Claiming your travel expenses

You can generally claim a tax deduction for your business travel expenses.

Records you need to keep

If you’re away for one night or more, you’ll need to keep a record of everything you buy when you travel.

If you’re away for six nights or more, you’ll also need to keep a diary to record all your business activities while you’re away. Include specific details of each business activity, including:

1. the date and time of the activity

2. how long the activity lasted

3. a description of the activity

4. where the activity took place.

If you travel for work and personal reasons

If you travel for personal reasons during your business trip, this part of the trip is not deductible. When you calculate your expenses, don’t include expenses related to your personal activities.

What to do…

• Visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more on business travel expenses .

• If you’re an employer, find out if you need to pay your staff travel allowances.