Question 1

Do I need to track mileage if I'm self-employed in the UK?

Accepted Answer

If you drive any miles for your self-employed work, yes. Mileage is the single largest deduction available to most UK sole traders - HMRC's AMAP relief lets you claim 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25p per mile after that. To claim, HMRC requires a contemporaneous record of each business journey - made at or near the time of the trip - showing date, start, end, business purpose, and miles. MileClear builds that record automatically using background GPS.

Question 2

How does a self-employed mileage tracker work for Self Assessment?

Accepted Answer

It tracks every drive automatically using GPS, lets you classify each trip as business or personal, applies the HMRC 45p/25p rates in real time, and produces a Self Assessment-ready summary at tax-year end. The total goes onto your SA103 self-employed page; the per-trip detail backs it up if HMRC ever query. MileClear's Pro tier produces a printable PDF with HMRC attestation cover sheet you can attach to your return or hand to your accountant.

Question 3

What about MTD ITSA - making tax digital for self-employed?

Accepted Answer

From April 2026, UK sole traders with self-employed income above £50,000 must submit quarterly digital updates to HMRC instead of (and on top of) the annual Self Assessment - this is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA). The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027. MileClear's MTD ITSA module connects to HMRC directly using our developer-hub credentials, pulls your obligations, and lets you submit your quarterly mileage and earnings totals from inside the app. Built in, no extra software needed.

Question 4

Can I claim home-to-work miles as a sole trader?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. HMRC treats home-to-regular-workplace as ordinary commuting, which is not claimable. There are exceptions: if you have no fixed workplace (a delivery driver visiting different sites every day, for example) or your home genuinely is your business base, the calculus changes. MileClear lets you classify each trip individually, so you can correctly mark commute segments as personal and business journeys as business. Our 'What Counts as Business Mileage' guide walks through the edge cases.

Question 5

Is the simplified expenses method or actual cost method better for me?

Accepted Answer

For most self-employed UK drivers, the simplified expenses method (AMAP at 45p/25p) is both easier and produces a similar or larger deduction than the actual cost method (where you claim a percentage of vehicle running costs including fuel, insurance, MOT, depreciation). AMAP wraps all of that into one rate. The actual cost method can win out for higher-running-cost vehicles or low-mileage business use - but it requires keeping every receipt and a proportional usage log. MileClear is built around AMAP because it's the right answer 90% of the time.

Question 6

How much does the average self-employed driver save?

Accepted Answer

A self-employed driver doing 15,000 business miles per year claims £5,750 in AMAP relief (10,000 at 45p + 5,000 at 25p). At 20% basic rate that is £1,150 off your tax bill; at 40% higher rate it is £2,300. Full-time delivery drivers and tradespeople often clear 25,000+ business miles, which is £8,250 in relief - £1,650 at basic rate or £3,300 at higher rate. Most under-claim because their records don't survive HMRC's contemporaneous-record test.

The Self-Employed Mileage Tracker Built for UK Sole Traders

The AMAP Deduction: Worth Claiming, Easy to Lose

Built for Every Kind of Self-Employed Driver

Gig delivery drivers

Private hire & taxi

Tradespeople

Consultants & contractors

Driving instructors

Sales & field reps

MTD ITSA - Ready for the April 2026 Deadline

Self-Employed Mileage FAQ

Do I need to track mileage if I'm self-employed in the UK?

How does this work for Self Assessment?

What about MTD ITSA?

Can I claim home-to-work miles?

AMAP or actual cost - which should I use?

How much can I save?

More Self-Employed Mileage Resources

Claim Every Mile You're Owed