You can claim fuel tax credits for liquid and gaseous fuels used to power auxiliary equipment in your heavy vehicles.
These are equipment and mechanisms unrelated to a vehicle’s travel on public roads, for example:
- the mixing barrel of a concrete truck
- garbage bin lifters and compacting mechanisms of a garbage truck
- the refrigeration unit of a vehicle that transports temperature-sensitive goods
- elevated work platforms.
The fuel used to power the auxiliary equipment may be sourced from:
- a separate fuel tank
- the tank that fuels the main engine
- power from the main engine (known as 'power take-off') which in turn increases the fuel used
The fuel tax credit rate for fuel used to power auxiliary equipment of a heavy vehicle is not reduced by the road user charge, even when the vehicle is travelling on public roads.
When calculating fuel tax credits for fuel used in vehicles with auxiliary equipment, you need to apportion the fuel used for:
- powering the auxiliary equipment
- the heavy vehicle for travelling on a public road and other activities
You can use any apportionment method considered fair and reasonable for your circumstances. This includes the Simplified method or the Basic method for heavy vehicles. You cannot use both the simplified method and the basic method for apportioning fuel use in auxiliary equipment.
For information on apportionment, see:
- PCG 2016/11 Fuel tax credits – apportioning taxable fuel used in a heavy vehicle with auxiliary equipment – See the simplified method in Table 1 for percentages that are considered fair and reasonable apportionment you can use for the listed vehicles. The accepted percentage means that the fuel is not reduced by the road user charge (it covers both fuel used to power the auxiliary equipment as well as fuel used when the vehicle is not on a public road).
- PCG 2021/2 Fuel tax credits – basic method for heavy vehicles - this method makes it easier to work out the litres of diesel used in vehicles on and off public roads. You can only use this method for diesel used in heavy vehicles if you claim less than $10,000 each year.