Author: RachelATO(Community Moderator)Community Moderator 5 Jan 2026
Hi @brettjy,
When you’re working out business versus private travel for your logbook, the key rule is that only the kilometres driven for income-producing purposes count as business use. Private travel, even if it happens during the same trip, doesn’t qualify.
In your scenario:
- Trip (a) – Home to client. Business travel because you’re going directly to a client for work purposes.
- Trip (b) – Client to family member. This is private travel because visiting a family member isn’t related to earning income.
- Trip (c) – Family member to client. Business travel because you’re travelling to another client for work purposes.
- Trip (d) – Client back home. This is business travel because you’re returning home after visiting a client.
The private leg (Trip b) breaks the journey, but it doesn’t change the fact that the other legs are for business. You’ll need to record the odometer readings and note the reason for each trip in your logbook. Only the kilometres for Trips (a), (c) and (d) would count towards your business percentage.
Have a read of trips you can and can’t claim for more info.
When keeping your logbook, you need to record the purpose of each journey with enough detail to clearly demonstrate whether it's business or private use. Simply saying it was a 'business' journey isn't enough - you need to be specific about the business purpose.
Your logbook must contain the date each journey began and ended, odometer readings at the start and end of each journey, kilometres travelled, and a sufficiently descriptive reason for the journey to characterise it as business or private.
Keep your 3-month logbook records and use the myDeductions tool in the ATO app to help track your vehicle expenses. You can find detailed guidance on the logbook method on our website to ensure you're meeting all requirements.
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