Free Australian mileage calculator · No sign-up · Runs entirely in your browser
Turn the kilometres you have driven into running costs. Enter a distance — or the difference between two odometer readings — and compare petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric on the same basis, per trip and per year.
| Metric | Value |
|---|
Mileage is the distance a vehicle has travelled. The word is a leftover from miles, but Australians use it freely to mean kilometres — nobody says "kilometreage". You will see it used three different ways, and they are worth separating because they lead to different calculations:
| Usage | What it means | Measured in |
|---|---|---|
| Total mileage | Lifetime distance shown on the odometer | km |
| Trip or period mileage | Distance covered between two readings | km |
| Fuel mileage | How far you travel per unit of fuel | L/100km, km/L, MPG |
The arithmetic is subtraction, and the discipline is in reading the right instrument at the right moment.
Your dashboard shows two numbers. The odometer is the lifetime total and cannot be reset. The trip meter (often two of them, Trip A and Trip B) can be zeroed at will. For a single journey, the trip meter is easier. For anything you may need to prove later — business travel, a logbook, a lease return — record the odometer, because it is the number that cannot be manipulated.
Priya notes her odometer on Monday morning at 84,217 km and again on Friday evening at 84,529 km. Her car averages 9 L/100km and she paid $1.795 per litre.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly mileage | 84,529 − 84,217 | 312 km |
| Fuel used | 312 × (9 ÷ 100) | 28.08 L |
| Weekly fuel cost | 28.08 × $1.795 | $50.40 |
| Annual mileage (46 weeks) | 312 × 46 | 14,352 km |
Fourteen thousand kilometres a year purely commuting sits close to the national average for all driving combined — a useful reality check when you are weighing up a job further from home.
Tom is a sole trader. He records his odometer at 62,480 km on 1 July and 68,145 km on 30 September. His logbook shows 3,116 km of those were work trips.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total mileage for the quarter | 68,145 − 62,480 | 5,665 km |
| Business kilometres | From the logbook | 3,116 km |
| Business-use percentage | 3,116 ÷ 5,665 | 55.0% |
That 55% is the single figure the ATO logbook method turns on. Once established, it is applied to all of Tom's eligible car expenses — fuel, servicing, insurance, registration and depreciation — not just his fuel.
If driving is the job rather than a way of getting to it, mileage tracking works differently — and one point catches people out.
The same 15,000 km a year, four different drivetrains, using this calculator's presets. This is where mileage becomes a purchasing decision rather than a number.
| Drivetrain | Consumption | Energy used | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 9.0 L/100km @ $1.795 | 1,350 L | $2,423.25 |
| Diesel | 7.5 L/100km @ $2.149 | 1,125 L | $2,417.63 |
| Hybrid | 5.5 L/100km @ $1.795 | 825 L | $1,480.88 |
| Electric | 18 kWh/100km @ $0.30 | 2,700 kWh | $810.00 |
Higher annual mileage changes the ranking. Because the gap between drivetrains scales with distance, someone driving 30,000 km a year sees roughly double these differences, while someone driving 6,000 km may never recover a hybrid or EV purchase premium at all.
The distance side is identical — an odometer counts kilometres regardless of what turns the wheels. What changes is everything downstream of it.
| Petrol or diesel | Electric | |
|---|---|---|
| Consumption unit | L/100km | kWh/100km |
| Typical figure | 7–12 L/100km | 14–22 kWh/100km |
| Price unit | Per litre | Per kilowatt-hour |
| Best conditions | Steady highway running | Stop-start urban driving |
| Routine servicing | Oil, filters, plugs, coolant | No oil or plugs; tyres, brakes, coolant and cabin filter remain |
Where you charge matters more than what you drive. Australian home tariffs generally sit around 28–35c/kWh, dedicated overnight EV plans can fall well below that, and public DC fast charging commonly runs 45–80c/kWh depending on network and speed. At 18 kWh/100km, the same 100 kilometres can cost roughly $5 at home or around double that on a fast charger — so for an EV an accurate mileage record is only half the picture. You also need to know what share of your charging happened where.
There is no current official figure, and that is worth knowing before you trust a number you find quoted online.
| ABS survey period | Average km per registered vehicle |
|---|---|
| 12 months to June 2016 | 13,716 km |
| 12 months to June 2018 | 13,400 km |
| 12 months to June 2020 (final release) | 12,100 km |
The Australian Bureau of Statistics discontinued its Survey of Motor Vehicle Use after the 2020 release, so no comparable national figure has been published since. That last release also covered the 2019–20 bushfire summer and the opening months of the pandemic, which depressed travel — so 13,400 km is the more representative benchmark for normal conditions.
If you claim work-related car expenses in Australia, mileage stops being a curiosity and becomes a record you may have to defend. The logbook method has no kilometre cap, which makes it the better option for most people driving more than 5,000 work kilometres a year — but the record-keeping is specific.
