Car Wash Receipt Template
A car wash receipt records the wash package bought, any extras such as wax or interior cleaning, the vehicle, the date and time, and the total paid. Fleet drivers and rideshare drivers keep them because vehicle cleaning is a claimable running cost. You can make one free below with no signup.
On its own a car wash is a small charge. For anyone driving passengers for a living it is a recurring one, and recurring small costs are the ones a tax authority asks to see evidence for.
What goes on a car wash receipt
- Business name, site address and phone
- Date and time of the wash
- Vehicle registration, and make or model if recorded
- Package bought, named rather than coded: basic exterior, deluxe, full valet
- Extras on their own lines: wax, tyre shine, interior vacuum, pet hair removal, engine bay
- Whether this was a single wash or a charge against a monthly plan
- Bay or lane number if the site uses them
- Subtotal, tax, total and payment method
An example
Deluxe exterior wash $18.00, hand wax $12.00, interior vacuum $8.00. Subtotal $38.00, tax at 6 percent $2.28, total $40.28 paid by card ending 1174. Vehicle GLR 2290, washed 11 March at 08:15.
Naming the package rather than printing a till code matters. Someone reviewing the claim needs to see this was a vehicle clean and not a fuel stop.
Claiming vehicle cleaning
If you drive for a living, cleaning is generally treated as a running cost of the vehicle. The catch is the same one that applies to fuel: where you claim a flat mileage rate, that rate is usually taken to cover running costs already, so a separate cleaning claim is often disallowed. Where you claim actual costs, or where the vehicle is owned by the business, keep the receipts. Monthly wash plans are worth one receipt for the plan rather than a slip per visit.
Make a wash receipt
Name the package, add the extras, download. The receipt generator is free and there is no account to set up.
Related receipt templates
- General receipt template
- Itemised receipt template
- Gas receipt template
- Taxi receipt template
- All free templates
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim car washes as a business expense?
It depends how you claim the vehicle. Under an actual cost method, cleaning is normally an allowable running cost. Under a flat mileage rate it usually is not, because the rate is taken to include running costs.
What should a car wash receipt show?
The business, the date, the vehicle, and the package and extras named clearly rather than as till codes. Anyone reviewing the claim needs to see what service was actually bought.
How do I evidence a monthly wash plan?
One receipt covering the plan period is cleaner than a slip for every visit, provided it states the plan, the period covered and the amount charged.