Industry

Accountants for truck drivers, couriers and transport businesses

Registered tax agent · Shepparton North, by appointment · Australia-wide by phone, WhatsApp and video · Updated October 2026

Transport has its own tax vocabulary: fuel tax credits, the road user charge, reasonable meal amounts, gross vehicle mass, the one-tonne rule. SMT Accounting works with employee drivers, owner-drivers, couriers and small fleets in the Goulburn Valley and across Australia, on fixed fees.

On this page

Owner-driver or employee?

An employee driver is paid wages and claims work expenses in an individual return; an owner-driver runs a business with an ABN, GST, a BAS and a sole trader or company return. The ATO decides which you are from the legal rights and obligations in the contract, not the label on it. Supplying a substantial asset such as a prime mover points towards contractor; hourly pay, no right to delegate and driving the principal's truck point towards employee. A contractor engaged mainly for their labour is still owed super by the principal, and from 1 July 2026 it must reach the fund within 7 business days of each payment under Payday Super.

Fuel tax credits for heavy vehicles

The rule in one paragraph. You can claim fuel tax credits for fuel used in a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass greater than 4.5 tonnes travelling on public roads in your business (diesel vehicles acquired before 1 July 2006 can be exactly 4.5 tonnes). The on-road rate is reduced by the road user charge, which is why it is lower than the rate for fuel used off public roads or to power auxiliary equipment such as a refrigeration unit, which is not reduced. Vehicles of 4.5 tonnes or less on public roads get nothing. You must be registered for GST and for fuel tax credits.

We do not print a rate: rates are indexed in February and August, the road user charge changes separately (the ATO's rates page shows it set to zero for a period in 2026 during a temporary excise cut), and the right rate depends on when you acquired the fuel, so we use the ATO calculator for each BAS. Operators claiming under $10,000 a year can use the ATO's basic method for heavy vehicles, which treats 98.4% of kilometres as on-road and applies set diesel consumption rates by vehicle class. Above that, splitting on-road and off-road use from GPS records pays off, because depot and yard fuel attracts the higher rate.

Travel allowances and the ATO's truck driver meal amounts

Employee truck drivers who receive a travel allowance and sleep away from home overnight, including in the truck cab, can claim meals up to the ATO's reasonable amounts without receipts. For 2025–26 (TD 2025/4) the truck driver amounts are $31.15 breakfast, $35.55 lunch and $61.30 dinner; a 2026–27 determination has since been issued. You must actually receive an allowance, you claim what you spent rather than the amount automatically, the three meal amounts cannot be pooled into a daily figure or moved between meals, and accommodation and incidentals always need written evidence. Your work diary is accepted as the record of meal breaks.

Logbooks and vehicle records

The 12-week logbook and the cents-per-kilometre method (88 cents for 2025–26, capped at 5,000 km) are for cars. A truck, or any vehicle designed to carry one tonne or more, is not a car, so you claim the business share of actual costs: fuel, registration, insurance, repairs and depreciation. A logbook-style record is the easiest way to prove the business percentage. Keep records for five years.

Depreciation and the instant asset write-off

Under $20,000

Small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million can write off an asset costing less than $20,000 in the year it is first used, per asset: a pallet jack, a tarp system or a second-hand trailer.

The truck itself

A prime mover or rigid truck costs well above the limit, so it enters the small business pool (15% in the first year, 30% after) or is depreciated over its effective life. The car cost limit does not apply because a truck is not a car.

Selling or trading in

Disposing of a written-off or pooled vehicle creates a balancing adjustment, so a trade-in in June can add to this year's income.

BAS, GST and TPAR

GST registration is compulsory at $75,000 turnover, and most owner-drivers register from day one. The quarterly BAS then reports GST, fuel tax credits, PAYG instalments and any withholding. If courier and road freight services together make up 10% or more of your business income and you paid contractors to deliver them, a Taxable payments annual report is due by 28 August.

Heavy-vehicle finance

A chattel mortgage, a lease and a hire purchase each change when GST is claimed and how interest and depreciation are deducted. We explain the tax and cash-flow consequences and prepare the figures your lender asks for; we do not recommend lenders or products.

Accreditation and compliance

Heavy-vehicle operators work under the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator's framework. We do not advise on that compliance, but the costs are deductible and its work diaries and telematics also support meal claims and fuel tax credits.

What SMT does for transport businesses

  • Fuel tax credit calculations for every BAS, using the ATO calculator and the right on-road and off-road split.
  • Bookkeeping with fuel-card, toll and telematics feeds.
  • Tax returns for employee drivers with allowance and meal claims, and sole trader or company returns for owner-drivers and fleets.
  • Depreciation schedules, finance accounting, TPAR and payroll with Payday Super.

Fixed fees, a registered tax agent on every lodgement, and appointments by phone or WhatsApp from the cab.

General information, not advice. Checked against the ATO pages under Sources in October 2026; rates and thresholds change and your position depends on your own facts, so talk to us before relying on it.
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Frequently asked

Can I claim fuel tax credits for my truck on the highway?

Yes, if the vehicle has a gross vehicle mass over 4.5 tonnes, is used in your business, and you are registered for GST and for fuel tax credits. The on-road rate is reduced by the road user charge, so it is lower than the rate for off-road use, and fuel burned powering auxiliary equipment such as a refrigeration unit is not reduced. Vehicles of 4.5 tonnes or less on public roads are not eligible.

What can I claim for meals on an overnight run?

If you are an employee truck driver who receives a travel allowance and sleeps away from home, the ATO sets separate reasonable amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner each year. For 2025–26 they are $31.15, $35.55 and $61.30. You claim what you actually spent up to those amounts without receipts, the amounts cannot be pooled into one daily figure, and accommodation or showers still need written evidence.

Do I need a logbook for my truck?

The 12-week logbook method is for cars. A truck or a vehicle designed to carry one tonne or more is not a car for tax purposes, so you claim the business share of actual running costs instead, and a logbook-style record is the simplest way to prove that share. For fuel tax credits, odometer or GPS records of total kilometres support the basic method for heavy vehicles.

I run a small courier business and pay other drivers. Do I lodge a TPAR?

If payments for courier and road freight services together are 10% or more of your business income and you paid contractors to deliver them, yes. The Taxable payments annual report is due by 28 August each year.

Sources

Fuel cards, tolls and a work diary?

Send us last quarter's BAS, your fuel statements and the truck's GVM and we'll check whether the fuel tax credits and the meal claims are what they should be.

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