Whilst travel between your home and workplace is usually considered private and therefore not claimable, there are a few exceptions.
A few such exemptions can ocur when:
- Your home is considered a place of employment meaning you are travelling between two places of employment.
- You start work from home and later travel to the office e.g. a consultant who meets clients at home and is required to attend the business premises from time to time.
- The nature of your work requires you to carry bulky equipment which would be impracticable to transport under other circumstances e.g. a masseuse visiting clients and transporting the massage table.
- Your work activities mean that your destination upon leaving home each day is frequently changing e.g. a sales person who leaves home and travels to the premises of a client before arriving at the office.
Motor vehicle expenses incurred in the course of deriving assessable income are allowable deductions. Such expenses include petrol, oil, repairs, servicing, new tyres, lease charges, interest on a car loan and car washes and polishes. The costs of registration, third party insurance, insurance excess, comprehensive insurance and annual fees for motor associations (RAA etc) are also deductible. Licensing costs however, are not claimable, and neither are fines - so drive safe!
If you would like to talk over your eligibility to claim a deduction for your motor vehicle for work, please talk to a member of our Taxation & Accounting Team.