Fuel tax credits - travel and other activities for heavy vehicles

This guide includes information, rates and examples that apply to fuel acquired from 1 July 2012. If you acquired the fuel prior to 1 July 2012, refer to the previous version of Fuel tax credits - travel and other activities for heavy vehicles (prior to 1 July 2012).

Introduction

This guide provides information about fuel tax credits for businesses, government bodies (including shire councils) and other entities that use heavy road vehicles in their work.

Heavy vehicles are vehicles with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) greater than 4.5 tonne. Diesel vehicles acquired before 1 July 2006 can equal 4.5 tonne GVM.

These guidelines are based on law and our view on how the law applies. This information will help you understand and apply fuel tax credits for heavy road vehicle use.

This guide focuses on fuel tax credits for heavy road vehicle use, including information about:

• travel and other vehicle movement - the meaning of 'travel' and how it is different from other vehicle movement on a road
• incidental travel - what is incidental travel
• fuel used for travelling - fuel tax credits for fuel used for travelling on a public road are reduced by the road user charge
• fuel used to power auxiliary equipment - fuel used in powering auxiliary equipment of a heavy vehicle travelling on a public road is not reduced by the road user charge or the carbon charge
• all other activities - activities where the fuel tax credit rate is reduced by a carbon charge
• record keeping and calculating eligible quantities - the importance of applying the correct rate and keeping records to substantiate claims
• examples of heavy vehicle activities and rates.

This information does not apply to fuel tax credits for the use of heavy vehicles or equipment off-road - except as incidental travel.

Heavy diesel vehicles - for example, trucks and buses manufactured before 1 January 1996 - will need to meet one of four environmental criteria to be eligible for fuel tax credits. For more information, refer to: Environmental criteria and related Environmental criteria for fuel tax credits - FAQs Fuel tax credit for heavy diesel vehicles: Guidelines for satisfying environmental criteria on the Department of Infrastructure and Transport website.

This guide should be read together with Fuel tax credits for business (NAT 14584), particularly the section on 'Road transport'.