ATO Cents Per Kilometre Calculator

Quick answer

Under the ATO cents per kilometre method, multiply your work-related kilometres (max 5,000 per car) by the rate for that income year — 91c for 2026–27 or 88c for 2024–25 and 2025–26. That figure is a deduction: it lowers taxable income. The cash you keep is closer to deduction × your marginal tax rate (often 32% once you include the 2% Medicare levy in the 30% bracket). Keep a diary or myDeductions log showing how you worked out the kilometres. Ordinary commuting between home and your regular workplace is usually private.

ATO rates by income year

Sources (checked 4 Sep 2026 via ATO page snippets): ATO cents per kilometre method; LI 2026/19 (91c from 1 July 2026). Direct ATO HTML fetch was blocked from this draft environment — confirm on publish day.

What the rate covers (and what you cannot stack)

• Included in the cents rate: fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, repairs and decline in value of the car.
• Do not claim on top of those same car running costs if you use this method — that is a double dip.
• Separate from this method: some parking and tolls on work trips may still be claimable if you paid them and were not reimbursed (check ATO car/travel rules).
• Ownership: you generally must own or lease the car yourself. A novated / salary-sacrifice car is usually leased by your employer — cents per kilometre does not apply.

Trips that usually count (and the commute trap)

You can generally claim kilometres travelled in the course of performing your work duties — for example between workplaces, to a client site, to an alternate workplace or training venue, or delivering supplies. You generally cannot claim ordinary trips between home and your regular place of work, even if the drive is long.

Limited exceptions (home as a base of employment, bulky tools that cannot be stored securely at work, itinerant / shifting places of work) have strict ATO conditions. Read ATO — Trips you can and can’t claim before counting those kilometres in this calculator.

Cents per km vs logbook

This page calculates the cents method only. If your work kilometres would exceed 5,000, the cents claim stops growing — consider whether a logbook claim would be larger.

$1,000 standard deduction (from 2026–27) and car claims

From the 2026–27 income year, the ATO applies a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses for eligible taxpayers. It does not apply to 2025–26. Most itemised work-related claims — including a cents-per-kilometre or logbook car claim — reduce that standard amount. You do not get $1,000 plus your full car deduction stacked on top.

• Practical rule of thumb: if total itemised work-related claims (car + WFH + other) stay under about $1,000, the standard deduction is usually simpler. If genuine itemised claims exceed $1,000, claim itemised and keep full records.
• What this page does not do: it estimates the cents-per-km figure only. It does not auto-net the $1,000 standard deduction.

Source: ATO — Standard deduction for work-related expenses. Checked 4 September 2026.

Worked example 1 — 3,000 km at 91c (2026–27)

You drive 3,000 claimable work kilometres in a car you own, on $85,000 taxable income before the claim.

• Deduction: 3,000 × $0.91 = $2,730
• Taxable income falls to $82,270
• Estimated tax + Medicare saved ≈ $874 (about 32% of $2,730)

That $874 is the useful planning number — not the $2,730 deduction line.

Worked example 2 — maxing the 5,000 km cap

Same $85,000 income. You have 5,000 (or more) claimable work kilometres.

• Cents method caps at 5,000 × $0.91 = $4,550 for 2026–27
• Estimated tax + Medicare saved ≈ $1,456
• Extra kilometres beyond 5,000 do not increase a cents-per-km claim — look at the logbook method if work use is high

Worked example 3 — same trips, 2025–26 @ 88c

If those same 3,000 km belong to the 2025–26 income year, use 88c: deduction = $2,640. Do not apply 91c to a 2025–26 return. Switch the income-year control above to see the difference.

Records that keep claims standing

1. How you calculated kilometres — diary, calendar or ATO myDeductions entries showing work trips.
2. Ownership / lease — you must be able to show you own or lease the car (not a typical novated arrangement).
3. Work purpose — be ready to explain why each class of trip is work-related under ATO rules.
4. Keep records ~5 years from lodgement.

How this calculator works

1. Pick the income year → rate is $0.91 (2026–27) or $0.88 (2024–25 / 2025–26).
2. Work km = total entered, or km/week × weeks.
3. Claimable km = min(work km, 5,000).
4. Deduction = claimable km × rate (does not net the 2026–27 $1,000 standard deduction).
5. Tax saved = tax bill before − tax bill after the deduction, using 2026–27 resident brackets, Medicare levy shade-in and LITO for illustration (same approach as our income tax calculator).

Frequently asked questions

Primary sources

• Cents per kilometre method — ATO (91c for 2026–27; 88c for 2024–25 / 2025–26)
• LI 2026/19 — Cents per Kilometre Deduction Rate Determination 2026
• Expenses for a car you own or lease — ATO
• Trips you can and can’t claim — ATO
• Standard deduction for work-related expenses — ATO (from 2026–27)

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