Add your trips
How to add and manage your work-related car expenses with myDeductions.
On this page
Adding, editing and deleting a vehicle
Before you can add a trip, you have to add a vehicle.
If no trips or expenses have been added against a vehicle, you can edit or delete that vehicle record under Settings, Vehicle settings. However, once you record a trip or expense against a vehicle, that vehicle will always show in myDeductions (even in later years or if you delete trip records). You will only be able to edit certain fields for these vehicles.
Trip recording options
myDeductions provides 3 tracking options for you to record your car trips:
- Add point to point trip works out the shortest route between the start and end addresses you have entered. The tool works out the distance in kilometres and adds it to your record.
- Add GPS trip tracks your route to work out the distance you travel
- If you lose GPS signal during the trip, myDeductions will estimate the route and distance.
- GPS uses more battery power and data than the other options, so consider the length of your trip.
- Add odometer trip is the most accurate option. Use this option if you are using the logbook method to calculate your work-related car expenses.
Start logbook
Select Start logbook from the Add trip screen, enter the logbook start date and your selected vehicle’s starting odometer reading.
Your logbook must cover at least 12 continuous weeks. You will be required to enter your vehicle’s closing odometer reading. When you select Save, you have created a valid logbook. After this, you can choose to stop your logbook by selecting Close logbook from the Add trip screen. As long as your logbook remains valid, you don't need to keep recording each trip.
You still need to record all relevant expenses for that vehicle if you want to make a deduction claim for the expenses.
Common issues with adding trips
The following are common issues users find when adding trips:
Recording regular and multiple trips
If you make the same trips regularly, you can save them as a 'favourite'. To add a favourite:
- Go to Add trip.
- Select Add point to point trip.
- Enter the details, then select Save as a favourite trip.
Once you've made a favourite trip, click into the favourite trip and select save to record the trip.
Record multiple trips at once by adjusting the Record multiple trips? number. For example, if you make the same trip 3 times every week, enter '3' as the number of trips at the start of the week.
Recording trips when you're both an employee and a business owner
If you're a sole trader, but the trip is for your work as an employee, make sure the Is this trip for your business? option is off. In the Purpose of trip section select either:
- employee – work
- employee – self-education.
If the trip is for your business, make sure the Is this trip for your business? option is on.
Using a logbook when you are both an employee and a business owner
You will need to record all your car expenses as a business expense. To do this, ensure the Is this transaction for my business? option is on when you add a Motor vehicle expense.
Manual override of GPS or point-to-point trip record
When using the GPS and point-to-point trip recording methods, the tool uses Google Maps to determine the start and end addresses and distance travelled.
If the address or distance details recorded don't accurately reflect the trip you took, override them by moving the switch to the on position at the question Manually enter address or km?
Self-education trip type
When you select Self-education for the trip type, the question Is this travel you can claim? will appear on the screen.
For work-related self-education, you can claim the cost of daily travel from your:
- home to your place of education and back
- work to your place of education and back.
However, you can't claim the cost of the last stage of your travel from:
- home to your place of education, and then to work
- work to your place of education, and then to your home.
If you make a mistake
If you make a mistake you can delete any recorded trip, as long as you haven't already uploaded it. Delete your trip by opening the record and selecting the Delete button.
If you have already uploaded the data when you realise there is a mistake, you can't amend that year's information within myDeductions. Instead, amend the data in your myTax return before you submit.
Continue to Add your business income