If your business uses vehicles or fuel-operated equipment on or off-road in Australia, you’re entitled to claim rebates on some, or all, of the fuel tax you have paid.
Claiming fuel tax credits (FTC) is routine for most Australian businesses that operate vehicle fleets and equipment. But most businesses only use the standard on-road FTC rate of 16.0 cents per litre of fuel, regardless of whether the fuel was used on public roads or off-road.
This is usually because it’s the easiest method to calculate and doesn’t require a lot of record-keeping. All you need is your fuel receipts and your accountant does the rest.
If this is your business, you could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table in additional FTC rebates!
If your business uses vehicles off-road for travel, idling or operating auxiliary equipment (such as compressors, refrigeration units, farming or hydraulic machinery) you could claim the off-road rate of up to 41.8 cents* per litre for your FTC?
That’s $22.06 more per 100 litres of fuel than you would get by using the standard on-road rate!
And, despite light vehicles not being entitled to claim on-road FTC, you can also claim up to 41.8cents* per litre for fuel used if they operate in off-road areas.
That could add up to a significant amount of extra money in rebates for some companies!
Telematics technology enables you to claim the maximum FTC rebate you are entitled to. Not only does it capture accurate data to help businesses operate their fleets safely, more efficiently and productively, it also uses advanced GPS-tracking technology to map real-time locational and fuel usage data (on and off-road) to maximise your FTC returns.
Automatically calculates your FTC – saving you significant admin time at the same time as maximising your claim
It can also help you prove a current six-month pattern of use for your vehicles which will enable you to then claim retrospectively for under-claimed FTC for the previous four years.
A major bonus for businesses, which is not commonly understood, is that they can also claim retrospective refunds for previously under-claimed fuel (even if you have already claimed at the lower rate) used in the previous four-year period, provided they can show a consistent pattern of off-road fuel usage.
This means your business could retrospectively claim up to 25.08* cents more per litre for all fuel used off-road in the last four years, if you can show a consistent pattern of off-road fuel use over a concurrent six-month period for each vehicle.
The good news is telematics systems, like EROAD’s Fuel Tax Credit Solution, can easily help you demonstrate a consistent business pattern of use with GPS technology to unlock under-claimed historical FTC rebates.
Standard FTC rebate rate for heavy vehicles (>4.5t) travelling on public roads. Most claims for heavy vehicles are made at this rate.
FTC rebate rate for eligible fuels for all types of vehicles (including light vehicles) used for business off-road or on private roads.
The difference, or additional monies, per 100 litres businesses could be claiming for vehicles using eligible fuels to carry out business activities off-road or on private roads.
The number of years you can retrospectively claim off-road and auxiliary fuel use if you can show a six- month pattern of consistent usage via telematics.
*Note: Rates are as at 5 August 2019 – 31 January 2020. FTC rates are reviewed every six months so may differ slightly from those above. The off-road rate also varies depending on fuel type.
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