The short answer: it depends on your situation. There is no single rule that requires everyone to keep one. Below we explain when a mileage registration typically comes into play. Educational in nature, not tax advice.
Last updated: 7 September 2026
Many people look for a simple yes or no to whether a mileage registration is mandatory. In practice it is more nuanced: whether you need one, and which conditions it must meet, depends on how you drive and how your car is set up for tax.
There is no general obligation forcing everyone to track trips. Even so, a mileage registration comes into play in certain situations, usually because you want or need to substantiate something. Think of how much you drive a company car privately, or how many business kilometres you make in a private car. In those cases a registration is the means to demonstrate your situation.
With a company car, the question is how much you use it privately. If you want to substantiate that private use is limited, a watertight mileage registration can play a part. In that context a declaration about no or limited private use is often used.
In practice a limit is often mentioned for the number of private kilometres per year below which the tax addition may be left out. Whether that limit and those conditions apply in your case, and how you demonstrate it, is set by the Tax Administration. Rely on the current information from the Belastingdienst or consult your adviser. Read more on the company car tax addition and your mileage registration.
If you drive for business in a private car, you usually want to be able to substantiate those business kilometres. An overview per trip makes that easier and clearer. Whether, and in what way, those kilometres count for tax depends on your situation and the choices in your administration. Your accountant or the Tax Administration can inform you about this.
If you drive a car or fleet belonging to an organisation, that organisation may itself ask for a mileage registration, for example for its own records or agreements about private use. In that case the arrangements you made with your employer or fleet manager apply.
If you use a mileage registration to substantiate something, it is important that it is watertight: complete, without gaps and with data that adds up logically. An administration with missing trips or illogical odometer readings is harder to substantiate. You can read which details typically belong in it under the Tax Administration requirements.
An automated solution can help reduce gaps and errors, because trips do not have to be copied over by hand. RitGenie records and classifies trips automatically.
There is no single rule that requires everyone to keep a mileage registration. Whether you need one depends on your situation. If you drive a company car and want to substantiate that you use it little for private trips, a watertight registration can play a part. The precise conditions are set by the Tax Administration; consult it or your own adviser.
That depends on how you use your car and how it is set up for tax. If you drive for business in a private car, you often want to be able to substantiate those kilometres. An overview per trip makes that easier. Whether and how this counts in your situation is something to check with the Tax Administration or your accountant.
A mileage registration often comes into play when substantiating private use of a company car, for example alongside a declaration about no or limited private use. The Tax Administration may then ask you to show how the car was used. What exactly is asked is described by the Tax Administration.
An administration with gaps or illogical data is harder to substantiate. What the consequences are depends on your situation and the assessment of the Tax Administration. That is why it is wise to keep a registration complete and verifiable. For the consequences in your case we refer you to the Tax Administration or your adviser.
RitGenie records and classifies your trips automatically, so your administration stays watertight with less manual work.
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