Australia

ATO Logbook Rules for Electric Tesla Drivers in Australia (2025-26)

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. In fact, even when your Tesla qualifies for the electric-car FBT exemption, the ATO still treats it as a reportable fringe benefit, and only a complying 12-week logbook lets you (or your employer) work out the amount and claim the running-cost deductions and GST credits you are owed.

Last reviewed: 2026 (2025-26 income year; FBT year 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026)

Key figures

88c per business km

Cents-per-kilometre rate (2025-26), without a logbook

5,000 business km (max $4,400)

Cents-per-km cap

12 continuous weeks, representative of the year

Minimum logbook period

The year completed plus 4 following years (5-year rule)

How long a logbook stays valid

At least 5 years after lodgment

Record retention

Who is concerned?

Three overlapping groups are affected. 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. Employees on a company car or novated lease, including an FBT-exempt EV, are indirectly concerned because a complying logbook is what determines their reportable fringe benefits amount.

For your electric Tesla

Because a Tesla is 100% electric, the running cost you apportion is charging electricity rather than fuel — but the mechanics are identical to a petrol car. There is no EV-specific cents-per-kilometre rate: the same 88c/km (2025-26) applies. 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. The one place EVs diverge is Fringe Benefits Tax. Private use of an eligible zero-emissions car — a BEV first held and used from 1 July 2022 and priced below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold ($91,387 for 2025-26) — is exempt from FBT. 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 is what underpins the operating cost calculation that keeps that notional value — and any FBT on a non-exempt car — as low as possible.

What to record

✓The date each business journey began and ended, plus 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.

How to stay compliant

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 — contemporaneous records are the standard a reconstructed logbook fails.
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.
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 plus 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). The ATO also cross-checks logbook entries against toll-road and telematics data, and car expenses are a standing audit focus area.

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 (88c/km in 2025-26), 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, but it is still a reportable fringe benefit. Your employer must calculate its notional taxable value for your reportable fringe benefits amount, and a complying 12-week logbook is what supports that operating cost calculation.

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 88c/km for 2025-26, capped at 5,000 business kilometres ($4,400). 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 and supporting records for at least 5 years after lodgment.

Sources

Based on ATO guidance on the logbook method, car fringe benefits and GST. Informational only — not tax advice.

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