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PART 1 Business accountants helping you claim car expenses in your tax return

Aside from our home mortgages or rent, the cost of running our cars is the biggest personal expense we often have. This can be especially the case for families that need to run multiple cars. Therefore, we regularly receive enquiries from our clients based around whether or not they can claim car expenses and the best methods to achieve the optimal outcome.

Lets break this down into two parts. This week we answer the question of can I claim car expenses for work related travel?

If you can answer yes to any of the following questions then you should be entitled to claim car expenses in some way.

a. Do you have to carry bulky goods or equipment used for work?

b. Are you a home based worker, with no other base of employment?

c. Do you regularly work at different sites during the day? 

To better illustrate these scenarios, lets run through some examples that will further clarify these requirements.

A tradesman (or any other worker for that matter) who is required to transport bulky tools and/or materials to and between job sites would be entitled to claim car expenses, simply because there is no alternative for them to transport materials and tools.

If you operate a home based business and work from home and then travel by car to other sites to perform work you could claim the costs of running your car.

A bookkeeper who works at different clients sites during the day would be entitled to claim a deduction as they would be treated as an itinerant worker who has a network of workplaces.

Other common examples that may apply are nurses who travel to make home help visits, teachers who transport students (or just themselves) to different venues such as swimming carnivals, school excursions and camping trips and business owners who travel between their business locations during the day.

Now that you've decided if you can claim car expenses or not, next week we'll take a look at the methods you can use to claim car expenses to ensure you get the best possible deduction.

For any questions on this matter contact us, your small business accountants in Surry Hills.

 
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