How to claim your Tesla's charging and running costs
If you use your Tesla for business, you can claim the business-use percentage of all actual running costs — including charging electricity, servicing, insurance, registration, interest and decline in value — but only with a complying logbook. Without one, you are limited to the cents-per-kilometre method: 88c per business kilometre for 2025-26, capped at 5,000 business kilometres ($4,400), with no separate claim for actual costs.
Logbook method vs cents per kilometre
There are two ways to claim car expenses. The cents-per-kilometre method pays a flat 88c per business kilometre for 2025-26, capped at 5,000 business kilometres — a maximum of $4,400 — and requires no logbook, but lets you claim nothing else. The logbook method lets you deduct your business-use percentage of every actual running cost. For a Tesla driven heavily for business, the logbook method almost always returns more, but it is only available if you have kept a complying 12-week logbook.
Is charging a deductible running cost?
Yes. For an electric vehicle, charging electricity is a running cost in the same way petrol is for a combustion car — it is apportioned by your logbook business-use percentage. That includes public and destination charging you can substantiate, and home charging where you can reasonably work out the cost of the electricity used. The ATO's running-cost rules are fuel-type neutral, so an EV claims charging, servicing, insurance, registration, interest and decline in value on exactly the same logbook basis as any other car.
Where GST fits in
If your business is registered for GST, you can claim input tax credits (GST credits) on your Tesla's purchase and running costs to the extent of business use — the same business-use percentage from your logbook is the accepted basis for apportionment. The GST credit on the car itself is capped at one-eleventh of the car limit. A higher, well-substantiated business-use percentage therefore improves your income tax deduction and your GST recovery at the same time.
The cost of not keeping a logbook
Without a valid logbook you are pushed onto the capped cents-per-kilometre method for income tax, the statutory formula method for FBT, and reduced GST credits. On audit — and car expenses are a standing ATO focus area — unsubstantiated claims can be denied and amended over a multi-year window, with the General Interest Charge and penalties of 25% to 75% of the shortfall. For a business Tesla, the gap between a clean logbook and no logbook can run into thousands of dollars a year.
FAQ
Is the cents-per-km rate different for electric cars?+
No. The rate is fuel-type neutral — 88c per business kilometre for 2025-26 applies to EVs and combustion cars alike, capped at 5,000 business kilometres.
Can I claim the full cost of my home charger?+
Capital items like a home charger and the electricity used are treated under the relevant ATO rules and apportioned to business use. Keep records and confirm the treatment with your accountant.
Can I switch between the two methods year to year?+
Sole traders can generally choose the method that gives the better result each year, provided the records for that method are kept. The logbook method needs a valid logbook in place.
Every unlogged business kilometre in your Tesla is a deduction and GST credit you never claim. Odoproof turns your trips into an ATO-ready logbook automatically — join the waitlist and stop leaving money on the table.
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