--- title: "ATO Increases EV Charging Rate: Here's What Changes for You" description: The ATO has increased the EV home-charging rate to 5.47c/km. Here's how it affects your tax return, FBT, and salary packaging from 1 July 2026. image: https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/Blog%20Images/ato-increases-ev-charging-rate-may.png --- [!["Trekk Advisory" logo: bold black "Trekk" in modern font with smaller red "ADVISORY" below on a white background.](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/trekk-advisory-logo-black%201.png?width=150&height=75&name=trekk-advisory-logo-black%201.png "\"Trekk Advisory\" logo: bold black \"Trekk\" in modern font with smaller red \"ADVISORY\" below on a white background.")](https://trekkadvisory.com.au) - [Featured services](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help) - [Business accounting](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/small-business-accountants) - [Clarity Bookkeeping](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/clarity-bookkeeping) - [Xero cloud accounting](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/xero-cloud-accounting) - [Advice + business advisory](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-advisory-services) - [Tax minimisation + planning](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/tax-minimisation-and-planning) - [Self-managed super funds](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/self-managed-super-funds) - [Business Valuations](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-valuations) - [How we help](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help) - [Understand your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/understanding) - [Grow your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/growth) - [Leverage your numbers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/how-we-help/leverage) - [Who we are](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/our-team) - [Resources](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre) - [Get in touch](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/contact) - QLD - [Brisbane](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/brisbane) - [Gympie](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/gympie) - [North Queensland](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/north-queensland) - [Rockhampton](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/rockhampton) - NSW - [Northern Rivers](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/northern-rivers) [Download: Success Checklist](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/business-success-checklist) ![](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hubfs/Blog%20Images/ato-increases-ev-charging-rate-may.png) May 18, 2026 By Troy Furness # ATO Increases EV Charging Rate: Here's What Changes for You ##### Share: - - - If you drive an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid for work - or you run a business that provides EVs to employees - there’s a quiet but meaningful ATO update that’s worth knowing about before it kicks in. The ATO has increased its standard home-charging electricity rate from 4.20 cents per kilometre to 5.47 cents per kilometre. It applies from 1 April 2026 for FBT purposes, and from 1 July 2026 for income tax purposes. ### **What is the home-charging rate, and why does it matter?** Most households don’t have a separate electricity meter for their EV. That makes it genuinely hard to know exactly what it costs to charge at home - the kilowatt hours used by the car are buried in the same bill as the rest of the house. The ATO’s home-charging rate is a practical workaround. Instead of tracking exact kilowatt-hour consumption or installing specialised metering equipment, you simply multiply the rate by the number of kilometres the vehicle travelled. The result is your approved electricity cost figure for tax purposes. The rate going up from 4.20 to 5.47 cents reflects the reality that electricity costs more than it did. It’s a more accurate number, and it flows through to better tax outcomes for most people using it. ### **If you provide EVs to employees** For businesses running company vehicles, novated leases or salary packaging arrangements involving EVs or PHEVs, the higher rate has a few practical effects: - Under the operating cost method, the electricity cost attributed to the vehicle increases - which initially lifts the taxable value of the benefit. - This also increases what’s counted as an employee “recipient contribution” - and a higher recipient contribution directly reduces your FBT liability. So the net effect can actually work in your favour. - It may also affect the calculation of reportable fringe benefit amounts, which flow through to employees’ income assessments. The interaction between these elements is worth modelling properly, particularly if you’re running a fleet or have multiple salary packaging arrangements in place. ### **If you claim work-related car expenses personally** If you use the logbook method to claim deductions for an EV you own, you can apply the new 5.47 cent rate to the business-use portion of kilometres driven - but only from 1 July 2026 onwards. Any claims covering 2024–25 or earlier continue to use the old 4.20 cent rate. Example: 25,000 work kilometres in 2026–27 × 5.47c = $1,367.50 in home-charging costs. Under the old rate that was $1,050. The extra $317.50 is a legitimate additional deduction for the year. For PHEV drivers, there’s an extra step. You need to separately calculate the petrol component using the manufacturer’s hybrid-mode fuel consumption figure, then apply the home-charging rate only to the electric kilometres. Keep your petrol receipts. ![ato-increases-ev-charging-rate-may-thumbnail](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Images/ato-increases-ev-charging-rate-may-thumbnail.png?width=300&height=300&name=ato-increases-ev-charging-rate-may-thumbnail.png) ### **What records do you actually need?** The ATO keeps the compliance requirements simple. You need: - Odometer readings at the start and end of each FBT or income year - A valid logbook showing business versus private travel if you’re using the logbook or operating cost method - At least one electricity bill confirming you incur home electricity costs - Petrol receipts if you drive a PHEV One useful bonus: many modern EVs now report exactly what percentage of charging occurred at home versus public stations. If your car tracks this, use it - it can make your claim more accurate and potentially increase your deduction. ### **The dates to lock in** - FBT year ending 31 March 2026: use the old 4.20 cent rate - Income year ending 30 June 2026: use the old 4.20 cent rate - FBT year from 1 April 2026: use the new 5.47 cent rate - Income year from 1 July 2026: use the new 5.47 cent rate Getting the dates wrong - in either direction - means your claim or FBT calculation will be off. Worth double-checking before you lodge. ### **Worth running the numbers** EV adoption is growing quickly, and the tax treatment is still relatively new territory for a lot of businesses and individuals. The updated rate is a straightforward improvement but the way it interacts with FBT, salary packaging and income tax deductions means the full impact isn’t always obvious upfront. If you're looking for practical ways to reduce your tax before EOFY more broadly, our free [No-Stress Tax Guide](https://tools.trekkadvisory.com.au/download-no-stress-tax-guide) is worth downloading - it covers 12 strategies you can act on before 30 June.  If you have a fleet, offer salary packaging, or claim car expenses personally, now is a good time to model what this change means for you. Our team can help you run the numbers and make sure you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to. [Get in touch with the Trekk Advisory team](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/contact) to review your EV tax position. #### About Author [Troy Furness](https://trekkadvisory.com.au/information-centre/author/troy-furness) Troy is one of the Directors of Trekk and our self-appointed 'Chief Ideas Person'. He's a CPA with more than 30 years in public practice, private enterprise, across large firms, family businesses and his own practice. He has also sat on the other side of the desk. Troy was general manager of his family's business. He led the contract to feed Australian Defence troops in East Timor during the peacekeeping mission. He has been and still is an executive director of a number of businesses and is now a Non-Executive Director of a large charity. Today Troy works with business owners and Boards of businesses turning over $5M to $100M. His work covers virtual CFO services, forecasting and scenario planning, tax and structuring advice, board advisory and business valuations, including valuations for family law matters. He tells clients what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear, and he looks for the fairest outcome for everyone at the table. The best piece of advice he's been given is "Work hard and the rewards will come, if you give up, then so will the rewards." 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