Your Tesla is FBT-exempt, so why do you still need a logbook?
Usually, yes. An eligible battery-electric car below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold ($91,661 for 2026-27, $91,387 for 2025-26) is exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, and its private use is still a reportable fringe benefit. The employer must calculate a notional taxable value for the employee's reportable fringe benefits amount, either with the statutory formula method, which needs no logbook, or with the operating cost method, which requires a complying 12-week logbook and can give a lower value when business use is high.
How the electric car FBT exemption works
Since the electric car discount rules took effect, a zero-emissions car that is a battery-electric vehicle and was first held and used on or after 1 July 2022, with a value below the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold ($91,661 for 2026-27, $91,387 for 2025-26), can be exempt from FBT when made available for an employee's private use. Check the car's value against the threshold of the financial year of its first retail sale. The exemption removes the FBT liability itself. Behind it, the reporting obligation remains.
The reportable fringe benefit that survives the exemption
Even though no FBT is payable, the private use of an exempt electric car is still a reportable fringe benefit. The employer must calculate its notional taxable value (the value that would have applied if the exemption did not exist), and where an employee's total reportable fringe benefits exceed $2,000 for the FBT year, the reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA) is reported on their income statement. That amount is not taxed directly. It feeds into income tests for things like the Medicare levy surcharge, private health rebate, HELP repayments and family assistance.
Why the logbook still matters
To keep that notional taxable value as low as possible, employers generally use the operating cost method, which taxes only the private-use portion of total car costs. The operating cost method is only available with a valid logbook establishing the business-use percentage. Without one, the calculation defaults to the statutory formula method (a flat percentage of the car's base value regardless of actual use), which usually produces a higher notional value and therefore a larger RFBA for the employee. So a Tesla can be FBT-exempt and still need a complying logbook to minimise what gets reported.
What this means for novated-lease and company-car drivers
If you drive a company Tesla or hold one under a novated lease, a clean record of your business versus private kilometres protects your reportable amount. The employer needs the logbook to run the operating cost method; you benefit because a well-substantiated business-use percentage keeps your RFBA, and the income-tested consequences that flow from it, as low as the facts allow.
FAQ
Does the FBT exemption apply to plug-in hybrids?+
From 1 April 2025 plug-in hybrids no longer qualify for the electric car FBT exemption, except a plug-in hybrid already used or available before that date under a financially binding commitment that continues. Teslas are fully battery-electric, so this exclusion does not affect them.
Who has to keep the logbook, me or my employer?+
The employer relies on the logbook to calculate FBT, but in practice the driver is best placed to capture the trips. A shared, contemporaneous record keeps both sides covered.
Will the electric car FBT exemption last?+
Current law (section 8A of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986) sets no end date for the exemption. On 5 May 2026 the government announced a phase-down for commitments made from 1 April 2027: the full discount for a base value up to $75,000, a 25% discount between $75,000 and the fuel-efficient car limit, and the 25% discount only for commitments from 1 April 2029. Commitments made before 1 April 2027 would keep the exemption until they end. The draft bill went to consultation, which closed on 28 September 2026, and as at 25 October 2026 the measure is not law, so confirm the current position each FBT year.
Even when your Tesla is FBT-exempt, a complying logbook can lower the reportable amount. Odoproof keeps your Tesla's business-use percentage audit-ready without the manual logging. Start your 7-day free trial today.
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