For the 12-week logbook period, you must record:
The 12 weeks must be continuous and representative of your normal driving. Once complete, the logbook is valid for five years — but you must still record the odometer at the start and end of each income year you rely on it. If your circumstances change materially, such as a new job or a move, you need a fresh 12-week logbook. Running two or more cars under the method means keeping a logbook for each, covering the same period.
Electronic logbooks are accepted, including the myDeductions tool in the ATO app. Keep the logbook and odometer records for five years after the last income year you rely on them.
| Cents per kilometre | Logbook | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate (2026–27) | 91c per km | Business-use % of actual costs |
| Cap | 5,000 km per car per year | No cap |
| Maximum claim | $4,550 | Depends on actual expenses |
| Records needed | How you worked out the kilometres | 12-week logbook plus expense receipts |
| Covers | Fuel, rego, insurance, servicing, depreciation combined | The same costs, at your actual business-use % |
Neither method lets you claim ordinary home-to-work travel. Which one produces the larger deduction depends on your business-use percentage, how expensive your vehicle is to run, and whether you are willing to keep the records — so it is worth calculating both before deciding.
Servicing is where mileage tracking pays for itself most directly. The typical Australian pattern looks roughly like this:
| Roughly every | Commonly involves |
|---|---|
| Monthly (not distance-based) | Tyre pressures, fluid levels, lights |
| 10,000–15,000 km or 12 months | Oil and oil filter, general inspection |
| Each service, or ~10,000 km | Tyre rotation |
| 30,000–45,000 km | Air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid |
| 60,000–100,000 km | Major service items — spark plugs, coolant, transmission fluid |
The part most people miss is the "or 12 months". Almost every schedule is distance or time, whichever arrives first. Someone covering 6,000 km a year reaches the twelve-month mark long before the kilometre limit, because oil degrades on the calendar as well as on the road. Tracking your monthly mileage tells you which trigger will fire first — and whether you are paying for services you have not driven far enough to need.
How do I calculate mileage?
Subtract the starting odometer reading from the ending reading. If your odometer read 84,217 km at the start of the week and 84,529 km at the end, your mileage for that week was 312 km. To turn that into a cost, multiply the distance by your consumption divided by 100, then by the price per litre or per kWh.
How do I calculate mileage from my odometer?
Record the odometer at the start of the period and again at the end, then subtract. Use the odometer rather than the trip meter for anything you may need to substantiate later, since the trip meter can be reset. On an older six-digit odometer that has rolled past 999,999, add the distance before the rollover to the distance after it.
Can I calculate mileage using my trip meter?
Yes, and it is more convenient for single journeys — zero it at the start and read it at the end. The limitation is that it holds no history and can be reset accidentally. For business records, ATO logbook entries or lease returns, use odometer readings instead.
What is average annual mileage in Australia?
The last representative ABS figure, for the 12 months to June 2018, was about 13,400 km per registered vehicle. The final release of that survey, covering the year to June 2020, showed 12,100 km, but was affected by the bushfire season and the early pandemic. The ABS has since discontinued the survey, so no newer national figure is published.
How do I calculate mileage for tax purposes?
Under the ATO logbook method, record every trip for 12 continuous weeks including private travel, then divide business kilometres by total kilometres to get your business-use percentage. Apply that percentage to your car expenses. Under the cents-per-kilometre method you simply record your work kilometres, capped at 5,000 per car per year. Confirm your circumstances with the ATO or a registered tax agent.
How do I track business mileage?
Record the date, start and end odometer readings, kilometres travelled and the reason for each journey, as close to the time of travel as possible. Paper logbooks are still accepted, and so are electronic ones including the myDeductions tool in the ATO app. Whichever you choose, keep it and your odometer records for five years after the last year you rely on them.
Why should I keep a mileage log?
Beyond substantiating a tax claim, a mileage log tells you what your driving actually costs, when servicing is due, whether you are tracking toward a novated lease kilometre limit, and whether your running costs are drifting. A gradual rise in fuel used per kilometre is often the first sign of a mechanical problem.
What is the difference between mileage and fuel economy?
Mileage is distance travelled, measured in kilometres. Fuel economy is how efficiently a vehicle converts fuel into that distance, measured in L/100km, km/L or MPG. You need both to work out cost: mileage tells you how far, fuel economy tells you how much fuel that took.
How do delivery drivers calculate mileage?
Most record the odometer at the start and end of each shift, which captures the whole working day in two readings rather than logging each drop. If any of the driving is private — the run home, or a personal errand — that has to be recorded separately, because only the work portion counts toward a claim.
How often should I record vehicle mileage?
For general running-cost awareness, monthly is enough to spot a trend. For a novated lease or a warranty limit, quarterly keeps you ahead of any threshold. For an ATO claim, you need per-trip records during the 12-week logbook period, plus an odometer reading at the start and end of each income year you rely on that logbook.
Two odometer readings and a date are enough to make every other number on this page work — running costs, business-use percentage, servicing timing, lease headroom. It is a thirty-second habit that answers questions you would otherwise be guessing at in June. From here, work out your real efficiency with the gas mileage calculator, price an individual trip with the fuel cost calculator, or fold the annual figure into your household planning with the budget calculator.