Transport is a volume business with small margins and large, unavoidable costs. Fuel, tyres, repairs, rego, insurance, finance and drivers all have to be paid before the customer pays you, often 30 to 60 days later. A few cents a kilometre separates a profitable fleet from one that is slowly eating its equity. The accounting has to be built around that reality.
What problems do transport businesses bring to us?
- Fuel tax credits claimed wrongly. Heavy vehicles on public roads, auxiliary equipment and off-road use all attract different rates, and the rates changed several times during 2026.
- Owner-drivers on the wrong footing. An arrangement set up as a contract that looks like employment, or the reverse, with super, payroll tax and workplace law consequences.
- Quoting without knowing cost per kilometre. Rates set on what competitors charge, not on what the truck actually costs to run.
- Trucks bought on the wrong finance, or depreciated over the wrong life.
- Cash squeezed between weekly fuel bills and slow-paying customers.
- Award errors for drivers and warehouse staff: overtime, allowances and penalty rates under awards that are easy to misapply.
- A missed TPAR, which road freight and courier businesses may need to lodge every year.
What does a transport accountant do for you?
- Xero bookkeeping, updated daily, with fuel cards, tolls, tyres and repairs coded by vehicle so you can see each truck's profit.
- BAS with fuel tax credits calculated from your fuel invoices for each acquisition date and vehicle class.
- Payroll and Payday Super for drivers and yard staff, with award rates and allowances checked.
- Owner-driver and contractor reviews for tax, super, payroll tax and workplace law, with an employment lawyer where needed.
- Truck and trailer purchase advice: finance type, GST timing, depreciation and whether the numbers work.
- TPAR lodgement for road freight and courier contractor payments.
- Cash flow forecasts and cost-per-kilometre reporting to support pricing and bank conversations.
- Tax returns for the company, trusts and owners.
Our fuel tax credits agent calculates each period's claim at the rate that applied when the fuel was bought, our depreciation agent builds the fleet schedule, and our loan agent tests repayments on a new truck against the work you have. A qualified accountant checks every figure before anything is lodged.
Which numbers should a transport business watch?
| KPI | What it tells you | How to measure |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue per kilometre | Whether your rates are keeping up | Freight revenue ÷ kilometres travelled |
| Cost per kilometre | Your floor price | Fuel, tyres, repairs, rego, insurance, finance, depreciation and driver cost ÷ kilometres |
| Margin per truck | Which units earn their keep | Revenue less direct costs, by vehicle |
| Fleet utilisation | Idle trucks still cost money | Days worked ÷ days available |
| Empty running % | Wasted kilometres | Unloaded kilometres ÷ total kilometres |
| Fuel use (L/100 km) | Driver behaviour, maintenance, route | Litres ÷ kilometres × 100, by vehicle |
| Repairs and maintenance per km | When to replace rather than repair | R&M ÷ kilometres, by vehicle age |
| Driver cost % of revenue | Labour efficiency | Wages, super, payroll tax and owner-driver payments ÷ revenue |
| Debtor days | How long customers make you wait | Trade debtors ÷ revenue × 365 |
| Net fuel cost after credits | The real price of fuel | Fuel spend less fuel tax credits |
Worked example: knowing your floor price
Say a prime mover and trailer runs 160,000 km a year. Fuel is $1.10 per km after fuel tax credits, tyres and repairs $0.28, rego and insurance $0.12, finance and depreciation $0.45, and driver cost $0.85. The total is $2.80 per km, or $448,000 a year, before overheads. A job quoted at $2.70 per km loses money on every load, however busy the truck is. These figures are hypothetical; yours come from your own books, by vehicle, which is why we code costs to each truck.
How do fuel tax credits work for trucks?
Fuel tax credits give back some or all of the excise built into the fuel price. For transport, three uses matter.
| Use | Fuel tax credit | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy vehicle (GVM over 4.5 tonnes) on public roads | The fuel tax credit rate less the road user charge | Diesel vehicles made before 1 January 1996 must meet an environmental criterion |
| Auxiliary equipment on a heavy vehicle (refrigeration, cranes, pumps, tipping) | Full rate, for the fuel used to run the equipment | You need a fair and reasonable method to separate this fuel |
| Off public roads (yards, private sites) and plant such as forklifts | Full rate for the period | Records showing off-road use |
| Light vehicles (4.5 tonnes GVM or less) on public roads | None | Excluded |
The rate depends on the date you acquired the fuel, not when you used it. With several changes during 2026, including 1 April, 1 July and 3 August, a BAS quarter can straddle more than one rate. Claims under $10,000 a year can use simplified methods; above that, keep detailed records of litres and dates. You must also be registered for GST and for fuel tax credits before you claim. See our BAS and GST service and BAS due dates.
Watch out: If you've only been claiming for on-road fuel, check your reefers, tippers and yard equipment. If you've been claiming for light vehicles, stop and talk to us, because those amounts may need correcting.
Owner-drivers: contractor or employee?
