Didn’t keep a logbook? That may not be a problem.
You can claim up to 5,000 work kilometres per car each year without a logbook, using the ATO’s cents per kilometre method. You don’t need fuel or service receipts either.
For your 2025–26 tax return, the rate is 88 cents per km. The most you can claim for 2025–26 is $4,400 per car. For 2026–27, the rate rises to 91 cents per km, a maximum of $4,550.
You still need a record that shows how you worked out your work kilometres. A trip diary, your calendar or a tracking app will do. Only work travel counts.
Here’s how the method works, what counts as work travel, when a logbook is the better choice, and what changes from 1 July 2026.
|  | 2025–26 return | 2026–27 return |
|---|---|---|
Rate per work km | 88 cents | 91 cents |
Maximum km per car | 5,000 | 5,000 |
Maximum claim per car | $4,400 | $4,550 |
Records needed | How you worked out your work km | How you worked out your work km |
How does the cents per kilometre method work?
The cents per kilometre method is how you claim car expenses without a logbook. Multiply your work kilometres by the ATO rate for the year you did the driving. That’s your deduction.
Use the right year’s rate. Kilometres driven before 1 July 2026 use 88 cents. Kilometres driven from 1 July 2026 use 91 cents.
What does the rate cover?
One rate covers all your car costs: fuel, servicing, repairs, registration, insurance and depreciation.
You can’t claim fuel, servicing or other car costs on top of the cents per km rate. If you use cents per km for a car, the rate is the whole claim for that car.
What records do you need?
You don’t need a logbook or receipts. But the ATO can ask how you worked out your kilometres, so keep a record that backs up the number.
A diary of work trips, your work calendar or a tracking app all work. The myDeductions tool in the ATO app can also record car trips.
Record trips as you make them. Rebuilding a year of travel in June is slow, and it’s harder to defend if the ATO asks.
If your employer reimburses your car costs for the kilometres you drive, you can’t claim those kilometres as well. If you receive a car allowance instead, it’s included in your income, and you can still claim your work kilometres.
Do you need to own the car?
Yes. You must own or lease the car to use this method. A car you use under a novated lease or salary sacrifice arrangement doesn’t count as yours for this purpose.
If you have more than one car, each car has its own 5,000 km limit. You can use a different method for each car, and you can switch methods from one year to the next.
What counts as work travel?
Only work kilometres count towards your claim. Private kilometres don’t count, but they don’t stop you using the method either.
A car you use for both private and work trips can still use cents per km. You claim the work kilometres and leave out the rest.
Can you claim your daily commute?
Driving between home and your usual workplace is private travel. Your commute stays private even if you do small work tasks on the way, like picking up the mail.
When can you claim travel from home?
There are a few exceptions. You can generally claim travel from home when:
- you carry bulky tools or equipment for work, and there’s no secure place to store them at work
- you have shifting places of work, with no fixed workplace, and travel between sites
- your home is a base of employment, and you travel from there to another workplace
- you travel from home to an alternative workplace, such as a client’s site, then on to your usual workplace or back home
Travel directly between two separate workplaces also counts, such as between two jobs on the same day, as long as neither workplace is your home.
When is a logbook better than cents per km?
Cents per km is the simpler option. A logbook takes more effort, but it can give you a bigger deduction.
Consider a logbook if:
- you drive more than 5,000 work km a year, because cents per km stops at 5,000
- your actual car costs are high, such as fuel, repairs, insurance, loan interest and depreciation
Going over 5,000 km doesn’t stop you using cents per km. It only caps your claim at 5,000 km. A logbook makes sense when the extra deduction is worth the extra record keeping.
With the logbook method, you claim the work-use percentage of your actual car costs.
What does a valid logbook need?
Your logbook must:
- cover at least 12 continuous weeks
- be broadly representative of your travel across the year
- record each work trip, including the date, the reason for the trip, odometer readings and kilometres travelled
- include odometer readings at the start and end of the logbook period
A logbook is valid for 5 years. Keep your odometer records for each year you rely on it.
The logbook method also requires receipts or other written evidence for your actual car costs.
Which vehicles count as a car?
For these rules, a car is a motor vehicle that carries a load of less than one tonne and fewer than 9 passengers, including the driver. Electric and hybrid vehicles count if they fit that definition.
