Mileage Tracking for Self-Employed Workers: The Complete 2025 Guide
The CRA's automobile expense deduction can be worth thousands annually — but only if you track your kilometres correctly and maintain a proper logbook. Here's everything you need to know.
Marcus Chen
Tax Specialist
If you use your personal vehicle for business purposes, you're entitled to deduct a portion of your vehicle operating costs. The CRA allows self-employed individuals to claim actual vehicle expenses — not just a flat per-kilometre rate like employees use. Done correctly, this deduction can be one of the largest available to freelancers who drive regularly for work.
What Counts as Business Driving?
- Travel to client meetings and job sites
- Driving to pick up supplies or equipment for your business
- Travel to networking events, conferences, or professional development
- Deliveries to customers (if applicable to your business)
- Visits to your accountant, lawyer, or bank for business purposes
Commuting from your home to a regular fixed place of work is NOT deductible — even for self-employed individuals with a home office. However, if your home is your principal place of business, trips from home to client locations count as business travel.
The Logbook Requirement
The CRA requires a mileage logbook that records every business trip. A complete logbook entry must include the date of the trip, the destination, the business purpose, and the number of kilometres driven. At the end of the year, you calculate the percentage of business use (business km ÷ total km) and apply that percentage to your total vehicle expenses.
2025 CRA simplified method: Once you've kept a full logbook for one complete year, you can use a sample logbook covering a 3-month period in subsequent years — as long as business use stays within 10% of the base year. This dramatically reduces record-keeping burden after the first year.
Deductible Vehicle Expenses
- Fuel and oil
- Insurance premiums (proportional to business use)
- Repairs and maintenance
- License and registration fees
- Lease payments (subject to limits — 2025 limit: $1,100/month before tax)
- Capital Cost Allowance if you own the vehicle (Class 10 or 10.1)
- Interest on auto loan (2025 limit: $10/day)
- Parking fees at business destinations (but not parking tickets)
The maximum deductible cost for a purchased vehicle in 2025 is $37,000 (before taxes) for Class 10.1 vehicles. Keep all fuel receipts, insurance renewals, and service records — along with your logbook — for the full 6-year retention period.