Travel Expenses: What Your Business Can Claim
- anytimeassist
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Travel expenses are often deductible when you travel for business — whether it’s a day trip, overnight, or a longer job. The rule that keeps you safe is simple: only claim the business portion, and keep solid records to prove it.
About Travel Expenses
Travel expenses are the costs you incur when you travel for business purposes. These expenses may be deductible when the travel is required for your business and not private in nature.
You must:
keep business and private travel expenses separate
only claim the business-related portion
keep records for at least 5 years
There are separate rules for motor vehicle expenses and travel between your regular places of business, which are treated differently.
Types of Travel Expenses
Travel expenses are the costs you incur when you need to travel away from your usual place of work for business purposes.
These expenses can include:
transport costs such as flights, public transport, taxis, ride-share fares and car hire
running costs of a hire car used for business, including fuel, tolls and parking
accommodation when your business requires you to stay away overnight
meals and incidental expenses while travelling for work
These expenses may be deductible when the travel is directly related to your business and supported by appropriate records.
Claiming Travel Expenses
You can claim travel expenses when:
the travel is directly related to your business
you have a permanent home elsewhere (for overnight travel)
your business requires you to stay away overnight
You can’t claim travel expenses that arise because you’re relocating or living away from home.
If your travel includes both business and private activities, you must work out the private portion and exclude it from your claim.
If your business operates as a company and it pays for private portions of your travel, there may be additional tax implications such as fringe benefits tax (FBT) or Division 7A.
Expenses you Can Claim
Common business travel expenses include:
fuel, tolls and parking (including for hire cars used for business)
flights and public transport (bus, train, tram)
taxi and ride-share fares
car hire fees and related business running costs
accommodation when your business requires you to stay away overnight
meals and incidental expenses while travelling for business
You can’t claim travel undertaken before your business started.
Expenses you Can’t Claim
You must exclude any private costs of travel, including:
sightseeing, entertainment or leisure activities
holidays added onto business trips
costs of family members travelling with you
souvenirs and gifts
visas, passports or travel insurance
travel costs related to relocating or living away from home
If a trip is mixed, only the business portion can be claimed.
Travel Diaries
A travel diary helps show what portion of a trip was for business and what was private. In some cases, it’s compulsory.
How to Keep a Travel Diary
Your travel diary should record:
the nature of each business activity
the date and approximate start time
how long the activity lasted
where the activity took place
The diary can be kept in any format, as long as it clearly records this information and can easily be converted to english.
Sole Traders and Partnerships
If you are a sole trader or partner in a partnership and you travel for 6 or more consecutive nights, you are generally required to keep a travel diary.
Companies and Trusts
If your business operates as a company or trust, a travel diary isn’t always compulsory, but it is strongly recommended. It helps clearly determine the business versus private portion of travel, especially where trips include weekends or personal activities.
Keeping Records
You must keep records for 5 years to substantiate your travel expense claims. These may include:
tax invoices and receipts
tickets and boarding passes
travel diaries
details showing how you calculated any private portion
If you’re a sole trader with relatively simple affairs, you can use the myDeductions tool in the ATO app to record business-related travel expenses as you go.
More Information
Travel expenses can be a valuable deduction when they’re clearly business-related and well documented. Understanding what you can claim, keeping good records, and using a travel diary where required makes claiming these expenses far more straightforward.
If you’d like help reviewing your travel expenses, setting up simple tracking systems, or checking a mixed-purpose trip before you lodge, contact Jess at Anytime Assist for personalised bookkeeping support.
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