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.
- Tax deduction
- R 0
- according to the Deemed Cost Method
How to calculate the deduction using the deemed cost method?
| 2026/2027 SARS rates schedule for the Deemed Cost Method | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Car value | Fixed cost | Fuel cost | Maintenance cost |
| R115,000 | R38,344 | R1.329 per km | R0.491 per km |
| R230,000 | R68,487 | R1.484 per km | R0.614 per km |
| R345,000 | R98,689 | R1.612 per km | R0.678 per km |
| R460,000 | R125,393 | R1.734 per km | R0.74 per km |
| R575,000 | R152,097 | R1.855 per km | R0.869 per km |
| R690,000 | R180,078 | R2.128 per km | R1.02 per km |
| R805,000 | R208,106 | R2.165 per km | R1.145 per km |
| R920,000 | R237,679 | R2.201 per km | R1.269 per km |
Calculation steps
Step 1. Determine the fixed costs from the SARS rates table and apply the percentage of days used.
Step 2. Divide this by the total km travelled to get the fixed cost 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
Step 4. Multiply the total cost per km by the km travelled for work
Thus, the total amount allowed as a tax deduction is R55,223.5 for the 2026/2027 tax year.
FAQ
- Deemed cost method: Can I deduct fuel, maintenance costs even if I only paid for a portion of them?
- Deemed cost method: What if I used two private vehicles during the tax year because I bought a new car?
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.
If you bought a new car during the tax year and used two private vehicles over the 365 days, you should work out the deduction for each vehicle separately for the period it was used, and then add the two amounts together.
In practice, this means:
- use the SARS deemed-cost table row that applies to the value of the first car, and pro-rate the fixed cost for the number of days that car was used;
- use the business kilometres and total kilometres travelled with that car during that period;
- then repeat the same calculation for the second car using its own value, days used, and kilometres travelled.
The final deduction is simply the sum of the two vehicle calculations. In other words, do not average the two vehicle values together or treat them as one car for the full year.
So if, for example, car 1 was used from 1 March to 31 August and car 2 from 1 September to the end of February, each car gets its own deemed-cost calculation based on its own SARS rate, days used, and kilometres travelled for work and in total.