Log book records of business journeys are used to substantiate actual business percentage claims for work related car expenses.
To be valid for tax purposes, a log book must contain specific information, but there is no compulsory format. Trips information must be recorded as soon as practicable after the completion of the journey.
Log Book claims are only allowed by a taxpayer who owns or leases the car for which expenses are being claimed.
A log book for tax purposes has the following key features:
- A log book record of car trips doesn’t need to be kept for the whole year. The minimum requirement is a continuous 12-week period which commences in or before the tax year.
- Unless there is a change of circumstances a log book claim established in this way is valid for 5 years, at which time the minimum 12-week log book record must be repeated.
- It is permissible to keep a vehicle log book in electronic form, such as a spreadsheet or other program. It can be quite convenient to keep the log book as a spreadsheet on your computer, and update it regularly with your journey records.
We’ve prepared a simple spreadsheet which serves this purpose. It does the basic arithmetic needed to work out the business expense percentage. It is an MS Excel (PC Windows version only) (.xls).
Spreadsheet Motor Vehicle Log Book Template
You can get it here for $1.97:
Immediate download: On completion of your payment your browser will be sent to a download link, and an email containing the link will be sent to your payment address.