Who we help
Truck driver tax, with the trip records to match.
Employee drivers and owner-drivers live different tax lives, and the ATO reads both closely. We prepare returns where the claim matches the method, and the method matches the records you actually keep.
Brisbane's south-west moves freight, and our Mount Ommaney base sits beside the corridor that moves it. Truck driver returns are work we know: local multi-drop, interstate linehaul, employee drivers on wages, and owner-drivers running their own rigs. The first question decides everything that follows — are you an employee, an owner-driver, or across the year, both?
For employee drivers, the pressure point is travel and meal claims. What can be claimed depends on how you were paid, where you slept and what records you kept — and the claim method has to match the records, not the other way around. We establish the method your evidence supports, document the basis, and keep the workings with the return.
Owner-drivers run a business on wheels: an ABN, BAS, fuel, finance, repairs, depreciation on the truck, and income that has to reconcile to freight statements and bank deposits. We keep that business side in order through the year, not just at its end — with documents moving through a client portal between trips, and phone or video appointments that fit a driving roster.
What we see on drivers' returns
- Meal claims made at the same flat figure every year, with no diary and no basis for the method.
- Overnight travel claimed on trips the work diary shows were driven home the same day.
- Owner-drivers whose freight statements, invoices and bank deposits give three different totals.
- Depreciation on the rig carried forward year after year, with the original schedule long lost.
What we prepare
Employee driver returns
Wages, allowances and deductions reported so they reconcile with what your employer reports — and each claim substantiated before it goes in.
Travel and meal claims
The claim method chosen on the records you actually hold — diaries, receipts, rosters — with the basis documented so the claim withstands review.
Owner-driver business schedules
Income reconciled to freight statements and deposits, expenses to invoices — a business return built from records, not estimates.
BAS and GST for owner-drivers
Registration confirmed for your circumstances, BAS reconciled to the books each period, and GST credits supported by valid tax invoices.
The truck itself
Purchase, finance and depreciation recorded properly from day one, so the biggest asset on the return is also the best documented.
Trip records that earn their keep
The diary you already maintain for the road can carry much of the tax evidence — we set up what to keep, and make sure it is retained.
A driver's return from this office can show its working — the diary, the receipts and the reconciliations are on file before lodgment, ready for the year the ATO asks. See our method →
Common questions
What is the difference between employee driver and owner-driver tax?
Nearly everything. An employee reports wages and claims work-related costs against them. An owner-driver runs a business: business income, business expenses, usually an ABN and BAS, and different records to keep. Some drivers are both in the same year, and the two parts of the return must be kept distinct. We establish which you are first, and prepare accordingly.
Can I claim meals on overnight trips?
Where the work genuinely involved overnight travel and the records support the claim, yes — but the amount and the method depend on how you were paid and what evidence you hold. Claims in this area are tested against diaries, rosters and pay records, so we build the claim from those records rather than from a figure that cannot be traced.
Do I need a logbook for the truck?
The records you need depend on the vehicle and how it is used — and heavy-vehicle drivers often already keep much of what is required, for reasons that have nothing to do with tax. We look at what you already record, identify the gaps that matter, and set up the smallest routine that keeps the file complete.
I subcontract to one freight company. Am I really running a business?
It depends on the whole arrangement, not the label on it — and for owner-drivers the answer affects how the income is taxed and what can be claimed against it. We examine how you are engaged, take a documented position on it, and prepare the return on the basis the facts actually support.
I'm on the road most weeks. How does the engagement work?
Almost entirely remotely, if that suits. Appointments run by phone or video, statements and receipts move through the client portal, and the return is reviewed with you before lodgment wherever you are parked. The practice is Brisbane-based and runs Australia-wide, so home base can be any state.
I'm behind on BAS and tax returns. Can you sort both?
Yes, and in the right order. We confirm with the ATO exactly what is outstanding, rebuild each period from freight statements, bank records and fuel accounts, and lodge oldest first so the years reconcile with each other. Where the circumstances support it, remission of penalties and interest is requested in writing.
General information only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Advice specific to your circumstances is provided within a signed engagement.
Related reading
Speak to the person who signs the return.
Consultations are with a registered tax agent — by phone or video, wherever you are in Australia.