Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

DE 7: Logbook requirements
or “Rules for keeping a vehicle logbook for business use”

You could also call this:

“Time period for measuring business use of a vehicle, lasting up to 3 years”

A logbook term is a time period that shows how much you use your car for business. This term can last up to 3 years.

The logbook term starts on the latest of these days:

The first day of the tax year when you begin keeping a logbook
The day you get the car (unless it’s a replacement car, which is covered in section DE 11)
The day after your last logbook term ended
A day you choose

The logbook term ends on the earliest of these days:

This helps you figure out how much of your car use is for business over a set period of time.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

Next up: DE 9: Inadequate logbook

or “When your vehicle logbook is considered inaccurate by the Commissioner”

A logbook term is a period to which the proportion of business use of a motor vehicle established by the logbook applies. The term lasts up to 3 years and starts and ends as described in subsections (2) and (3).
A logbook term starts on the date that is the latest of the following days:
the first day of the income year in which a person starts to keep a logbook:
the day that a person acquires the motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is a replacement vehicle, which is dealt with in section DE 11:
the day immediately after the last day of the previous logbook term:
a day that a person specifies.

The logbook term ends on the date that is the earliest of the following days:
the day that a person disposes of the motor vehicle without replacing it:
the day that is 3 years after the first day of the income year in which the logbook term started:
a day that the Commissioner specifies under section DE 9:
a day that a person specifies.

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