Travel tax deduction calculator for employees?

If you are employed and receive a travel allowance from your employer, you are able reduce your taxable income by claiming a tax deduction for the fuel you bought and maintenance costs. This quick “Travel tax deduction calculator” calculator shows you how much you can claim.

2024/2025 tax year Travel tax deduction calculator for employees

Cost Of Car

What is the value of the car (including VAT) at time of purchase? (not current market value)

Number Of Days Used In Year

If the car was not used for the full tax year, enter the number of days used

Km Travelled Total

How many km did you travel in total?

Km Travelled Work

How many km did you travel for work?

Tax deduction: R 0
according to the Deemed Cost Method

According to the Deemed Cost Method, you can deduct 50% x (ZAR 61,770.00 + (ZAR 1.69 per km x 20000km) + (ZAR 0.58 per km x 20000km)) = ZAR 53,585.00

How to calculate the deduction using the deemed cost method?

2024/2025 SARS rates schedule for the Deemed Cost Method
Car value	Fixed cost	Fuel cost	Maintenance cost
R100,000	R34,480	R1.517 per km	R0.46 per km
R200,000	R61,770	R1.694 per km	R0.576 per km
R300,000	R89,119	R1.84 per km	R0.635 per km
R400,000	R113,436	R1.979 per km	R0.693 per km
R500,000	R137,752	R2.118 per km	R0.815 per km
R600,000	R163,178	R2.43 per km	R0.956 per km
R700,000	R188,653	R2.512 per km	R1.073 per km
R800,000	R215,447	R2.512 per km	R1.189 per km

Source: SARS 2024/2025 tax year: Rate per Kilometre Schedule

Given a car value of R150,000, which is between R100,000 and R200,000, you can use the highlighted Fixed cost column, Fuel cost column and Maintenance cost column to calculate the tax deduction.

Calculation steps

Step 1. Determine the fixed costs from the SARS rates table and apply the percentage of days used.

Calculation: R61,770 x 365 / 365 = R61,770

Step 2. Divide this by the total km travelled to get the fixed cost per km

Calculation: R61,770 / 20000km = R3.089 per km

Step 3. Add fuel cost per km and maintenance cost per km to the Fixed cost per km to get the total cost per km

Calculation: R3.089 per km + R1.694 per km + R0.576 per km = R 5.358 per km

Step 4. Multiply the total cost per km by the km travelled for work

Calculation: R5.358 per km x 10000km = R53,585

Thus, the total amount allowed as a tax deduction is R53,585 for the 2024/2025 tax year.

FAQ

Deemed cost method: Can I deduct fuel, maintenance costs even if I only paid for a portion of them?

The deemed cost method allows you to factor in fuel and maintenance costs only if you have paid for them entirely out of your own pocket. If your employer reimburses you for any portion of these expenses, you cannot include that component when calculating your cost per kilometer.