Who can claim
You can claim a deduction for business use of your own vehicle "if you receive a travel allowance from an employer or principal" (SARS: Travel e-log book) and you've kept a logbook. Check your IRP5 (employee tax certificate). According to the SARS ITR12 guide (section 10.5):
| IRP5 code | What it is | Can you claim? |
|---|---|---|
| 3701 | Taxable travel allowance (fixed allowances, petrol, garage and maintenance cards) | Yes, with a logbook |
| 3702 | Taxable reimbursive travel allowance | Yes, with a logbook |
| 3722 | Reimbursive travel allowance above the prescribed rate per km | Yes, with a logbook |
| 3703 | Non-taxable reimbursive travel allowance | No: "You cannot claim any deductions against this allowance." |
(Codes 3751, 3752, 3753 and 3772 are the same allowances for foreign services income.) SARS's FAQ puts it simply: with a taxable travel reimbursement code "you may claim a business travel deduction, provided you have kept the required logbook"; with a non-taxable code "you do not need to claim a travel deduction, as the reimbursement is not taxable" (SARS FAQ on reimbursive allowances).
Step 1: Gather your numbers
The ITR12 asks for these details for each vehicle (ITR12 guide, sections 10.5.2 and 10.5.3):
- Whether the vehicle was bought (purchase agreement) or leased
- Registration number, make and model
- Date of purchase and the cost price or cash value
- Starting date and closing date (the tax year, or when you started or stopped using it for business)
- Opening kilometres and closing kilometres (odometer readings on those dates)
- Total kilometres and business kilometres (from your logbook)
- If you claim actual costs: your records for fuel, oil, repairs, maintenance, insurance, licence, and lease, finance or wear-and-tear figures
SA Logbook's tax-year summary shows these numbers per vehicle: opening and closing odometer, total km, business km and business percentage.
Step 2: Switch on the travel section
On eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, open your ITR12 and use the wizard to customise the return. Mark "Mark with an 'X' if you want to claim a tax deduction for your travel allowance (not petrol/diesel allowance) if you kept a logbook" and enter the number of vehicles you used during the year. If it's more than five, SARS asks you to contact them (ITR12 guide, section 4.1). SARS's leaflet: capture the number of vehicles "and additional travel containers will open" (SARS Travel Allowance leaflet).
Step 3: Complete the travel section
- "Did you use a logbook to determine your business kilometres travelled?" Select Y. If you select N, SARS clears and locks the rest of the travel fields.
- Vehicle details: purchase or lease, registration, make, model, date of purchase, cost price or cash value.
- Kilometres: starting and closing dates, opening and closing kilometres, total kilometres and business kilometres.
- Expenses: fill in your actual costs if you kept records. If you didn't, SARS "will programmatically apply the fixed cost rate" from the cost table, based on what you declared (ITR12 guide, section 10.5.4).
Step 4: Fixed cost or actual costs
Fixed cost (the SARS cost table). SARS works out a rate per km from the value of your vehicle: the fixed cost divided by your total kilometres for the year, plus the fuel and maintenance rates. That rate times your business kilometres is your deduction. The fixed cost is reduced pro rata if you used the vehicle for business for less than the full year. You can't claim the fuel part if you didn't carry the full cost of fuel, or the maintenance part if you didn't carry the full cost of maintenance, for example with a maintenance plan (SARS: Rates per kilometre). See the 2026/27 cost table.
Actual costs. Claim the business share of what you really spent: fuel and oil, repairs and maintenance, licence and insurance, and lease payments or wear-and-tear and finance charges. Wear-and-tear is spread over seven years, and from 1 March 2026 the vehicle cost used for wear-and-tear and finance charges is capped at R920 000 (ITR12 guide, section 10.5.4).
A worked example (2026/27 cost table)
Thandi's car cost R400 000 including VAT, so it falls in the R345 001 to R460 000 band: fixed cost R125 393 a year, fuel 173.4 c/km, maintenance 74.0 c/km. She drove 30 000 km in the tax year, of which 12 000 km were business trips in her logbook. She paid all her own fuel and maintenance.
| Fixed cost per km: R125 393 ÷ 30 000 km | 418.0 c/km |
| Plus fuel cost | 173.4 c/km |
| Plus maintenance cost | 74.0 c/km |
| Total rate | 665.4 c/km |
| Deduction: 12 000 km × 665.4 c | R79 845.20 |
The claim can't be more than the travel allowance she received: SARS's leaflet says the "travelling claim will be limited to the travel allowance received" (SARS Travel Allowance leaflet). This is an illustration only; SARS does the calculation on assessment.
Step 5: Keep your logbook ready
You don't upload the logbook with your return. Keep it, with your receipts if you claimed actual costs, for five years from the date you submit, in case SARS asks for it (SARS FAQ: Do I need to submit my logbook?). SARS's leaflet warns that a travel claim "will be disallowed or limited" if the documents aren't available when SARS asks.
When to file
The 2026/27 tax year runs from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027. SARS lists the filing season for it as starting 1 July 2027 (to be confirmed) (SARS: Travel e-log book). Check sars.gov.za for the final dates.
Sources
Everything on this page comes from these official SARS sources:
- SARS: Travel e-log book
- SARS: Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12 (IT-AE-36-G05, revision 40, effective 29 June 2026, PDF)
- SARS FAQ: If I receive a reimbursement travel allowance, can I claim travel expenses on the ITR12?
- SARS FAQ: Do I need to submit my logbook?
- SARS Travel Allowance leaflet (PDF)
- SARS: Rates per kilometre
- SARS eLogbook 2026-27 (PDF)