HMRC Mileage Allowance & Claim Rules 2025/26

If you use your own car for business journeys in the UK, HMRC lets you claim 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, and 25p per mile after that. These rates — known as Approved Mileage Allowance Payments, or AMAPs — apply to employees and self-employed sole traders alike, and have been frozen since the 2011/12 tax year. This guide explains the current rates, who can claim, the process for claiming through your employer, a P87 form or Self Assessment, and the mileage records HMRC expects you to keep.

HMRC Mileage Allowance Rates for 2025/26

HMRC sets a flat per-mile rate that is intended to cover all the running costs of using a personal vehicle for work — fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, depreciation and wear. As long as your employer pays at or below the AMAP rate, the payment is tax-free and does not need to be reported to HMRC.

Vehicle	First 10,000 miles	Each mile thereafter
Cars and vans	45p per mile	25p per mile
Motorcycles	24p per mile	24p per mile
Bicycles	20p per mile	20p per mile
Passenger supplement	5p per passenger, per mile	5p per passenger, per mile

 

The same 45p / 25p split applies to electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel cars — HMRC does not publish a separate AMAP rate for EVs. Note that the 10,000-mile threshold resets at the start of each tax year (6 April) and is not split between employers if you have more than one job; total business miles across all roles in the same tax year are added together when calculating the threshold.

Who Can Claim HMRC Mileage Allowance

Employees using their own vehicle

If you are paid through PAYE and use your personal car, van, motorcycle or bicycle for business journeys — for example, travelling to a client site or between offices — you can either be reimbursed by your employer at the AMAP rate, or claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference if your employer pays less.

Self-employed sole traders

Self-employed individuals can claim mileage as a business expense on their Self Assessment tax return. You can either use the simplified flat-rate AMAP figures (45p / 25p / 24p / 20p) or, alternatively, calculate actual vehicle costs apportioned to business use. Once you choose a method for a given vehicle, you must stick with it for the lifetime of that vehicle.

Who cannot claim AMAP rates

If you drive a company car rather than your own vehicle, AMAP rates do not apply. HMRC publishes separate Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) for company-car drivers, which vary by engine size and fuel type and are typically much lower per mile. Ordinary commuting from home to your usual place of work is also excluded — only travel to temporary workplaces, between work sites, or to client meetings counts as business mileage.

How to Claim HMRC Mileage Allowance

There are three routes, depending on your circumstances:

1. Reimbursement from your employer

If your employer pays you at the full AMAP rate (45p per mile up to 10,000 miles, 25p thereafter), the payment is tax-free and you do not need to make any claim to HMRC. The employer simply pays the mileage as part of payroll or expenses, with no P11D or other reporting required as long as the rates are not exceeded.

2. Mileage Allowance Relief — P87 form

If your employer pays less than the AMAP rate (or pays no mileage at all), you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. For employees who do not file a Self Assessment return and whose total expenses claim is under £2,500 in the tax year, the standard route is to submit form P87, either online via your HMRC Personal Tax Account or by post. You will need your National Insurance number and your employer’s PAYE reference. The relief is given by adjusting your tax code or as a refund.

3. Mileage Allowance Relief — Self Assessment

If you already file a Self Assessment return, claim the relief there instead of using a P87. For employees, mileage allowance relief goes in the Employment pages under “Expenses you incurred in doing your job — Business travel and subsistence expenses.” For self-employed sole traders, business mileage is entered as part of motor expenses on the Self-employment pages of the return. Claims must be made within four years of the end of the tax year in which the travel took place.

HMRC Mileage Log Requirements

HMRC expects you to be able to substantiate every claim with a contemporaneous mileage log. There is no prescribed format, but the log must show enough detail for the journey to be verified. For each business journey, record:

• The date of travel
• The starting point and destination (full addresses, not just town names)
• The business purpose of the trip — for example, “client meeting with [name]” or “site visit to [project]”
• The total business miles travelled
• The vehicle used, if you use more than one

A spreadsheet, paper logbook or a dedicated mileage-tracking app are all acceptable, provided the records are accurate and complete. Many employers and accountants now prefer app-based logs because GPS-based tracking removes the risk of disputed mileage figures.

How long to keep mileage records

Employees should keep records for at least four years from the end of the tax year — for example, records for the 2024/25 tax year should be kept until at least 5 April 2029. Self-employed sole traders must keep their records for at least five years from the 31 January Self Assessment submission deadline — so records relating to the 2024/25 tax year (filed by 31 January 2026) must be kept until at least 31 January 2031.

