Your own car, used for work. HMRC decides what a mile is worth, and the rate drops once you pass ten thousand of them in a year. Put the journeys in and this keeps the running total.
Log
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Who
If you drive your own vehicle for work, you can claim a set amount per mile to cover the fuel, the wear and the insurance. It applies whether you are employed, self-employed or a director, and it is the same rate either way.
If your employer pays you nothing for business mileage, you can claim tax relief on the full HMRC rate. If they pay you less than the rate, you can claim relief on the shortfall. If they pay you more, the excess is taxable.
Put the mileage through as a business expense against your profits on your Self Assessment. Keep the records for five years after the filing deadline.
A journey to a client, between two sites of the same business, or to a temporary workplace you have used for under 24 months all count. The daily run between home and your permanent workplace does not, however far it is, and neither does a journey that was mostly personal with a work errand attached.
Rates
| Vehicle | First 10,000 miles | Over 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Cars and vans | 55p | 25p |
| Motorcycles | 24p | 24p |
| Bicycles | 20p | 20p |
The ten thousand is counted across the whole tax year, not per journey and not per employer. Once you pass it, every further mile in a car or van is worth 25p instead of 55p.
Carrying a colleague on the same business journey is worth another 5p a mile for each of them. It only counts if they are travelling on business too, and only your employer can pay it: you cannot claim tax relief on passenger payments you never received.
You cannot claim the mileage rate and your actual running costs. Pick one and stay with it for that vehicle. For most people the mileage rate is both simpler and worth more.
Records
HMRC can ask to see the log, so keep one as you go rather than reconstructing a year of driving from your diary in January. For each journey you need the date, where you went from and to, why, and the miles.
Employees claim through Self Assessment, or on form P87 if you do not file a return. The self-employed put it in the expenses on their return. Either way the figure you enter is the total for the year, which is the number this page adds up.