Is there an official CRA mileage log form? No. The CRA does not prescribe a form; it lists what your logbook must record. Any paper book, spreadsheet or PDF with those details is acceptable. The templates below have every field the CRA mentions.
What the CRA requires in a vehicle logbook
From the CRA's motor vehicle records page:
- For each business trip: the date, the destination, the purpose and the number of kilometres you drive.
- The odometer reading of each vehicle at the start and end of the fiscal period (January 1 and December 31 for most sole proprietors).
- If you change vehicles during the year: the dates and the odometer readings when you buy, sell or trade.
- Receipts for the vehicle expenses you claim.
Example CRA logbook entries
| Date | From | Destination | Purpose | Odometer start | Odometer end | Km |
|---|
| 2026-03-02 | Home office | Maple Dental, 88 King St W, Toronto | Software install and staff training | 52,310 | 52,335 | 25 |
| 2026-03-02 | Maple Dental | Home office | Return from client | 52,335 | 52,360 | 25 |
| 2026-03-05 | Home office | Staples, Yonge St | Printer paper and toner for business | 52,401 | 52,409 | 8 |
| Total | | | | | | 58 |
Year summary: odometer Jan 1: 48,900; Dec 31: 70,400; total 21,500 km; business 9,890 km = 46.0% business use.
Download the CRA logbook template
The Excel file has four tabs: the logbook (km from odometer readings, business-use %), a vehicle expense sheet for Form T2125, the simplified logbook calculator and an allowance check for employers. The PDF is a printable kilometre log book.
Simplified logbook calculator
After one full base year, the CRA lets you keep a logbook for a representative three-month period and scale it with this formula: (sample period % ÷ base year same-period %) × base year annual % = annual business use.
The default numbers are the CRA's own example (49%, 46%, 51% gives 54%). The CRA says the base year stops being a fair indicator when the calculated annual business use goes up or down by more than 10%; the check below compares the two figures in percentage points, which is consistent with that example. If you are close to the line, keep a full logbook for the year.
Before you file
- Total business kilometres and total kilometres (odometer) for the year
- Business-use % = business km / total km
- Receipts for fuel, insurance, licence and registration, repairs, interest or lease
- Self-employed: claim on Form T2125; employees: Form T777 with a signed T2200
- Keep the logbook and receipts for six years from the end of the tax year
Full logbook or simplified logbook?
A full logbook covers every business trip for the whole year. It is the safest record and it is required for your first year (the base year) if you want to use the simplified method later.
The simplified logbook: after one complete year of logbook records (the base year), you can keep a logbook for a representative three-month period in later years and scale it with the formula in the calculator above, as long as the result stays within 10% of the base year. If it moves by more than 10%, the sample only supports those three months and you need records for the rest of the year or a new base year.
How the logbook is used on your return
Self-employed (Form T2125): you deduct the business-use share of your actual vehicle costs, for example (business km / total km) x total expenses, plus capital cost allowance. Self-employed people do not deduct a per-kilometre rate.
Employees (Form T777): if your employer requires you to pay your own vehicle costs and signs Form T2200, you claim the employment-use share of your expenses on T777, minus any non-taxable allowance.
Allowances: the CRA's reasonable per-kilometre rates for 2026 are 73¢ for the first 5,000 km and 67¢ after that (77¢ and 71¢ in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut). They set the limit for tax-free allowances an employer pays, and employers will want a logbook to pay them. More detail on CRA mileage rules and rates.
Sources
Rates and rules on this page last checked against these sources on October 7, 2026.