Free · Nova Scotia (HST 15%) · no signup
Nova Scotia vehicle business-use deduction calculator.
For self-employed Nova Scotia taxpayers using the actual-expense method (which is what CRA requires — the per-kilometre allowance is an employer-to-employee rate). Turns your logbook into the number that goes on T2125 line 9281, plus the HST 15% input tax credit on the business share if you're registered.
What CRA actually wants in your vehicle records.
The business-use percentage is the most-audited line on T2125. CRA expects defensible records. Here's the minimum:
- Logbook entries covering every business trip: date, destination, purpose, and kilometres driven.
- Odometer readings at the start and end of your fiscal year — these let CRA verify your total-kilometre figure.
- Expense receipts for fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration, lease/loan interest, and any other claimed costs.
You can use a "sample-year" logbook in subsequent years if you maintain a fully-logged base year and your usage doesn't change substantially — but the base-year discipline still has to be real.
Common questions
Why can't I use 62¢ per kilometre like the employer rate?
The per-kilometre rates CRA publishes (62¢/km for the first 5,000 km in 2025, 56¢/km after) are reasonable-allowance rates an employer can pay a T4 employee tax-free. They are not a self-employment deduction method. Self-employed Canadians must use the actual-expense method: total eligible vehicle expenses × business-use percentage. This is one of the most-misunderstood rules — many freelancers mistakenly use the employer rate and then get a reassessment.
Are commutes to a regular office deductible?
Generally no. Travel between your home and a regular place of business is personal commuting, even if you're self-employed. Travel between your home office and a client site is typically deductible, as is travel between client sites. If you work from home and your home office is your principal place of business, the rules tilt more favourably toward your trips being business kilometres — but document the principal-place-of-business test carefully.
What about the GST/HST input tax credit?
If you're registered for GST/HST, you can claim the embedded tax on your vehicle expenses as an ITC, scaled by the same business-use percentage. So if your business use is 40% and your fuel for the year was $3,500 tax-inclusive in Ontario, the HST embedded is roughly $402.65 and your ITC is about $161. This is calculated automatically when you tick "I'm registered for GST/HST" above.
What about CCA on the vehicle itself?
The vehicle's purchase price isn't deducted directly — it's depreciated over time as Capital Cost Allowance (CCA). For passenger vehicles, this is class 10.1 (if cost exceeds the prescribed limit, currently $37,000 + GST/HST for 2024 acquisitions) or class 10 (below the limit). The rules involve a half-year convention, undepreciated capital cost tracking, and recapture/terminal loss on sale — complex enough that this calculator doesn't try to compute it. Talk to your accountant.
What if I have more than one vehicle?
Each vehicle is tracked separately. CRA wants a separate logbook, separate expense totals, and a separate business-use percentage per vehicle. Run this calculator once per vehicle and sum the deductible portions on T2125 line 9281.
Keep the logbook automatically.
MapleBooks has a built-in vehicle logbook: log trips by date, destination, purpose, and km; track expenses by category; opening and closing odometer; multi-vehicle support; year-end summary that feeds T2125 line 9281 directly.
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