汽车的开支和费用可以抵税吗？
Can Vehicle Expenses Be Tax Deductible?

If you use your car for work purposes in Australia, you may be entitled to claim vehicle expenses as a tax deduction — regardless of whether you own or lease the vehicle. Here's what you need to know.

When can you claim?

You may be able to claim a deduction for car expenses if you use your vehicle for any of the following work-related purposes:

• Carrying out your work duties (e.g. travelling between job sites or to visit clients)
• Attending work-related conferences or meetings held away from your regular workplace
• Travelling between two separate workplaces on the same day
• Transporting bulky tools or equipment that cannot be stored at your workplace

What expenses can you claim?

If you are eligible, the following types of vehicle costs may be deductible:

• Fuel and oil
• Registration and insurance
• Repairs and maintenance
• Interest on a car loan (for the work-related portion)
• Lease payments (for the work-related portion)
• Depreciation (decline in value)

What cannot be claimed?

• The purchase price of the vehicle (unless you are a sole trader using simplified depreciation rules)
• Costs reimbursed by your employer
• Costs covered by a salary sacrifice or novated lease arrangement
• Any portion of costs attributable to private use

Special cases

Investment property travel

Since 1 July 2017, travel expenses to inspect or maintain a residential rental property are generally no longer deductible for individual investors.

Tradespeople and home-based businesses

Tradespeople who transport heavy or bulky tools that cannot be left at a work site may be eligible to claim travel from home to their first job site. Similarly, if your home is your principal place of business, travel from home to client sites may be claimable.

How to calculate your claim

The ATO accepts two main methods for claiming car expenses:

• Cents per kilometre method — claim a flat rate per business kilometre (up to 5,000 km per year). No logbook required, but you must be able to show how you calculated your work-related kilometres.
• Logbook method — record all trips in a logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks to establish your work-use percentage. This often produces a higher deduction for those with significant work-related driving.

Record-keeping

Regardless of which method you use, the ATO recommends keeping detailed records of your vehicle use. If using the logbook method, retain your logbook and all receipts for at least five years from the date you lodged your tax return.