Sheetsmith
HMRC's approved mileage rates
For cars and vans the approved amount is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p per mile after that. Motorcycles are 24p per mile and bicycles 20p, with no step-down. These are the Mileage Allowance Payments (MAPs) an employer can pay tax-free, and the same figures a self-employed person can use under simplified expenses instead of tracking actual vehicle costs. If your employer pays less than the approved rate, you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference through your tax return or a P87.
The 10,000-mile threshold is why this calculator asks for your miles so far this tax year: a 120-mile trip is £54.00 if it's your first, but £30.00 if you've already passed 10,000 miles, and a trip that straddles the threshold is split at the right point.
Passenger payments
An employer can pay an extra 5p per mile per passenger for each colleague carried on the same business journey, tax-free. It's optional, it only applies to employees (not the self-employed), and the passengers must be travelling for work too. The calculator adds it as a separate line so you can leave it out if your employer doesn't pay it.
What counts as business mileage
Journeys between workplaces, to clients, suppliers or temporary sites, and trips that are part of the job. Ordinary commuting — home to your permanent workplace — is not business mileage and can't be claimed. Keep a log with the date, destination, purpose and miles; HMRC can ask for it, and it's what a tracker like the one below is for.
A worked example
You are self-employed, you drive a car, and since 6 April you have already logged 8,600 business miles. This month you drove another 2,000. The first 1,400 of them take you to the 10,000-mile line and are paid at 45p; the remaining 600 are at 25p.
| Miles | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1,400 (miles 8,601 to 10,000) | 45p | £630.00 |
| 600 (miles 10,001 to 10,600) | 25p | £150.00 |
| 2,000 | £780.00 |
Type 8600 into "miles so far" and 2000 into "miles to claim" above and you will see the same split. Had this been your first 2,000 miles of the year the claim would be £900.00; had you already passed 10,000 it would be £500.00. That is why the running total matters, and why a monthly claim gets smaller towards the end of a busy year.
Two more that come up often. An employer who pays 30p a mile on 1,000 miles has paid £300 against an approved £450; the employee can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the £150 difference (the tax saved is a share of that, at their rate), through a P87 or self assessment. A colleague in the passenger seat for 300 of those business miles adds 300 × 5p = £15.00 if the employer pays passenger payments; the self-employed cannot claim it.
What to write down
No receipts are needed for mileage, but the claim stands or falls on the log. For each journey: the date, where from and to, why (which customer or site), and the miles. A line a day is enough; a reconstruction from a diary six months later is not. Keep the running total for the tax year on the same sheet so the 10,000-mile step is applied in the right month.
Electric and hybrid vehicles
The approved rates apply to electric and hybrid cars exactly as to petrol and diesel — 45p/25p — because they cover the whole cost of running the vehicle, not just fuel. The separate Advisory Fuel Rates (including the advisory electric rate) are for company cars where the employer reimburses fuel only; they are not what this calculator is for.
Questions
Is it 45p for every mile, or just the first 10,000?
45p for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, 25p for every mile after that. The count resets on 6 April. It is a count of miles, not a cap on money: there is no limit on how many miles you can claim at 25p.
My employer pays less than 45p. Can I claim the difference?
Yes. The gap between what you were paid and the approved amount is Mileage Allowance Relief. Claim it through a P87 form or your self assessment return; you get tax relief on the difference, not the difference itself. If your employer pays more than the approved rate, the excess is taxable.
Do I need fuel receipts?
No. The approved rate covers fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation in one figure, so no receipts are needed. What you do need is a mileage log: date, from, to, purpose and miles for each journey.
Can I claim for driving from home to a customer?
Usually yes, if you work from home or have no fixed workplace and the customer's site is a temporary one. Driving from home to a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and cannot be claimed, even if you carry tools. The rules on temporary and permanent workplaces are on gov.uk and are worth a read if most of your driving is to one site.
What about parking, tolls and congestion charges?
They are not in the mileage rate. Claim them separately as travel expenses, with the receipt. Fines are never claimable.
Does the rate cover charging an electric car?
Yes. The 45p/25p rate is the same for electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel because it covers the whole cost of running the car, not just the fuel. The lower advisory electric rate is only for company cars where the employer reimburses charging alone.
Do the rates change each year?
The 45p/25p car rates have been unchanged since 2011; motorcycle and bicycle rates likewise. Check HMRC's page if you are reading this long after it was written, and use the Custom option in the expenses tracker if they move.
Can I claim 45p for a van?
Yes — cars and vans share the same rate. Goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes do not qualify for MAPs.
I'm self-employed — is this the right calculator?
Yes, if you use simplified expenses (flat rate per mile). If you claim actual costs (fuel, insurance, repairs, capital allowances) instead, mileage rates don't apply, and you can't switch methods for the same vehicle once chosen.