Changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax legislation effective 01 April 1999 have imposed a requirement for logbooks to be maintained on an ongoing basis. Incomplete or missing entries are not acceptable as they are deemed to be private under FBT legislation.
Instructions to drivers:
- record all trips in the log book, whether they are business or private, as soon as possible after each trip
- a separate entry for each journey during the day’s use is required
- no entry is required if the vehicle is not used that day
- trips between the home and the workplace must be recorded separately
- the overnight code must be completed for travel including an overnight allocation.
What constitutes private use of a departmental vehicle?
This guideline intends to give you a reasonable understanding of the difference between business travel and private travel based on the FBT legislation and ATO rulings.
Private travel is:
- when you use a department vehicle for the purpose of private travel.
- travel from your home to and from your regular place of work.
Please read the following exceptions:
- When an employee who does not normally have private use of a vehicle is given a vehicle to take home solely to make a business trip the next morning, the entire journey including the trip home the previous night will be business travel. It should be noted the business trip must be in order to perform substantial employment duties at the destination. A call to pick-up the mail would not qualify.
- When an employee who does not normally have private use of a vehicle is given a vehicle to take home solely to make a business trip on the way home, the entire journey including the trip to work the following morning will be business travel. It should be noted the business trip must be in order to perform substantial employment duties at the destination. A call to drop off the mail would not qualify.
- Where an 'on-call' employee is called out their regular place of work and actually commences duty upon receiving the call, (i.e. gives instructions), the travel from home to the incident and return home will be business travel.
- Where an 'on-call' employee is called out to a place not being their regular place of work, the travel from the home to the incident and return will be business travel.
- Where an employee, (including a person who is 'on-call') takes a car home and the travel includes transportation of bulky equipment, then the travel will be considered business if the following criteria are met:
- the equipment must be necessary
- the equipment must be of such bulk that it can only be conveniently transported by a motor vehicle
- there must be a justifiable reason for the equipment being kept at home
- if the equipment is kept at home for convenience, the exception does not apply.
Updated