Guides and complianceTaxUpdated 10 July 2026
Businesses registered for GST and fuel tax credits can claim back part of the excise in the fuel they use for business. Heavy vehicles on public roads get a reduced rate, off-road and auxiliary use gets the full rate, and light vehicles on public roads get no credit. The rate is set by the date you bought the fuel, and the claim needs clear source data.
The two-rate model in one minute
At any point in time there are two business rates for liquid fuel:
- Heavy vehicles (over 4.5 tonnes GVM) travelling on public roads. The full excise rate minus the Road User Charge. This is the lower rate.
- All other business use. Off-road travel, machinery, plant, and auxiliary equipment such as fridge motors, agitators and tippers, even while the truck is on a public road. This is the full excise rate, the higher one.
Light vehicles (4.5 tonnes or under) earn no credit for on-road travel, only for genuine off-road business use.
A single tank of diesel in a heavy vehicle is therefore usually split between the two rates. Support the split with a test-period percentage, the ATO's basic method for heavy vehicles, telematics-based distance or the safe-harbour percentages for auxiliary equipment.
Rates change, and the date matters
The rate is the one in force on the day the fuel was acquired. Rates normally move with indexation around February and August, and government decisions can move them mid-cycle. Right now is a live example: a temporary excise reduction runs from 1 July to 2 August 2026, with the Road User Charge set to 16.4 cents per litre for that window, after which rates revert. A claim spanning July and August 2026 therefore uses different rates for different weeks of fuel.
The practical rule: never claim a whole quarter at one rate without checking the rate periods inside it.
Keeping the claim defensible
The ATO has publicly cautioned against inflated telematics-based claims (Taxpayer Alert TA 2021/3), so use a conservative method supported by clear data:
- Fuel purchase history per vehicle: date, litres and which vehicle took the fuel.
- A documented method for the on-road and off-road split, applied consistently.
- Odometer readings or journey history that reconcile distance with litres.
- Claims within the four-year limit, reviewed when rates change.
Small claimants have a simpler path: under 10,000 dollars a year you may use the rate at the end of the BAS period and calculate litres from total fuel spend divided by average price.
See how IntelliTrac captures the data behind a claim: fuel tax credit data. This guide is general information, not tax advice.
The FTC claim checklist
What a claim should be able to produce on request.
- GST and fuel tax credit registrations are current.
- Fuel purchases include the date, litres, fuel type and vehicle.
- Each vehicle's GVM classification (over or under 4.5 tonnes) is on record.
- The on-road and off-road split method is documented and consistently applied.
- Auxiliary equipment claims use documented percentages.
- Rates are applied by fuel acquisition date, not one rate per quarter.
- Distance data reconciles with fuel volumes.
- Claims and workings are retained for five years.