HMRC mileage rates for 2026/27
The rate for cars and vans went up from 45p to 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, backdated to 6 April 2026. It’s the first rise since 2011.
| Cars and vans: first 10,000 business miles | 55p a mile (45p up to 2025/26) |
|---|---|
| Cars and vans: each mile after that | 25p a mile |
| Motorbikes | 24p a mile |
| Bicycles | 20p a mile |
| Each work colleague you carry on the same trip | 5p a mile, paid by your employer |
The rates are the same for petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars. The 10,000 miles is counted across each tax year, from 6 April.
If your employer pays less than 55p
You can claim Mileage Allowance Relief from HMRC on the difference. You don’t get the money itself back, you get tax relief on it: 20p in every pound if you pay basic-rate tax, 40p if you pay higher rate.
- Claim online through your HMRC account (form P87) if your work expenses are £2,500 or less and you don’t normally fill in a tax return.
- Over £2,500, you claim through a Self Assessment tax return instead.
- You can claim for the last 4 tax years, back to 2022/23. The rate was 45p for those years.
- You don’t need a company to do this for you. It’s free to claim yourself, and refund companies usually keep a share of what you get back.
What counts as business miles?
Journeys you make for your work, such as visiting clients, travelling between sites, or going to a temporary workplace. Your normal journey between home and your usual workplace is commuting, and doesn’t count.
If you’re self-employed or a landlord
You can deduct the same flat rates from your profits instead of working out your real running costs. It’s called simplified expenses. Once you choose it for a vehicle, you have to stick with it while you use that vehicle for the business, and you can’t use it for a vehicle you’ve claimed capital allowances on. Limited companies can’t use it.
Worked example
Jo is a community nurse who drives 5,000 business miles a year in her own car. Her employer pays her nothing for mileage, and she pays basic-rate tax.
| Tax-free amount for 2026/27: 5,000 × 55p | £2,750 |
|---|---|
| Tax relief at 20% | £550 |
| Four earlier years: 4 × 5,000 × 45p × 20% | £1,800 |
| Jo could claim back | £2,350 |
Self-employed? Let software track your miles
Most Making Tax Digital software records journeys with your phone’s GPS and adds them to your accounts automatically.
Find Making Tax Digital softwareQuestions
What records do I need?
A log of each business journey: the date, where you went, why, and the miles. A notebook, spreadsheet or mileage app is fine. HMRC can ask to see it.
My employer pays more than 55p. Is that a problem?
Anything above the approved amount is taxable. Your employer should report it to HMRC or put it through payroll.
Do I get National Insurance back too?
No. Mileage Allowance Relief only gives you income tax relief. Self-employed people do save Class 4 National Insurance, because the deduction lowers their profits.
I live in Scotland. Does this work for me?
Yes, the mileage rates are the same across the UK. Pick the closest income tax rate. Scottish rates are slightly different, so your relief will be close but not exact.