Gas, Repairs, Insurance, Mileage Logs & CRA Rules

If you use your car for business, you can absolutely deduct a portion of the costs — but the CRA wants solid proof. No logbook? No write-off.

In this post, we break down what’s claimable, what percentage you can deduct, and how to document everything properly so you don’t get burned in an audit.

🚘 What Counts as a Business Vehicle Expense?

You can deduct a portion of the following if you use a personal vehicle for business:

• Gas and oil
• Repairs and maintenance
• Car insurance
• Lease payments (or a portion of financing)
• Car washes
• Vehicle registration
• Depreciation (capital cost allowance, if you own the vehicle)
• Parking (only for business meetings or job sites — not at your home or regular office)

💡 If the car is used exclusively for business (and owned by the business), then 100% of expenses can usually be claimed.

📊 How Much Can You Deduct?

The CRA allows you to deduct a percentage based on how much you use the car for business.
That means you need to know:

• Total kilometers driven during the year
• Business kilometers driven

Then divide business km by total km to get your business-use percentage.

Example:
You drove 30,000 km in 2025.
12,000 km were for business.
12,000 ÷ 30,000 = 40%

You can claim 40% of your eligible vehicle expenses.

📝 CRA Requires a Mileage Log

This is non-negotiable. The CRA wants to see when, where, and why you drove.

A good log includes:

• Date
• Destination
• Purpose of trip
• Odometer reading at start and end of trip

🔍 Tip: Use an app like MileIQ, Driversnote, or Triplog to automate tracking.

If you’re audited and don’t have a log? The CRA can deny all vehicle expenses, even if they’re legit.

🚙 What If You Lease or Finance a Car?

• Leased vehicle: You can deduct the business-use portion of your monthly lease. The CRA has a max deduction limit (around $800/month plus tax — varies year to year).
• Financed vehicle: You can’t deduct the loan payments directly, but you can claim:
  • Interest on the loan (portion that applies to business use)
  • Capital cost allowance (CCA) to account for depreciation

📌 If you own the vehicle outright, you’ll just be using CCA instead.

🅿️ What About Parking & Tolls?

• Parking at a business meeting or client site? ✅ Deductible.
• Parking at your own office or at home? ❌ Not deductible.
• Tolls (e.g. bridge, highway) for business trips? ✅ Deductible.

⛽ Can You Just Deduct Gas Receipts Without a Log?

Nope. The CRA doesn’t accept gas receipts on their own as proof of business use.
You must track kilometers to justify the percentage you’re claiming.

🚫 Vehicle Expenses You Can't Claim

• Tickets and fines
• Vehicle damage from personal use
• Interest on late payments
• Parking at your home or regular office
• Full 100% of expenses if the vehicle is also used personally (unless it’s strictly a business vehicle)

✅ TL;DR: Vehicle Expenses in Canada

• You can deduct a portion of your vehicle costs, based on business use
• You must track mileage with a detailed logbook
• Gas, insurance, repairs, lease/finance — all potentially deductible
• No log = no deduction (even with receipts)

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