Fuel Tax Credits: Who Can Claim and What Fuel Qualifies

General information only. This is not tax or financial advice. Fuel tax credit rates change when excise is indexed and when the road user charge changes. Confirm current rates with the ATO or use the calculator before lodging.

You can claim fuel tax credits if your business is registered for GST and for fuel tax credits, and you use taxable fuel (fuel with excise or customs duty paid) in eligible activities such as machinery, equipment, heavy vehicles, or light vehicles off public roads. Fuel for private use, and fuel for cars and other vehicles of 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM) or less on public roads, is not eligible.

The credit refunds the fuel tax built into the price. Whether you get it, and how much, depends on three things: who you are (registration), what the fuel is, and what you used it for.

Who is eligible

Before you can claim, the ATO requires your business to be registered for GST and for fuel tax credits. The timing matters in each case:

• You must have been registered for GST at the time you acquired the fuel.
• You must be registered for fuel tax credits when you lodge the claim.
• You can only claim for fuel acquired within the last four years.

If you are already registered for GST you can add fuel tax credits at any time without changing your GST reporting period. Be careful, though: if you choose to claim more often, that can change your GST tax period and other reporting obligations. If you are close to the registration threshold, see our GST registration guide first.

Which fuels qualify

A fuel must be taxable, meaning excise or customs duty has been paid on it.

• Liquid fuels: petrol (including premium), diesel, fuel blends, and others such as fuel oil, kerosene, mineral turpentine and heating oil. For blends, the rate depends on the biodiesel or ethanol content.
• Gaseous fuels: duty-paid transport LPG, LNG and CNG. You need records showing that duty was paid.
• Not eligible: aviation gasoline and aviation kerosene, and fuel with no duty paid, such as non-transport gas for heating, burners or forklifts. Additives like diesel exhaust fluid are not taxable fuel.

Which activities qualify

You can claim for eligible fuel used in your business in machinery, plant and equipment (generators, pumps, tractors, excavators), in heavy vehicles, and in light vehicles when they travel off public roads or on private roads.

Heavy vehicles on public roads. The vehicle must be used in carrying on a business and have a GVM greater than 4.5 tonnes. The ATO counts the fuel used for the vehicle’s operation, including lights, brakes and cabin air-conditioning, as travelling on a public road. When you claim for this use, the rate is the full credit minus the road user charge. Fuel used to power auxiliary equipment on the same vehicle, or used off public roads, is not reduced. Transport gaseous fuels in a heavy vehicle on a public road are not eligible.

Light vehicles and utes. A ute with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes or less earns no credit on a public road, whether for business or private use. Fuel used in it on a work site, a mine or a private road can be claimed for business use.

Never eligible:

• Fuel for private purposes, including private use of a ute.
• Fuel you bought but did not use because it was lost, stolen or otherwise disposed of.

How the rate is set, and when it changes

Credit rates are indexed twice a year, in February and August, in line with CPI. They also change when the road user charge changes, which affects heavy vehicles on public roads. You use the rate that applied when you acquired the fuel, not when you lodge.

As at 6 November 2026 the ATO’s current rates apply to fuel acquired from 3 August 2026. The next scheduled change is the 1 February 2027 indexation, and the ATO had not published rates for it at the time of writing. Do not assume the rate stays the same, and do not use a quoted future rate until the ATO publishes it. The fuel tax credit calculator holds the published rates by acquisition date, so we do not repeat a rate table here.

There is one trap for 2026. Excise was temporarily cut in two windows, from 1 April to 30 June 2026 and from 1 July to 2 August 2026, and the road user charge was set differently in each. Fuel bought in those windows has its own rates. Applying today’s rate to a whole BAS period that includes them overstates or understates the claim.

How to claim

1. Register for GST and fuel tax credits.
2. Work out your eligible quantity: fuel acquired for each activity, less ineligible and private use.
3. Pick the rate for each fuel, use and acquisition date.
4. Multiply and report the total at label 7D on your BAS. If you have nothing to claim, write 0 at label 7D. A decrease goes at label 7C.

You can claim when you acquire the fuel, so there is no need to wait until the year ends. Smaller claimants can use simplified methods. For example, the ATO allows the rate at the end of the BAS period where claims are under $10,000 a year and the rate changes mid-period.

Records and apportionment

Where fuel is used partly on and off public roads, or partly for private use, you must split it. The ATO accepts any apportionment method that is fair and reasonable for your circumstances. Its tips also recommend simplified methods or GPS and telematics products with a current ruling. Whatever method you use, keep complete and accurate records: purchase invoices, fuel quantities, how you worked out business use, and the rate you applied.

Common mistakes

• Claiming fuel for a car or ute used on public roads. A GVM of 4.5 tonnes or less rules it out.
• Not registering for fuel tax credits before lodging the BAS.
• Using the current rate for old purchases. The rate is fixed by the acquisition date.
• Forgetting the road user charge on heavy vehicle on-road fuel.
• No split between on-road and off-road use, or no private use deduction.
• Claiming duty-free gas. If the supplier’s invoice says it is not for transport use, it is not eligible.
• Waiting too long. The entitlement can lapse after 4 years.

What to do now

Check which of your vehicles are over 4.5 tonnes GVM, separate the fuel you buy for machinery from fuel for on-road vehicles, and register for fuel tax credits if you have not. Then use the calculator with your acquisition dates for each BAS period. If you also need to check your GST and BAS obligations, the BAS calculator covers the rest of the statement.