Australia
ATO Logbook Rules for Electric Tesla Drivers in Australia (2026-27)
Yes. The logbook obligation applies to your electric Tesla exactly as it does to any other car. Australia's rules for substantiating business-versus-private vehicle use are fuel-type neutral, so driving a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) does not remove the need to keep records. Even when your Tesla qualifies for the electric-car FBT exemption, the ATO still treats it as a reportable fringe benefit. A complying 12-week logbook lets the employer value that benefit with the operating cost method, and it supports the running-cost deductions and GST credits a business can claim for the car.
Last reviewed: October 2026 (2026-27 income year; FBT year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027)
Who is concerned?
Businesses and employers that provide a car available for an employee's or director's private use fall under Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) and the car fringe benefit rules. Self-employed people (sole traders, contractors and partnerships) claiming income-tax deductions for a vehicle used partly for business need a logbook to use the logbook method. GST-registered businesses claiming input tax credits on a vehicle also rely on the logbook percentage, and the same business can fall into more than one of these groups. Employees on a company car or novated lease, including an FBT-exempt EV, are indirectly concerned because a complying logbook can lower their reportable fringe benefits amount.
For your electric Tesla
Because a Tesla is 100% electric, the running cost you apportion is charging electricity, and the mechanics are identical to a petrol car. No EV-specific cents-per-kilometre rate exists: the same 91c/km (2026-27) applies, and it already covers electricity. Under the logbook method you deduct your business-use percentage of all actual running costs (electricity, servicing, insurance, registration, interest and decline in value) and you claim GST input tax credits to the same extent of business use. For home charging, the ATO accepts a shortcut set by PCG 2024/2: 4.20c per km up to 2025-26 and 5.47c per km from 2026-27 (from 1 April 2026 for FBT), applied to the car's total kilometres (or to the home-charged share, when the car reports it) and then to your business-use percentage.
Fringe Benefits Tax treats EVs differently. Private use of an eligible zero-emissions car is exempt from FBT. To be eligible, the car must be a BEV first held and used on or after 1 July 2022, on which luxury car tax was never payable (fuel-efficient threshold of $91,661 for 2026-27 and $91,387 for 2025-26). That exemption does not switch off record-keeping. The car remains a reportable fringe benefit, so the employer must still calculate its notional taxable value to include in the employee's reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA), reported once the aggregate exceeds $2,000. A complying logbook underpins the operating cost calculation that keeps that notional value, and any FBT on a non-exempt car, as low as possible. On 5 May 2026 the government announced a phase-down for commitments made from 1 April 2027: the full discount would apply only up to a $75,000 base value, with a 25% discount between $75,000 and the fuel-efficient car limit, and commitments from 1 April 2029 would get the 25% discount only. Commitments made before 1 April 2027 would keep the exemption until they end. As at 25 October 2026 this measure is not law: the exposure draft consultation closed on 28 September 2026, and the bill still has to pass Parliament.
What to record
- ✓The date each business journey began and ended, its destination, and its purpose or reason.
- ✓The odometer readings at the start and end of each trip, and the kilometres travelled.
- ✓The odometer readings at the start and end of the logbook period and at 30 June each year.
- ✓The resulting business-use percentage, kept contemporaneously over a continuous 12-week period.
- ✓The make, model, engine capacity and registration number of the car.
How to stay compliant
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1
Start a complying 12-week logbook
Record a continuous period of at least 12 weeks that reflects your typical driving. Capture every business trip's date, odometer readings, distance and purpose as you go: a reconstructed logbook fails the contemporaneous-records standard.
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2
Work out and apply your business-use percentage
Take odometer readings at the start and end of the period, and at 30 June each year. The percentage of kilometres driven for business becomes the figure you apply to actual running costs, your FBT operating cost calculation and your GST apportionment.
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3
Keep it current and retain your evidence
A logbook stays valid for the year completed plus the next four, unless your usage pattern changes materially, which restarts the 12 weeks. Keep the logbook for 5 years after the end of the latest income year it supports, and receipts for electricity, servicing, insurance and registration for at least 5 years after lodgment.
Missing, incomplete or non-contemporaneous logbooks mean the claim cannot be substantiated. Deductions are denied, the FBT operating cost method is disallowed (forcing the higher statutory formula method), and GST credits are reduced. On audit the ATO can amend returns across a multi-year window, recover the underpaid tax plus the General Interest Charge, and impose administrative penalties for false or misleading statements or failure to take reasonable care, typically 25%-75% of the tax shortfall (up to 75% for intentional disregard).
Logbook method, business-use percentage, car fringe benefit, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT), operating cost method, statutory formula method, reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA), electric cars exemption, input tax credits (GST), cents-per-kilometre method (91c/km in 2026-27), EV home charging rate (PCG 2024/2), odometer records, substantiation, Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Frequently asked questions
Does an electric Tesla need a logbook if it is FBT-exempt?+
Yes. An eligible BEV below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold is exempt from FBT and remains a reportable fringe benefit. Your employer must calculate its notional taxable value for your reportable fringe benefits amount, and a complying 12-week logbook lets the employer use the operating cost method for that calculation instead of the statutory formula method.
Is there a different cents-per-kilometre rate for electric vehicles in Australia?+
No. The cents-per-kilometre method is fuel-type neutral: EVs use the same rate, 91c per km for 2026-27, capped at 5,000 business km per car ($4,550). To claim more than that cap, you need the logbook method, which lets you deduct your business-use percentage of all actual running costs, including charging electricity.
How long does an ATO logbook stay valid before I have to redo it?+
A complying logbook covers a continuous 12-week period and remains valid for the income year it is completed plus the following four years. You must redo the 12 weeks earlier if your pattern of business use changes significantly. Keep the logbook for 5 years after the end of the latest income year it supports, and supporting receipts for at least 5 years after lodgment.
Based on ATO guidance on the logbook method, car fringe benefits and GST. This page is for information only and does not constitute tax advice.
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