There are four separate questions, and an owner-driver can land differently on each.
| Question | What decides it | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Employee or contractor under workplace law | The real substance of the whole relationship, including who supplies the truck, who bears the risk, and whether the driver can work for others | If an employee: award wages, leave, super and unfair dismissal rights |
| Super guarantee | Is the contractor paid mainly for their labour? | If yes, super is payable on the labour part of their payment |
| State payroll tax | Contractor provisions and exemptions, which differ by state | Payments may be taxed as wages |
| Regulated road transport contractor | A contractor doing most of the work under the contract, in a covered part of road transport | The Fair Work Commission can make binding minimum standards orders, and unfair termination and contract term protections can apply |
A driver who owns and runs their own truck, sets their own hours and works for several customers is usually a genuine contractor. One who drives your truck on your roster in your livery is probably an employee, whatever the contract says. Since 26 August 2024 the Fair Work Act also has a separate regime for regulated road transport contractors, so even genuine owner-drivers may now have minimum standards and protections. Some states, including NSW and Victoria, also have their own owner-driver laws. Our employee vs contractor guide covers the tests, and our employment and award compliance service covers the fix.
Do you need to lodge a TPAR?
If you provide road freight or courier services and pay contractors to provide them, you may need to lodge a taxable payments annual report by 28 August each year. The test is whether payments you receive for those services are 10% or more of your gross business income for the year, combining road freight and courier income. Payments to employees aren't reported.
How should you buy, finance and depreciate trucks?
| Finance type | Who owns the truck | GST | Income tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chattel mortgage | You, from day one | GST on the price is generally claimable in the BAS for the period you buy it | Depreciation plus interest |
| Hire purchase | You, at the end; treated as yours for tax | GST generally claimable upfront for agreements entered since 1 July 2012 | Depreciation plus interest |
| Finance lease | The financier | GST on each lease payment | Lease payments deductible; watch the residual |
| Rental or contract hire | The provider | GST on each payment | Payments deductible |
Trucks aren't subject to the car limit that applies to passenger vehicles, so the full cost can be depreciated. The law caps the effective life of trucks and truck trailers, which speeds up depreciation compared with the ATO's published lives, and small businesses can pool assets instead. Assets costing less than $20,000 each, such as a trailer refurbishment or workshop equipment, can be written off immediately under the instant asset write-off, which is permanent law from 1 July 2026 for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million.
A big depreciation deduction is not a reason to buy a truck. Buy it when the work justifies it, and check the repayments against the cash it will earn.
What's the right structure for a transport business?
For a small fleet, a common setup is an operating company that contracts with customers, employs drivers and holds the operating risk, owned by a family trust. Some operators hold trucks in a separate entity and hire them to the operating company, to keep valuable assets away from trading risk. That only works with proper hire agreements at market rates, and it doesn't protect anyone from chain of responsibility duties under heavy vehicle law, which reach directors and managers personally.
Owner-drivers often start as sole traders, which is fine while the risk is modest. As income and assets grow, a company or trust may suit better. See business structure advice.
Payroll tax becomes relevant as the fleet grows, and contractor payments can count toward the threshold. Our payroll tax guide explains how it works in each state.
How does working with BPAG work?
- Free strategy call. Tell us about your fleet, drivers and customers. If you're a single owner-driver with simple affairs, we'll say what level of help actually makes sense.
- Review. Fuel tax credits, owner-driver arrangements, finance and depreciation, with any past errors quantified.
- Set-up. Xero coded by vehicle, fuel invoices captured from photos, payroll and super configured.
- Ongoing. Daily books, BAS, payroll, monthly cost-per-kilometre reporting and a pre-30 June tax plan.
Fixed prices are on our pricing page. Small fleets with employed drivers often sit on Business Insights; growing operators that need forecasting for finance and expansion use Fractional CFO.
What should you send us?
- Last two years' financial statements, tax returns and BAS
- Xero access, or bank and fuel card statements
- Fleet list: each vehicle's GVM, year of manufacture, purchase date, cost and finance agreement
- Fuel invoices for the last quarter, and how fuel is split between on-road, off-road and auxiliary use
- Kilometres per vehicle (from telematics or the odometer)
- Owner-driver and subcontractor agreements, and what each was paid last year
- Payroll records, rosters and the award each employee is paid under
- Your last TPAR, if you lodge one
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim fuel tax credits for my ute?
Not for fuel used on public roads, because a light vehicle of 4.5 tonnes GVM or less is excluded. You can claim for fuel used in it off public roads, such as on a private site or a farm, if you can show the split. Most utes used for deliveries on public roads give no fuel tax credit.
Do owner-drivers have to pay GST?
An owner-driver who is carrying on a business must register for GST once their GST turnover reaches $75,000, which most full-time owner-drivers do. They then charge GST on their invoices and claim GST credits on fuel, repairs and truck payments. If they buy a truck on a chattel mortgage, the GST on the price can usually be claimed in one BAS.
Is an owner-driver's income personal services income?
Often not. Where the driver supplies and runs their own truck, the income is usually earned mainly from the use of that truck, not just the driver's personal effort. A driver who only supplies labour, or drives the client's vehicle, is in a different position. We check each case before a structure is chosen.
Can long-distance drivers claim meals and travel?
Employee drivers who receive an overtime meal or travel allowance and sleep away from home can usually claim meals and incidentals, and the ATO publishes reasonable amounts each year that set the record-keeping requirements. Owner-drivers claim actual business costs. Either way, keep a logbook or work diary that shows the overnight trips.
How often do fuel tax credit rates change?
Normally twice a year, in February and August, when fuel excise is indexed. In 2026 there were extra changes because of a temporary excise cut from 1 April to 30 June, on top of the usual indexation (the latest from 3 August 2026). The rate is set by the date you acquire the fuel, so claims spanning a change need splitting.
Official sources
General information only, current as at 18 October 2026. It is not personal tax, legal or financial product advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account. Talk to us before you act. Where a recommendation needs a licensed financial adviser or a solicitor, we work alongside them.