Special Cases

Passenger supplement

If you carry a fellow employee as a passenger on a business journey in your own vehicle, an additional 5p per passenger, per mile can be paid tax-free on top of the standard AMAP rate. The passenger must be travelling for business purposes themselves — not a client, family member or someone you are giving a lift to. This is a frequently missed allowance.

Electric and hybrid vehicles

Personally-owned electric vehicles attract the same 45p / 25p rate as petrol and diesel cars under AMAP. Because the actual running cost of an EV is typically much lower (electricity equivalent is often 4–8p per mile), the AMAP rate is particularly tax-efficient for high-mileage business drivers using personal EVs. Note this differs from company-car EVs, which use a separate, lower advisory electricity rate.

Multiple employers and the 10,000-mile threshold

If you have more than one employer in the same tax year, business miles are aggregated across all of them when applying the 10,000-mile threshold — they are not counted separately for each role. The exception is where the employments are genuinely unconnected; HMRC treats closely associated employers as a single source.

AMAP Rates Under Review

The AMAP rates have not been changed since 2011/12, despite significant increases in fuel, insurance and vehicle costs over the same period. On 25 March 2026, HM Treasury announced a review of the AMAP rates ahead of a future Budget, responding to long-standing pressure from professional bodies including the Association of Taxation Technicians and trade unions. No timetable has been set for any rate change, but employers and finance teams should be alert to the possibility of a revision in the next fiscal event. We will update this guide when there is news.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Claiming for ordinary commuting — travel from home to your normal workplace is not business mileage and is not claimable.
• Mixing personal and business journeys in the same log — keep them clearly separated, ideally in two different records.
• Using AMAP rates for a company car — AMAP applies only to personally-owned vehicles. Company-car drivers use Advisory Fuel Rates.
• Applying 45p to miles beyond the 10,000-mile threshold — once you cross 10,000 business miles in a single tax year, the rate drops to 25p.
• Forgetting the passenger supplement — 5p per business passenger per mile is regularly overlooked.
• Missing the four-year claim window — Mileage Allowance Relief claims must be submitted within four years of the end of the tax year in which the travel took place.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is HMRC mileage allowance for 2025/26?

45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in your own car or van, then 25p per mile thereafter. Motorcycles are 24p per mile and bicycles 20p per mile, both at flat rates with no threshold. An additional 5p per mile can be claimed for each fellow employee carried as a business passenger.

How do I claim mileage from HMRC?

If your employer pays at the full AMAP rate, no claim is needed. If they pay less, you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference: use form P87 if you do not file Self Assessment and your total expenses are under £2,500, or include the claim in your Self Assessment return if you already file one. Self-employed sole traders claim mileage directly on the Self-employment pages of their Self Assessment return.

Can I claim mileage if I am self-employed?

Yes. Self-employed sole traders can use the same 45p / 25p flat-rate scheme via simplified expenses, or alternatively calculate actual vehicle running costs apportioned to business use. Whichever method you choose, you must continue with it for the life of that vehicle and keep accurate mileage records to support the claim.

How long do I need to keep mileage records?

At least four years from the end of the tax year for employees, and at least five years from the 31 January Self Assessment submission deadline for self-employed sole traders. If HMRC opens an enquiry into a return, retention requirements can extend further.

Where do I enter mileage allowance relief on my Self Assessment return?

Employees enter the relief on the Employment pages, under “Expenses you incurred in doing your job — Business travel and subsistence expenses.” Self-employed sole traders enter business mileage as part of motor expenses on the Self-employment pages, choosing either the flat-rate AMAP figures or actual costs.

Can I claim HMRC mileage for an electric car?

Yes — provided the EV is your own personal vehicle, the standard 45p / 25p AMAP rates apply in exactly the same way as for petrol or diesel cars. There is no reduced rate for EVs under AMAP. Different rates apply only to company-car EVs, which use HMRC’s advisory electricity rate.

What counts as business mileage?

Travel to a temporary workplace, journeys between different work sites, visits to clients or suppliers, and travel from home to a temporary workplace where you are not based. Ordinary commuting between home and your regular workplace does not count, even if you sometimes work irregular hours.

 

About the Author

Adrian Lawrence FCA is the founder of FD Capital and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London, and has over 25 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant and finance leader working with private, PE-backed and owner-managed businesses across the UK.

Adrian and his network of fractional Finance Directors regularly advise business owners and finance teams on HMRC-compliant expense policies, including mileage, subsistence and home-working allowances. Mileage claims are among the most commonly mishandled expense categories in UK SMEs — often resulting in either underpaid employees or non-compliant claims that expose the business to HMRC risk. If your business would benefit from a review of its expense and compliance framework, FD Capital can introduce an experienced fractional Finance Director to provide hands-on guidance.