How to claim Work Related Vehicle Expenses

Hi there Dannie from GDL Automotive services. I have with me today, Brad Adams from the HR department. He’s a HR specialist and he’s going to talk to us about a couple of things relating to motor vehicle and motor vehicle expenses related to your employment.
So, Brad. I guess what are the options if someone is an employee using their motor vehicle for work.
Yeah, okay. So a lot of roles do need a motor vehicle and the employee needs to provide their own vehicle. So anytime they’re using their vehicle for work related purposes, then the employer should be reimbursing them at the current ATO rate, which at the moment is 68 cents for each kilometre they travel.
So that relates to, you know, travel outside of the office so in trips, away from the office, it typically doesn’t cover the trip from home to work. And then return. There is a couple of exceptions though so it depends on what they’re carrying and what they’re using the vehicle for, right. So with a tradesman and their carrying ladders and heavy tools and things like that. Then they the employer can pay the employee for the home to office travel plus any other things that they do through the course of the day. So it really depends on the current situation.
Right. So in, is there a scenario where a employee as an individual would be required to use his motor vehicle and then claim that use at tax time yeah his personal tax return.
Yes, there’s a couple of ways you can do it, one is the employee reimburses them. But secondly if you do use your vehicle for work, then you can still add it on to your, your tax return and claim the expense.
Either way you need to justify the actual kilometers you’ve done so even if your employer pays you still need to justify that on your tax return, because the kilometer payment actually goes on your assessable income so top charged tax at that point, but it will be if you don’t justify those Kilometres .
Sure. Okay, and another one that comes up quite regularly is a bit of a curveball because I probably haven’t warned you this question is coming.
Question without notice.
So traditionally tradesmen but not always maybe what Christmas parties are well, if there’s alcohol involved and an employer has provided an alcohol at the worksite, what are the legalities around an employee then driving home under the influence of alcohol?
Can I claim my car on taxWell first of all, if an employer is going to serve alcohol in an event. Then I must make arrangements to the monitor what people are drinking or arranging return travel for them. The taxi fare home is actually a tax deduction, like the alcohol isn’t, the events, not that the taxi fare on them is so the the worker has started the employer has an obligation to make sure the worker gets home safely.
Right. So, if hypothetical scenario that someone doesn’t take the taxi, and then goes home is the employer liable for that or is that the employees responsibility yeah that’s a really grey. But I think best practice would be this to the employer not to put themselves in that situation, and monitor what people are drinking and then you suggest that they take a taxi home or check that they have alternate ways of getting home. Under no circumstances should an employer just go… their choice.
Yeah. Better safe than sorry.
Absolutely.
All right, well thank you Brad, this is Brad from the HR department. If you have any HR needs we use and highly recommend Brad and his services. Thanks that’s Danny from GDL automotive.
If you require contact details for Brad Adams you can visit his website by clicking here.
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