HMRC Mileage Rates for Cars and Vans
The approved rates that let you claim tax relief on every business mile you drive. Covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 tax years. Rates have not changed since 2011.
The rates at a glance
The mileage counter resets on 6 April every year. Your first 10,000 miles of the new tax year are back at 45p from day one.
A real gig worker on 18,800 miles a year
One of our users, working gig platforms like Uber and Deliveroo, covered 723.8 miles over two weeks. Annualised, that is roughly 18,800 business miles a year. Here is what HMRC lets them claim.
| First 10,000 miles at 45p | £4,500 |
| Remaining 8,800 miles at 25p | £2,200 |
| Total HMRC deduction | £6,700 |
At a 20% basic rate of income tax, that deduction reduces their tax bill by £1,340. At 40% (higher rate), it is worth £2,680.
This is money HMRC expects you to claim. You do not get it unless you write the mileage down somewhere they trust.
Who can use the 45p/25p rate
The rate is for business mileage in a vehicle you own or lease personally. Three common situations:
Sole traders and self-employed drivers
You claim the 45p/25p rate as an expense on your Self Assessment (SA103 self-employment pages). It comes off your taxable profit before tax and National Insurance are calculated. This includes Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat, Stuart, DPD owner-drivers, mobile hairdressers, trade plumbers, and anyone else working for themselves.
Employees whose employer reimburses below the rate
If your employer pays you, say, 25p a mile, you can claim the 20p gap (up to HMRC's 45p) as Mileage Allowance Relief via a P87 form or through your Self Assessment if you do one. This is the bit most employees miss. If you drive 5,000 miles a year and your employer pays 25p instead of 45p, you are leaving roughly £200-£400 of tax relief on the table.
Limited company directors using their own car
Your company pays you 45p/25p as a tax-free mileage expense and records it as a deductible business cost. No benefit-in-kind to worry about, and no P11D entry, as long as you stick to the HMRC rates. If your company provides the car, this page doesn't apply - you're into Advisory Fuel Rates territory, which is a different conversation.
What HMRC actually expects you to keep
A mileage log is not optional. HMRC can open an enquiry up to six years back, and if you cannot produce a contemporaneous record of your business miles, they will disallow the lot. Here is the minimum they want to see per trip:
- →Date of the journey
- →Start address or postcode
- →End address or postcode
- →Reason for the trip (client name, job reference, platform tag)
- →Distance in miles (odometer or GPS distance, not estimated)
"Contemporaneous" means written down at the time, or close to it. A spreadsheet built from memory at the end of the tax year is risky. An automatic GPS log on your phone is fine.
You cannot claim fuel receipts and the mileage rate
The 45p/25p rate already includes fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres, road tax, and wear and tear. If you claim the mileage rate, you cannot also claim any of those costs as separate expenses. It feels wrong to throw away a petrol receipt, but that is exactly what the rate is designed to replace.
Double-claiming fuel is the single most common error we see in user imports. If HMRC audits and spots it, they will disallow the whole claim, not just the fuel portion.
Common questions about the rates
What are the HMRC mileage rates for 2025-26 and 2026-27?
For cars and vans, HMRC allows 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25p per mile for every mile after that. These rates have applied since 2011 and carry through both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 tax years. The 10,000-mile counter resets on 6 April each year.
Do the rates cover fuel as well?
Yes. The HMRC rate is designed to cover fuel, insurance, servicing, road tax, tyres, and general wear and tear. If you claim the mileage rate, you cannot also claim any of those costs separately. This is the single most common mistake we see drivers make.
Do I need to keep fuel receipts if I claim the mileage rate?
No. HMRC does not expect fuel receipts when you are claiming the 45p/25p rate. What they do expect is a mileage log: date, start and end address, reason for the trip, and distance. If you drive for gig platforms, a platform tag (Uber, Deliveroo, etc.) counts as reason.
What happens when I cross the 10,000 mile threshold?
Only miles past 10,000 are paid at 25p. Miles up to and including the 10,000th are still at 45p. So if you drive 12,000 business miles, you get 10,000 × 45p + 2,000 × 25p = £5,000, not 12,000 × 25p.
Can I claim actual costs instead of the mileage rate?
Yes, but it is usually more work. You would need to keep records of every fuel purchase, service, insurance payment, MOT, and repair, then claim the business-use percentage of each. For most drivers the 45p/25p rate is both simpler and more generous. Once you pick a method for a vehicle, you have to stick with it for as long as you own it.
What about tax years before 2025-26?
The rates have been 45p/25p for cars and vans since April 2011. So the same figures apply if you are doing a late Self Assessment for an earlier year. Always check HMRC's own guidance for the exact tax year you are filing.
Next, work out which miles actually count
The rate only applies to business miles. The home-to-first-job trip, the school run that bleeds into a job site, the drive to a training course - each has its own rule.