How Mileage Claims Work in the UK
If you use your own personal vehicle for business journeys (excluding your standard commute to a permanent workplace), you are legally entitled to receive tax-free reimbursement for the miles driven. This is formally known by HMRC as Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP).
Current HMRC AMAP Rates (2024/25)
The government sets standard rates that employers can pay employees completely tax-free. If your employer pays exactly this rate, you don't need to report it to HMRC.
- Cars and Vans: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year.
- Cars and Vans (over 10,000 miles): drops to 25p per mile thereafter.
- Motorcycles: a flat 24p per mile regardless of distance.
- Bicycles: a flat 20p per mile.
What if my employer pays less than 45p?
Many employers choose to pay less than the HMRC recommended rate (e.g., they might only reimburse you 15p per mile). If this happens, you can claim tax relief on the difference.
For example, if you drive 1,000 miles and your employer pays 15p, you receive £150. However, the HMRC 45p limit allows for £450. You can claim tax relief on the remaining £300 difference. If you are a basic rate (20%) taxpayer, you would receive £60 back from HMRC as a tax refund.
Can I claim for regular commuting?
No. Ordinary commuting between your home and your permanent workplace is almost never classified as a business journey under UK tax law. You can only claim for travel to temporary workplaces (like a client's site), moving between two different workplaces, or travelling to a business meeting/conference.
Record Keeping
To successfully make a mileage claim (whether from your employer or directly from HMRC via a Self-Assessment tax return / P87 form), you must maintain accurate, contemporaneous records. This means logging the date of travel, the start and end postcodes of the journey, the purpose of the business trip, and the total miles driven.