Good records are what turn a fuel tax credit claim from "probably right" into one you can stand behind in an ATO review. They keep your claim accurate, make BAS preparation faster, and are your protection if the ATO ever asks you to substantiate what you claimed.
Two timeframes matter, and they are often confused:
- You generally have 4 years to claim a fuel tax credit, from the due date of the BAS in which you could first have claimed it. Miss that window and the entitlement expires.
- You must keep the records that support a claim for 5 years, generally from when the record was prepared or obtained, or from when the transaction was completed, whichever is later.
One is your deadline to claim; the other is how long to hold the evidence. Always confirm the current rules with the ATO for your situation.
What records should you keep?
The ATO expects enough evidence to substantiate every figure in your claim. Keep records across four areas, and keep more than one type: a single summary total is not enough on its own.
| Area | What to keep |
|---|---|
| Fuel acquisition | Tax invoices, receipts, fuel-card and supplier statements |
| Fuel use | Trip and activity logs, telematics/GPS outputs, job or asset allocations, PTO/auxiliary records |
| Calculation | The method used, rates applied, apportionment percentages, assumptions and any adjustments |
| Governance | Who prepared, reviewed and approved the claim, and when |
How long do you keep them, and in what form?
Keep the records for the full five-year period described above. The ATO accepts electronic records, provided they are a true and clear copy and stay accessible for the whole retention period. Keep both the raw source files and the processed outputs, and back them up.
Make your records traceable
The key is traceability. You should be able to follow a clear line from:
- Fuel purchased
- Fuel used in business activities
- Eligible litres
- FTC amount claimed on BAS
Practical controls that help
- Reconcile fuel card totals to uploaded statement data each period
- Lock the calculation period once reviewed
- Version-control any manual assumptions
- Keep an exception log for missing or corrected records
- Retain both raw source files and processed outputs
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using estimates without documented basis
- Applying outdated rates
- Mixing business and non-business use without a clear allocation rule
- Keeping summary totals but not the source evidence
- Not keeping records for the full retention period
How Nuonic keeps you audit-ready
Nuonic is built so every figure on your BAS traces back to source. It reads your fuel statements, ingests your telematics data, and records the method, rates and apportionment behind each result, keeping the raw and processed data connected. If the ATO asks you to substantiate a claim, the evidence is already there, not reconstructed under pressure.
Get started, or see how Nuonic calculates FTC.
ATO references
Related
- Overview of FTC in Australia
- Explanation of common FTC calculation methods
- How to complete the audit questionnaire
This article is general information, not tax advice. Eligibility, amounts and record-keeping obligations depend on your circumstances, so confirm requirements against current ATO guidance or with a qualified adviser.