Did you know which fuel costs are tax deductible for plug-in hybrids?

In the case of plug-in hybrid vehicles, two types of fuel are consumed – electricity and petrol. However, did you know it is not possible to claim the fuel consumption for each type of fuel separately.

When using a plug-in hybrid, both electric energy and the petrol engine are used. This results in two types of costs – the cost of charging the vehicle and the cost of purchasing petrol.

Expenses for consumed fuel can be applied to tax deductible expenses in the following three ways:

• on the basis of fuel purchase documents, which are recalculated according to the consumption stated in the registration certificate or in the technical license increased by 20%. The taxpayer keeps driving book and documents any excessive consumption of the vehicle.
• on the basis of fuel purchase documents up to the maximum amount reported from the vehicle traffic tracking system (GPS).
• in the form of flat-rate expense up to 80% of the total purchase of fuel for the relevant tax period.

At the same time, the Income Tax Act does not define a special arrangement for calculating fuel consumption for electric cars. The choice of the method of application of expenses applies to the vehicle, not to the type of fuel. If a plug-in hybrid vehicle has two types of fuel, it is not possible to combine the way fuel expenses are applied.

Thus, the taxpayer can use the driving book and fuel purchase documents or flat-rate expenses when applying tax deductible expenses for fuel for a plug-in hybrid. If the vehicle tracking satellite system (GPS) allows you to monitor the consumption of only one fuel - petrol, it can only serve as a basis for the overall calculation of driving records.