Department of Finance Canada Announces 2012 Automobile Expense Benefit Rates for Business

The Department of Finance Canada has announced the automobile expense deduction limits and the prescribed rates for the automobile operating expense benefit that will apply in 2012. Among the specifics:

• The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes for 2012 will be increased by 1 cent to 53 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and to 47 cents for each additional kilometre. For Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the tax-exempt allowance is set 4 cents higher, and will also increase by 1 cent to 57 cents for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and to 51 cents for each additional kilometre. The allowance amounts reflect the key cost components of owning and operating an automobile, such as depreciation, financing, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs.
• The general prescribed rate used to determine the taxable benefit relating to the personal portion of automobile operating expenses paid by employers for 2012 will increase by 2 cents to 26 cents per kilometre. For taxpayers employed principally in selling or leasing automobiles, the prescribed rate will increase by 2 cents to 23 cents per kilometre. The amount of the benefit reflects the costs of operating an automobile. The additional benefit of having an employer-provided vehicle available for personal use (i.e., the automobile standby charge, which is not affected by this announcement) is calculated separately and is also included in the employee’s income.