Travel Allowance & Logbook Claims: SARS Guide for Filing Season 2026

A travel allowance is one of the most common ways salaried South Africans unlock a bigger refund — and one of the first items SARS asks you to prove. If IRP5 source code 3701 (travel allowance) or a taxable reimbursive allowance (3702) appears on your certificate, you generally need a logbook of business kilometres before you can claim a deduction on assessment.

This guide is for the Filing Season 2026 return covering the year of assessment 1 March 2025 – 28 February 2026. Use the matching SARS 2025-26 eLogbook. Rates and schedules change by year — confirm the Rate per Kilometre table that applies to your YOA on the SARS website before you calculate.

Informational only — not tax advice. Verify with SARS or a registered tax practitioner.

What Appears on Your IRP5

• Code 3701: Travel allowance paid as part of remuneration. Employers usually withhold PAYE on 80% of the allowance (or 20% if the employer is satisfied that at least 80% of vehicle use for the year will be business).
• Code 3702: Taxable reimbursive travel (when the reimbursement falls outside the non-taxable reimbursive rules).
• Non-taxable reimbursive travel may apply in limited situations where the rate and kilometre rules published by SARS for that year are met (Budget guides have referenced an exempt cents-per-kilometre rate such as R4.95/km in recent schedules — confirm the rate for your YOA).

On assessment, the taxable travel amounts included in income are the starting point. Your deduction for business travel cannot exceed the travel amounts included in your income.

Private vs Business Travel

SARS treats travel between home and your normal place of work as private. Business travel typically includes trips to clients, temporary workplaces, or other work destinations away from your usual office — documented properly.

Record each business trip with at least:

• Date
• Opening and closing odometer (or trip kilometres)
• Business kilometres
• Destination and reason for the trip

Keep a separate logbook per vehicle. Retain records for at least five years.

Deemed Cost vs Actual Cost

Where you claim against a travel allowance using section 8(1)(b) principles, two common approaches are:

1. Deemed / cost-scale method — use the SARS Rate per Kilometre schedule for your vehicle’s value band (fixed cost, fuel, and maintenance components) with your business kilometres.
2. Actual cost method — total real running costs you bore (fuel, maintenance, insurance, licence, finance charges where allowed) plus wear-and-tear rules, then claim the business-use percentage (business km ÷ total km). Vehicle value caps and wear-and-tear periods apply — check the guide for your YOA.

Run both methods if you have good records; claim the allowable result that the law and your facts support. Without a logbook, you generally cannot claim.

Practical Filing Checklist (Season 2026)

1. Download or complete the SARS 2025-26 eLogbook (or an equivalent complete log).
2. Reconcile total and business kilometres to opening/closing odometers for the year.
3. Compare IRP5 travel codes to payroll payslips.
4. Calculate deemed and/or actual deduction; ensure it does not exceed the taxable allowance included.
5. On your ITR12 (or when correcting an auto-assessment), enter the travel claim SARS requires for your situation.
6. Do not assume an auto-assessment includes your travel claim — third-party data usually will not.

Common Mistakes

• Claiming home-to-office kilometres as business
• Estimating kilometres without a contemporaneous logbook
• Mixing two vehicles into one log
• Ignoring that PAYE was only withheld on part of the allowance — assessment still starts from the full taxable inclusion rules
• Leaving an auto-assessment uncorrected when a travel deduction should have been claimed

How Refund AI Can Help

Refund AI can help you research travel allowance concepts, logbook requirements, and what questions to verify against the SARS eLogbook for your year of assessment. It does not calculate a binding claim or lodge your return. Confirm figures with SARS tables or a registered tax practitioner.

Conclusion

Travel claims reward careful records. Keep a logbook throughout the year, separate private and business kilometres correctly, and choose a calculation method you can support. For Filing Season 2026, match your claim to the 2025-26 SARS schedules — not last year’s guesswork.

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Key Citations:

• SARS Travel eLogbook pages (2025-26 assessment year)
• SARS Guide for Employers in respect of Allowances (travel codes and PAYE)
• Income Tax Act section 8(1)(b) travel allowance principles
• Budget / Rate per Kilometre schedules applicable to your YOA