Records you need to keep

To work out your fuel tax credits you need to keep complete and accurate records.

Last updated 21 February 2023

To work out your fuel tax credits accurately and support your claims, you need to keep complete and accurate records.

Keep records as soon as you start your business activity to help you calculate and claim correctly.

Your records must:

show the amount of fuel acquired and used in your business and calculations
be in writing, either electronically or on paper
be in English or easily translated into English
be kept for five years, although some records need to be kept longer.

If you claim less than $10,000 in fuel tax credits each year, you can use the simplified approach to keep records and calculate your claim.

Keeping accurate records helps you to correctly claim all the fuel tax credits you are entitled to. If you can't support your claims with adequate records, you may have to repay all or part of the fuel tax credits you have received. You may also incur penalties and interest charges.

The tables below provide examples of records to support your fuel tax credit claim and the additional records you need to keep for heavy vehicle activities.

You will need to keep more than one of these record types to support your claims. For example, you will need to keep tax invoices to show when you acquired the fuel, copies of contracts to show the activities that the fuel was used in, as well as GPS data if using GPS in a heavy vehicle that operates on and off a public road.

Table 1: Examples of records you need to keep (not exhaustive)
What your records need to show	Examples of records you can use
You are carrying on a business	sales invoices production records contracts driver logbooks lease documents
The type, date and quantity of fuel you acquired, manufactured or imported for your business activities	tax invoices receipts fuel card statements fuel supplier statements bank statements manufacturing records importation documents
The business activities the fuel was used for	records of hire, lease or ownership of the vehicle or equipment and the date of acquisition or hire vehicle or equipment use maintenance records odometer readings logbooks worksheets showing work carried out invoices you issued sales and production records work contracts fuel issue records
How you separated fuel usage between eligible and ineligible activities and activities that attract different rates	odometer readings GPS data fleet tracking telematics data route distances fuel usage reports and records engine hours (run time compared with engagement time) meter readings logbooks testing records that show fuel consumption rate and how you take external variables into account (for example, operator, climate, age of the vehicle)
How you categorise and classify different roads and areas if you use GPS technology	GPS data fleet tracking telematics data details and location data if source documentation relied on maps or land titles details of how and what you classify as public roads and roads other than public roads (including supporting evidence) how you record idling time and supporting evidence details of any formulas or assumptions used to establish data, methods or calculations reports generated showing kilometres travelled, locations, vehicle details and dates
That you used the correct fuel tax credit rate when calculating your claim	records or screen shots from the ATO fuel tax credit calculator calculation worksheets records from another system you use

Table 2: Record keeping for heavy vehicle activities
Heavy vehicles (more than 4.5 tonnes GVM)	Activity	Examples of records you may need to keep
Garbage truck, tip truck, refrigeration truck	Fuel for travelling on public roads to work site or on route	General odometer readings (e.g. servicing) Route distances Fuel purchases/issues
Auxiliary equipment used while the heavy vehicle is travelling on public roads – for example, a garbage truck, concrete truck, refrigeration truck	Bin lifting and compaction mechanism of a garbage truck Mixing barrel on a concrete truck Refrigeration unit of a truck	See PCG 2016/11 for acceptable percentages Evidence to support any fair and reasonable method of apportionment of the fuel
Street sweeper/ water truck travelling	Fuel for travelling on public roads to and from work site	General odometer readings (e.g. servicing) Route distances Fuel purchases/issues
Street sweeper/ water truck doing maintenance	Undertaking road maintenance	Specific records (or percentages based on previous actual records) of fuel used in specific work activities
Auxiliary equipment of a heavy vehicle used while the vehicle is not travelling on public roads	Truck mounted drill at a building construction site or a water tanker while spraying off-road	Specific records (or percentages based on previous actual records) of fuel used in specific work activities
Environmental criteria records for heavy diesel vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1996	Vehicle used on a public road	Maintenance records including; receipts or dockets for oil and replacement parts mechanical invoices for servicing/repairs maintenance schedule documentation a DT80 test report from a registered test facility a membership certificate or equivalent from an accredited audited maintenance program.

For more information for apportioning fuel for fuel tax credits is available in the Practical Compliance Guidelines 2016/8. It provides examples of acceptable methodologies for apportioning taxable fuel.

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