When is fuel 100% deductible?
For vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes with at most 9 seats, the default rule is a 50% deduction of expenses and VAT. The 100% deduction is the exception and must be proven, month after month, with trip sheets.
Short answer
- Fuel is 100% deductible only if the vehicle is used exclusively for the business activity.
- Exclusive business use is justified through trip sheets filled in for every trip.
- For mixed use, business and personal, the deduction is limited to 50% of the expense and of the VAT.
- The limit applies to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes with at most 9 seats, under art. 25 and art. 298 of the Fiscal Code.
- Continuity matters: one month without trip sheets drops the deduction to 50% for that month.
The 50% versus 100% rule
The 50% limit applies to motor road vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of up to 3.5 tonnes and at most 9 seats, including the driver's. Full deduction is not obtained through a declaration, but by proving exclusive business use. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes or with more than 9 seats do not fall under this limit and do not need a trip sheet in order to be deducted.
Fuel deduction depending on use
| Situation | Expense | VAT | What justifies it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive business use (≤3.5 t, ≤9 seats) | 100% | 100% | Trip sheets for every trip |
| Mixed use, business and personal | 50% | 50% | The default rule, with no proof of exclusive use |
| A month without trip sheets | 50% for that month | 50% for that month | The missing document cancels the proof for that month |
| Vehicle over 3.5 t or over 9 seats | In full, under the general rule | In full, under the general rule | Not covered by the limit; no trip sheet required for the deduction |
When the 50% deduction is enough, without trip sheets
The 50% deduction is the default rule for cars up to 3,500 kg with at most 9 seats that are not used exclusively for the business activity (Fiscal Code, art. 25(3)(l)). It needs no extra proof: the trip sheet is the evidence required only when you want the 100% deduction. The same 50% limit applies to VAT on the car's expenses (art. 298(1)).
- The car is also used privately, for example by an employee who takes it home — use is no longer exclusively for business, so 50% is the only correct option.
- You do not want to keep trip sheets for every journey — you accept 50% and do not risk a month without sheets being challenged at an inspection.
- For the employee, personal use of a car deducted at 50% is not a taxable benefit (art. 76(4)(ț)).
- Exceptions with full deduction by law, regardless of the 50% rule: emergency, security and protection, courier services, sales and purchasing agents, paid passenger transport, rentals and driving schools, vehicles sold as goods.
A concrete example for a fleet of 6 cars
Example: a company has 6 passenger cars under 3.5 tonnes, each with around 1,000 lei of fuel per month. Without trip sheets it deducts 50%, meaning 500 lei per vehicle and 3,000 lei per month across the fleet. With complete trip sheets showing exclusive business use, it deducts 6,000 lei per month. The difference is 3,000 lei per month, that is 36,000 lei per year, plus the VAT deducted at only half. If the sheets are missing for two vehicles in August, those two vehicles drop to 50% for August, while the rest of the fleet stays at 100%.
Common mistakes when deducting fuel
- Deducting 100% without trip sheets — at an inspection, the expense drops to 50% for every undocumented month.
- Filling in sheets only in high-mileage months — the gaps show precisely that the use is not exclusive.
- Recording personal trips on the sheet — a single personal journey cancels the exclusive business character.
- Applying the 50% rule to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes as well, although they are not covered by the limit.
- Assuming the rule is identical for any car — special-use categories have their own rules, check them with your accountant.
How 4fleet helps
- Trip sheets are generated automatically from a saved route, across all the working days of the month, so no month is left empty.
- An in-app alert for every vehicle that has a month without trip sheets.
- The company's own norm and the normed consumption are calculated on every sheet, so the evidence is complete.
- You download and print the monthly sheet per vehicle, with the fuel balance, for the accounting file.