New Zealand IRD Vehicle Logbook Guide: 90-Day Period & Tier 1 / Tier 2 Kilometre Rates

1. How the IRD 90-Day Vehicle Logbook Works

In New Zealand, you can keep a vehicle logbook for a continuous 90-day representative period to establish the business-use percentage of your vehicle for up to 3 years (provided your business travel pattern does not change by more than 20%).

• Record the start and end dates and odometer readings for the 90-day logbook period.
• Log the date, distance, and business reason for every business trip during the 90 days.
• Calculate Business KM, Private KM, Total KM, and the resulting Business-Use Percentage.
• Keep separate logbook records for each vehicle used in the business.

2. Understanding IRD Tier 1 and Tier 2 Kilometre Rates (2025–26)

IRD kilometre rates are split into two tiers based on total annual vehicle travel (including both business and private travel) across the NZ income year (1 April to 31 March):

Tier 1 applies to the business portion of the first 14,000 kilometres of total annual travel for the vehicle. Tier 2 applies to the business portion of travel after total annual travel exceeds 14,000 kilometres.

• Petrol (2025–26): Tier 1 NZ$1.20/km · Tier 2 NZ$0.37/km
• Diesel (2025–26): Tier 1 NZ$1.30/km · Tier 2 NZ$0.38/km
• Petrol Hybrid (2025–26): Tier 1 NZ$0.90/km · Tier 2 NZ$0.24/km
• Electric (2025–26): Tier 1 NZ$1.22/km · Tier 2 NZ$0.23/km

3. Keeping Odometer & Trip Evidence Complete

Whether you use GPS trip detection or manual entry, comparing GPS distance against annual opening and closing odometer readings ensures your IRD claim is grounded in verifiable records.