What the CRA expects in a vehicle logbook

If you use one vehicle for both business and personal driving, you can only deduct the business part. The logbook is how you show what that part is.

For every business trip

The CRA lists four things to record for each business trip:

• the date
• the destination
• the purpose of the trip
• the number of kilometres driven

Odometer readings

Record the odometer of each vehicle at the start and at the end of your fiscal period. If you change vehicles during the year, also record the date of the change and the odometer reading when you buy, sell or trade the vehicle.

One record per vehicle

If you use more than one vehicle for your business, keep a separate record for each one and work out each vehicle's expenses separately.

How long to keep it

Keep records and receipts for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. A full-year logbook used as the base year for a simplified logbook must be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year it is used for.