what car expenses can i claim

Want to claim car expenses without the taxman raising an eyebrow? You can only claim the work-use portion, and there are two ATO-approved methods.

The cents-per-kilometre method uses a single per-km rate that bundles fuel, rego, insurance, servicing and depreciation—no receipts, but keep a good record of work kilometres.

The logbook method lets you claim your business-use percentage of running costs like fuel, servicing, tyres, rego, insurance, interest and depreciation (based on a 12‑week logbook).

You can usually add work-related parking and tolls, but normal home-to-work commuting doesn’t count.

Fines, private trips and the car’s purchase price itself are off the menu (depreciation rules may apply for businesses). Keep records and you’ll keep your refund—and your sanity.