What does a vehicle logbook need to show in Québec?

Short answer: to deduct vehicle expenses, keep a logbook that shows the date, destination, purpose and kilometres of each business trip, plus your odometer readings at the start and end of the year. The CRA lets you keep a full log for one base year and a three-month sample in later years. In Québec, an employee who drives a car supplied by the employer must give the employer a copy of the log by January 10 (or within 10 days after returning the car), or faces a $200 penalty.

Why does the logbook matter?

Gas, insurance, repairs, lease payments or depreciation and loan interest are deductible only for the share of driving you do to earn income. Receipts prove what you spent. The logbook proves how much of it was for business. Without one, an auditor has nothing to support your percentage and can cut the claim.

What should you write down?

For each business trip, the CRA asks for:

  • The date.
  • The destination, ideally the client's name and address.
  • The purpose, such as a client meeting or a supply run.
  • The kilometres driven.
  • Odometer readings at the start and end of your fiscal period.
  • Total kilometres and business kilometres.
  • Vehicle changes, with the date and odometer reading when you buy, sell or trade a vehicle.
  • A separate log for each vehicle, with its own running and maintenance costs.

For the year as a whole, also note:

Can you keep a shorter log after the first year?

Federally, yes. The CRA accepts a simplified logbook: you keep a full log for one complete year (the base year), then a three-month sample log in later years, as long as the result stays within 10% of the base year. Here is the CRA's own example:

  1. In the base year, the full log shows 49% business use for the year and 46% for April to June.
  2. In a later year, the April to June sample shows 51%.
  3. The estimate is 51% ÷ 46% × 49% = 54% business use for the year.

The 54% is accepted because it sits between 39% and 59%. If your result falls outside that range, the base year no longer reflects your driving and you need actual records for the year (or a new base year). Keep the base-year log for six years after the last year you rely on it.

The three-month method is a CRA policy. We haven't found Revenu Québec describing the same method, so for your Québec return a full-year log is the safest record.

What does Revenu Québec require?

Québec has a specific rule for employees who have an automobile made available by their employer. The employee must keep a log and give the employer a copy by January 10 of the following year, or within 10 days after the car is returned. The log shows the number of days the car was available and the kilometres driven. For each work trip, it shows the starting point, the destination, the distance and why the trip was for work. If the car is used only for personal driving, the days available and the odometer readings at the start and end are enough. An employee who doesn't hand it in on time faces a $200 penalty.

If you pay your own car costs as an employee, your employer signs the T2200 (federal) and TP-64.3 (Québec), and you claim the expenses on the T777 and TP-59.

What are the 2026 per-kilometre rates?

For 2026, the limit on tax-exempt allowances an employer can deduct is 73 cents per km for the first 5,000 km and 67 cents per km after that (77 and 71 cents in the territories). Revenu Québec announced the same limits. The rate used to value the personal share of operating costs on an employer-provided car stays at 34 cents per km.

Example: an employee drives 6,000 km for work in 2026. That's 5,000 × $0.73 = $3,650, plus 1,000 × $0.67 = $670, for a total of $4,320.

These rates are for employer allowances. If you're self-employed, you don't claim a per-kilometre rate. You deduct your actual vehicle costs multiplied by your business-use percentage (see our list of self-employed expenses).

Want us to check your vehicle claim?

Book a free 30-minute session at soleraaccounting.ca/rendez-vous or call 450 612-7223. We'll look at your log and receipts and tell you what business-use percentage they actually support. Service in French, English and Arabic.

This article is general information, not personalized accounting or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Does a phone app count as a logbook?

Yes, as long as it records the date, destination, purpose and kilometres of each business trip, and you keep your start and end odometer readings. Export it at year-end so you still have it if you change apps.

What happens if I never kept a logbook?

You can still try to support business use with calendars, invoices and client addresses, but a reconstructed estimate is weaker than a log kept as you went. Start a full log now so the current year is covered.

Can a self-employed person use the 73 cents per km rate?

No. The 2026 per-kilometre rates are limits for allowances employers pay to employees. Self-employed people deduct their actual vehicle costs multiplied by their business-use percentage.

Sources

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