Rates and eligible fuels at a glance

Fuel tax credit rates

Fuel tax credit rates are subject to change due to changes in the carbon price (from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014), the road user charge and excise duty rates on gaseous fuels. When calculating your credits, make sure you use the correct and most up-to-date rates for your business.

Find out about

• Eligible fuels
• Fuels which are not eligible

See also

• For current and previous years rates, refer to Fuel tax credit rates.
• Fuel tax credit eligibility toolThis link opens in a new window helps you determine which of your activities are eligible and what rates apply.
• Fuel tax credit calculatorThis link opens in a new window helps you work out how much you can claim.

Eligible fuels

You can claim fuel tax credits for any taxable fuel you acquired, manufactured or imported to use in carrying on your business.

Fuel is taxable fuel if excise or customs duty must be paid on it or it is a non-transport gaseous fuel that is covered under the carbon pricing mechanism. Taxable fuels can be:

• liquid fuels
• gaseous fuels
• blended fuels

You cannot claim fuel tax credits for fuel if no excise or customs duty is required to be paid on it. However, you can claim fuel tax credits for non-transport gaseous fuel acquired from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014 and used in some activities.

For example, used oil that has only been subject to filtering and de-watering and used as fuel oil in burner applications is not eligible for fuel tax credits because no duty has been paid on it.

More information can be found on Activities where the fuel is not combusted.

Liquid fuels

Liquid fuels (that is, taxable liquid fuels) are:

• petrol
• diesel
• other combustible fuels, such as      
  • kerosene
  • mineral turpentine
  • white spirit
  • toluene
  • heating oil
  • some solvents. 
   

Fuel ethanol and biodiesel are not included because, in most cases, they have no effective fuel tax.

More information can be found on Eligible activities.

Fuel used in aircraft

Aviation fuels are aviation gasoline and aviation kerosene. But there are instances where other liquid fuels, such as petrol or diesel, have been used to power aircraft.

Fuel tax credits were only available for domestic aviation fuels – aviation gasoline and aviation kerosene – if you were declared by the Clean Energy Regulator to be a designated opt-in person under the opt-in scheme. You can claim fuel tax credits at a rate equal to the carbon charge amount for domestic aviation fuels you acquired from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.

If you acquire diesel or petrol and use it in an aircraft as part of your business activities, there may be circumstances where you can claim fuel tax credits.

See also

• If you are unsure if whether you can claim fuel tax credits for fuel used in your aircraft, contact us
• You may need to apply for a private ruling.

Gaseous fuels

If you use gaseous fuels (acquired from 1 December 2011) in eligible business activities, you may be entitled to fuel tax credits. Gaseous fuels are:

• liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
• liquefied natural gas (LNG)
• compressed natural gas (CNG).

Transport gaseous fuels are duty paid and include:

• LPG or LNG intended for use in an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle or vessel (boat, etc.), either directly or by filling another tank connected to such an engine
• CNG that is imported or compressed for use as a fuel in a motor vehicle – excluding CNG that is compressed at a residential premises using equipment capable of compression at a rate not more than 10 kg of natural gas per hour and not for sale
• all gaseous fuels for mixed use (that is, both transport and non-transport use) or where the end use is unknown.

Fuel tax credit rates for transport gaseous fuels increased on 1 July 2012, 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2014 due to the annual increases in excise duty for gaseous fuels. Some fuel tax credit rates for these fuels were also reduced by carbon charge amounts from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014.

Non-transport gaseous fuels include:

• LPG and LNG delivered only for use other than in an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle or vessel (for example, in residential heating or burner applications) or for use in forklifts. The invoice for non-transport LPG generally includes the statement ‘Not to be used, or supplied, for transport use. Penalties apply.’
• CNG imported or compressed only for use in forklifts or not for use as a fuel in a motor vehicle. It also includes CNG compressed at a residential premises (including for use in a motor vehicle) using equipment capable of compression at a rate not more than 10 kg of natural gas per hour and not for sale.

From 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013, excise duty equal to the carbon charge applied to LPG and LNG supplied for non-transport use. From 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014, the carbon charge was applied via the carbon pricing mechanism.

From 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014, the carbon charge was applied to CNG supplied for non-transport use via the carbon pricing mechanism.

Penalties apply if you use or supply non-transport LPG for transport use.

Conversion rates

If you measure LPG in kilograms or CNG in megajoules, standard conversion rates are provided to help you calculate your fuel tax credit entitlement. The rates are:

• 1 kg of LPG = 1.885 litres of LPG
• 1 megajoule of CNG = 0.01893 kg of CNG.

If your measuring equipment measures CNG other than in kilograms, refer to Excise (Mass of CNG) Determination 2012 (No. 1)External Link for approved methods to convert cubic metres or megajoules to kilograms.

You can only use the conversion rate for LPG if you measure the LPG using equipment other than volumetric measurement equipment.

Blended fuels

The amount of fuel tax credits you can claim for blends acquired from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014 may be affected by the carbon charge.

More information can be found on Fuel tax credit rates.

Diesel blend

You can claim fuel tax credits for blends of biodiesel and diesel; however the amount you can actually claim will depend on the amount of biodiesel in the blend. If your blend has 20% or less biodiesel (for example, B20) then it is considered to be 100% diesel and you can claim fuel tax credits on the entire amount.

Petrol blends

You can claim fuel tax credits for blends of ethanol and petrol; however the amount you can actually claim will depend on the amount of ethanol in the blend. If your blend has 10% or less ethanol (for example, E10) then it is considered to be 100% petrol and you can claim fuel tax credits on the entire amount.

Other blends

For other blends of two or more taxable fuels, including diesel blends containing more than 20% biodiesel and petrol blends containing more than 10% ethanol, the effective fuel tax paid is calculated based on the proportion of each taxable fuel.

More information can be found on Fuel blends.

Fuels which are not eligible

Some fuels are not eligible for fuel tax credits, including:

• aviation fuels (aviation gasoline and aviation kerosene) – unless you were declared by the Clean Energy Regulator as a designated opt-in person under the opt-in scheme from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014
• fuels you use in light vehicles of 4.5 tonnes GVM or less, travelling on public roads – for example, a car, small van or taxi
• fuel you acquired but did not use because it was lost, stolen or otherwise disposed of
• some alternative fuels, such as ethanol or biodiesel that have already received a grant or subsidy.