — not personal tax advice. Figures are estimates: the depreciation estimate ignores your method, the car’s effective life, part-year ownership and prior-year balances; the tax-saving estimate assumes the whole deduction sits in one marginal bracket. You’re responsible for your own eligibility and records. Confirm at ato.gov.au or with a registered tax agent before lodging. Built and reviewed by a CPA-qualified accountant. Taxplain is independent and not affiliated with the ATO.

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