Most sedans, wagons and SUVs fit. Motorcycles don’t. Neither do vehicles that carry one tonne or more, such as some utility trucks and panel vans, or that seat 9 or more people.
If your vehicle isn’t a car, you can’t use cents per km or the logbook method. You claim the actual work-related costs instead, backed by records.
Can sole traders and companies use cents per km?
Whether you can use cents per km depends on your business structure.
Can sole traders and partnerships use cents per km?
Sole traders can use cents per km for a car used in the business. So can partnerships where at least one partner is an individual.
The same 5,000 km cap and rate apply. For the wider picture, see our sole trader deductions checklist and our guide to sole trader tax in 2026.
Can companies and trusts use cents per km?
Companies and trusts can’t use cents per km. They claim the actual costs of running the vehicle.
If a company or trust car is available for an employee’s private use, fringe benefits tax (FBT) may apply. FBT is a tax employers may have to pay when they let an employee use a work car privately. A car garaged at or near the employee’s home is treated as available for private use, even if it’s only kept there for security.
If you’re a director or employee driving your own car for company work, you claim the car expenses in your personal tax return, like any other worker.
How vehicles are held and used in your structure affects both tax and FBT. It’s worth reviewing as part of your business tax planning.
What changes for car claims in 2026–27?
From 1 July 2026, the rate changes and car claims start interacting with the new standard deduction.
What is the cents per km rate for 2026–27?
The cents per km rate for 2026–27 is 91 cents, up from 88 cents. That’s an 89 cent base rate plus a one-off 2 cent increase for 2026–27 only, so don’t assume it carries into later years. The maximum claim rises to $4,550 per car. You’ll use it in the 2026–27 return you lodge after 30 June 2027.
How do car claims affect the $1,000 standard deduction?
From 2026–27, eligible workers get a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses. You don’t need to have spent the money or kept records to get it. You’re eligible if you’re an Australian resident for tax purposes and you earn labour income, such as salary, wages or director fees.
Work car expenses count toward that $1,000. If you claim them, including under cents per km, they reduce your standard deduction dollar for dollar.
For example, imagine an employee who drives 800 work km in 2026–27 and has no other work expenses. At 91 cents, their car claim is $728:
- If they claim it, their standard deduction falls to $272. Their total is still $1,000.
- If they don’t claim it, they get the full $1,000 with no records needed.
So if your work car claim and other work expenses add up to less than $1,000, claiming them adds paperwork without adding to your deduction. If they add up to more than $1,000, claim them and keep full records.
If you’re an employee or director weighing this up, it’s worth looking at as part of your personal tax planning.
Does the standard deduction affect sole traders?
No. The standard deduction doesn’t apply to business income, so a sole trader’s business car expenses don’t reduce it. If you also earn wages, only the car expenses for that wage work count against it.
Claiming other expenses without receipts?
Car travel has its own rules. Other work expenses follow different ones, and several no-receipt exceptions end from 1 July 2026. Our guide to what you can claim without receipts covers the $300 and laundry rules for 2025–26 and how they change.
What’s the short answer?
You can claim up to 5,000 work km per car without a logbook, at 88 cents per km for 2025–26 and 91 cents for 2026–27. Keep a record of how you worked out your kilometres. Use a logbook if you drive more than 5,000 work km or your car costs are high.
Not sure which method suits you?
The right choice depends on how much you drive, what your car costs to run and how your business is structured. Looking at your numbers can show which method makes more sense, and what records to start keeping now.
creditte chartered accountants & advisors works with Australian business owners on personal and business tax planning. If you’d like to talk through your car claims or your structure, we’re happy to help.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim 5,000 km without a logbook?
Yes, if you actually travelled those kilometres for work. Under cents per km, 5,000 km is the cap per car, per year. You don’t need a logbook, but you do need a record showing how you worked out the figure.
How many km can I claim without proof?
Up to 5,000 work km per car, without a logbook or receipts. That isn’t the same as needing no evidence at all. The ATO can ask how you worked out your kilometres, so keep a diary, calendar or app record.
Is the cents per km rate the same for every car?
Yes. Since 2015–16, one rate has applied to every car, whatever the engine size. It’s 88 cents for 2025–26 and 91 cents for 2026–27. The vehicle still has to meet the ATO’s definition of a car.
Can I use cents per km for a company car?
No. The company claims the actual running costs, and FBT may apply if the car is available for private use. You can only use cents per km for a car you own or lease yourself.
