Mileage and Vehicle Log
The contemporaneous record that makes a vehicle claim stand up
Quick answer: A free log for recording business vehicle use as it happens — odometer start and end, kilometres, and the business purpose of each trip. A contemporaneous record is what makes a vehicle claim defensible; one reconstructed afterwards is much weaker. No sign-up.
On this page
What is in it
- Date
- Odometer start
- Odometer end
- Kilometres
- From
- To
- Business purpose
Ships with one worked example row and live formulas — the totals recalculate as you add rows, and the example is labelled so you know to delete it.
A vehicle claim is one of the most commonly reviewed small-business deductions, because its supporting record must be created continuously, not assembled afterwards. A log written from memory in March carries less weight than one written in the car.
Related: Automobile benefit calculator.
What the claim rests on is the business-use percentage — business kilometres over total kilometres for the year. Everything else follows from that fraction. This sheet keeps the trip log and calculates the percentage automatically, so the number you need is always current rather than something to work out later.
Record the odometer at the start and end of the year on the summary sheet, log business trips as they happen, and the percentage maintains itself. It takes about fifteen seconds per trip.
Fifteen seconds per trip is the whole cost, and it has to be paid at the time. That is the part people resist and the part that matters: a log written contemporaneously is evidence, while the same figures reconstructed from a calendar in March are an estimate. Keep the sheet on your phone or in the glovebox, whichever you will actually reach for, and fill it in before you drive away rather than at the end of the week.
Want the updated version each year?
Tax figures and filing dates move. Leave your email and we will send the refreshed copy when it changes. That is all we use it for. The download above works either way.
Before you use it
- Record trips as they happen. A log reconstructed later is worth considerably less on review.
- Commuting between home and a regular place of work is personal use, not business use.
- Keep the receipts for fuel, insurance, repairs and lease or loan payments alongside this log — the percentage is applied to those costs.
Common questions about mileage and Vehicle Log
Can I not just write up my mileage at year-end?+
What is the claim actually based on?+
Does driving to work count as business use?+
What should I keep alongside the log?+
General information, not tax advice. This worksheet is a general aid for Canadian business owners. It does not account for your circumstances and does not create a professional relationship. Speak to a CPA before acting — send an enquiry.
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