Fuel Tax Credits
Fuel tax credits provide businesses with a credit for the exercise or customs duty that’s included in the price of fuel used in:
- Off-road activities in agriculture, fishing and forestry.
- Off-road activities operating machinery, plant and equipment. For example, mining, landscaping, electricity generators, manufacturing, and marine transport.
- Heavy vehicles traveling on public roads. The vehicle must have a minimum 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass.
The fuel tax credit rates change six monthly but at 1st July 2015 were 12.76 cents per litre for heavy vehicles and 38.9 cents per litre for off road activities.
Common examples of businesses claiming fuel tax credits include:
- Primary producers,
- Concrete trucks and cranes,
- Trucks with a gross vehicle mass of 4.5 tonnes plus,
- Generators for electricity production,
- Fuel used by lawn-mowing contractors in their lawnmowers, and
- Mining equipment and plants.
To claim fuel tax credits involves registration with the ATO (basically the same as GST registration). The fuel tax credits that are claimed through the BAS returns will either be refunded or reduce other tax liabilities payable.
