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Excel workbook (.xlsx) with formulas that total themselves. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.
Download the Canadian mileage log (Excel)In Canada, the cleanest way to handle business driving is a per-kilometre allowance set against the CRA’s reasonable rate. Paid correctly, at or below that rate and based on kilometres actually driven, the allowance is tax-free to the employee and deductible to the business. Paid as a flat monthly amount with no log behind it, it becomes a taxable benefit. The difference is the log, and this template is built to be exactly the record the CRA expects, pre-filled with the 2026 rate.
The download records the date, start and end point, business purpose, kilometres, the rate, and the amount, with a worked total and a note carrying the full rate rules.
The 2026 CRA rates
The CRA’s reasonable per-kilometre allowance rates for 2026 are:
| Distance | Provinces | Territories |
|---|---|---|
| First 5,000 km | 73c per km | 77c per km |
| Each km after 5,000 | 67c per km | 71c per km |
The template defaults to the 73c provincial rate. Once your business kilometres for the year pass 5,000, change the rate to 0.67 for the kilometres beyond that. In Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, add 4 cents to each tier.
These are the rates the government sets each year as the ceiling for a tax-free per-kilometre allowance, announced alongside the automobile deduction limits for the year. They are reviewed annually, so check the current figure at the start of each calendar year rather than carrying last year’s rate forward. The rate is what a business can reimburse an employee tax-free; it is also the figure a self-employed person uses to support the business share of vehicle costs under the per-kilometre approach.
Reasonable versus taxable allowances
The reason the rate matters is that it draws the line between a tax-free allowance and a taxable benefit. An allowance is reasonable, and therefore tax-free, when it is based solely on the kilometres actually driven for business and paid at or below the CRA rate. A flat car allowance that ignores actual kilometres, or one paid above the prescribed rate, is generally taxable and has to be added to the employee’s income. Keeping a per-kilometre log at the CRA rate keeps the allowance on the tax-free side of that line.
How to use the template
- Record each business trip as it happens: date, destination, purpose, and kilometres.
- Keep the rate at 0.73 (or 0.77 in the territories) until your annual business kilometres reach 5,000, then switch to 0.67 (or 0.71).
- Total the business kilometres and the amount each period.
- Keep the log to support the business-use proportion of the vehicle, and retain it with your records for six years.
Common mistakes
- Paying a flat monthly allowance with no log. Without a per-kilometre record it is a taxable benefit, not a tax-free allowance.
- Forgetting the 5,000 km step-down. The rate drops from 73c to 67c after the first 5,000 business km.
- Missing the territorial top-up. Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut add 4 cents per kilometre.
- Keeping no first-year logbook. The CRA expects a full logbook to establish the business-use pattern, which a sample period can then maintain.
When the log should keep itself
A spreadsheet works, but a trip captured as it happens is the one that survives a CRA review. Tools that help:
- MileIQ logs drives automatically and applies the CRA rate.
- ExpenseFlow captures vehicle costs alongside the receipts and bills it already reads, tracks kilometres against the 5,000 km step-down, and posts the claim into Xero or QuickBooks Online with the right GST/HST treatment, including the input tax credit split.
- Driversnote records trips by GPS and produces CRA-ready reports.
Use the template to start, log every business trip, and move to automatic capture as the driving grows.