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17 July 2021

I work for an Australian government organisation and was sent overseas for a 9 month work post, and due to the nature of my employer I am obliged to go where they send me *hint hint*.

Whilst overseas I was not entitled to a vehicle at employers expense nor was I entitled to have my vehicle in Australia shipped over. Due to where I was accommodated and where I physically worked, plus the hours of my work, I required a personal vehicle to get to/from each place as public or alternate transport was not available. Therefore I used my own savings to purchase a car primarily for the purpose of travelling to and from work.

At the end of my posting, I only had a short window of time in which to sell the car, and ended up losing money. My employer did not provide any reimbursement for any portion of the loss.

I was planning on claiming the KMs I used for business purposes as a general vehicle expense deduction but does anyone have any guidance on whether there's a more appropriate way to go about dealing with this work related expense?

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4,527 views
1 replies

Most helpful response

Most helpful reply

BlakeATO(Community Support)Community Support
19 July 2021

Hi @Justataxnoob

You can claim the work-related portion of the depreciation of the vehicle. This means that the loss will be absorbed through the tax deduction the depreciation creates.

You can claim this in one of two ways:

    • the cents per kilometer method (which has depreciation built into it) or
    • the logbook method (which accounts for depreciation separately, and you'll use the logbook to calculate the work portion for your depreciation).

    You can read about these on our website for car expenses on our website.

    All replies

    Most helpful reply

    BlakeATO(Community Support)Community Support
    19 July 2021

    Hi @Justataxnoob

    You can claim the work-related portion of the depreciation of the vehicle. This means that the loss will be absorbed through the tax deduction the depreciation creates.

    You can claim this in one of two ways:

      • the cents per kilometer method (which has depreciation built into it) or
      • the logbook method (which accounts for depreciation separately, and you'll use the logbook to calculate the work portion for your depreciation).

      You can read about these on our website for car expenses on our website.

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      Loss on sale of individual vehicle primarily used for business | ATO Community