Ireland

Tesla Mileage Logbook & BIK Rules in Ireland: What Revenue Expects for Electric Company Cars

Yes — the business-versus-private mileage obligation applies fully to a 100% electric Tesla in Ireland. Revenue ties your tax directly to proven business kilometres, and a battery-electric car (0g/km CO2, Category A1) still needs a contemporaneous logbook to set your Benefit-in-Kind, apportion motor expenses and support VAT recovery. Being electric lowers the rates you pay, but it does not remove the need to record and prove every business journey.

Last reviewed: 2026 (tax year 2026)

Key figures

Lowest BIK rate on OMV for a 0g/km EV (Category A1, over 48,000 business km)

15%

Highest BIK rate for the same EV (0–26,000 business km)

8,000 km

Private kilometres Revenue lets an employer assume when mileage is unproven

€30,000

OMV reduction for a 2026 EV (€10,000 universal + €20,000 EV-specific)

6 years

Record retention period

Who is concerned?

Three groups are affected. Company-car drivers (and directors) charged Benefit-in-Kind as notional pay, whose BIK band is set by their annual business kilometres. Self-employed sole traders and partnerships claiming motor expenses and capital allowances, who can only deduct the business proportion. And any VAT-registered business seeking partial VAT recovery on a qualifying passenger vehicle or on electricity used for business charging. Employers calculate and report the BIK; the employee must supply the mileage records.

For your electric Tesla

For a company car, an electric Tesla emits 0g/km of CO2, placing it in the most favourable band — Category A1 for 2026. The taxable benefit still swings with your proven business mileage: it falls from 15% of Original Market Value (0–26,000 business km) to 12% (26,001–39,000), 9% (39,001–48,000) and just 6% above 48,000 business km. Before that percentage is applied, an EV's OMV is first reduced by a universal €10,000 plus a €20,000 EV-specific relief for 2026 — €30,000 in total. Drivers with low business kilometres can also claim a 20% reduction of the cash equivalent, but only if they travel between 8,000 and 24,000 business km, work at least 20 hours per week, spend at least 70% of working time away from base, and keep a logbook.

What to record

✓Date of each journey.
✓Start and end location (from / to).
✓Distance travelled, in kilometres.
✓The business reason or purpose of the trip.

How to stay compliant

1

Log every journey as you drive
Capture the date, from/to, distance in kilometres and business purpose of each trip contemporaneously. A live logbook is the evidence Revenue expects; a year-end reconstruction is weak and easily challenged.
2

Keep a running business-kilometres total
Your annual business-km figure sets your BIK band, your self-employed expense apportionment and your VAT business-use test. Track the business-versus-private split continuously so you can prove which band you fall into.
3

Export and retain for six years
Produce a clean, timestamped logbook for your employer, accountant or a Revenue audit, and keep all supporting records for six years so you can meet Revenue's look-back.

Weak or missing records default you to the worst outcome. Revenue may treat 8,000 km as private, the 20% low-business-kilometres BIK reduction becomes unavailable, and more BIK tax is charged. For the self-employed, the private element of motor expenses and capital allowances is disallowed and added back. Reclaimed VAT is clawed back if 60% business use is not met or evidenced. On an audit, under-declared BIK or over-claimed expenses and VAT lead to additional tax plus interest and penalties, and records must be produced across a six-year look-back.

mileage logbook, Benefit-in-Kind (BIK), notional pay, business kilometres, Original Market Value (OMV), cash equivalent, CO2 Category A1 (0g/km EV), apportionment of motor expenses, qualifying passenger motor vehicle (up to 20% VAT recovery), six-year retention

Frequently asked questions

Does my electric Tesla still need a mileage logbook in Ireland?+

Yes. Being a 0g/km EV lowers your BIK rate (Category A1, from 15% down to 6% of OMV) but does not remove the obligation. You still need a contemporaneous logbook to prove business kilometres for BIK, motor expenses and VAT recovery.

Can I reclaim VAT on the electricity used to charge my Tesla for business?+

VAT on electricity used to charge an EV for business is recoverable, apportioned by your business-versus-private mileage split. The same logbook that supports your BIK also substantiates this recovery. An employer generally cannot recover VAT where an employee charges a company car at home.

What happens if I cannot prove my business mileage to Revenue?+

Revenue lets your employer assume 8,000 km are private, and the 20% low-business-kilometres BIK reduction cannot be claimed without a logbook. For VAT, up to 20% recovery on a qualifying passenger vehicle requires at least 60% business use, tested over a two-year period — unproven, it is clawed back.

Sources

Based on Revenue guidance on private use of employer-provided vehicles, motor expense deductions and VAT on qualifying passenger vehicles. Informational only — not tax advice.

Join the waitlist

Be first to keep your Tesla kilometres audit-proof.