If your home is your principal place of work (as agreed with your employer or as the nature of your self-employment dictates), then journeys from home to other business locations such as client sites, meetings, or temporary workplaces count as business mileage and can be claimed at the HMRC approved rates.
However, if you simply choose to work from home but your employer has a permanent office that is your normal workplace, then journeys from home to that office are considered ordinary commuting and cannot be claimed. The key factor is where your permanent workplace is officially designated, not where you prefer to work.
If you have a hybrid arrangement where you split time between home and the office, travel to the office on your office days is still commuting. Travel from home to client sites or temporary workplaces remains business mileage.
If you have more than one permanent workplace, journeys between your home and any of those permanent workplaces are ordinary commuting and cannot be claimed. However, journeys between your permanent workplaces are business mileage, as are journeys to temporary workplaces.
A location is generally considered a temporary workplace if you attend it for a limited period or for a specific purpose, and you do not expect to work there for more than 24 months. If you attend a site for more than 24 months (or expect to from the start), it becomes a permanent workplace and the commuting rules apply from day one.
HMRC approved mileage rates for motorcycles are 24p per mile for all business miles (there is no reduced rate after 10,000 miles). For bicycles, the approved rate is 20p per mile, again with no threshold. These rates apply in the same way as car rates: if your employer pays less than the approved rate, you can claim tax relief on the difference.
The bicycle rate covers wear and tear, maintenance, and other costs associated with using your bicycle for business journeys. It is available for any bicycle, including electric bikes (e-bikes) that meet the legal definition of a bicycle.
Yes, your employer can pay you any rate they choose. However, if they pay more than the HMRC approved rate, the excess is treated as earnings and is subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions. For example, if your employer pays you 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, the extra 10p per mile above the 45p approved rate would be taxable.
No, you do not need to keep fuel receipts when claiming mileage at the HMRC approved rates. The approved mileage allowance is designed as a simplified flat-rate method that covers all vehicle running costs, not just fuel. You do not need to prove how much you actually spent on fuel, insurance, or maintenance.
What you do need to keep is a mileage log showing the date, destination, purpose, and distance of each business journey. This is the evidence HMRC requires to support your claim. Keep your log for at least five years after the Self Assessment deadline for the relevant tax year.
Yes, you can claim mileage tax relief for previous tax years. Employees can generally go back up to four years to make a claim. For example, in the 2025/26 tax year (which runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026), you could still claim for the 2021/22 tax year and later.
To claim for a previous year, you will need to have kept accurate mileage records for that period. You can submit a claim for a previous year using form P87 (for claims of £2,500 or less) or by amending a previous Self Assessment return. For self-employed individuals, you would amend your tax return for the relevant year.
If your employer pays you less than the approved mileage rate, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall. This is known as Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR). You claim it through form P87 (if your total employment expenses are £2,500 or less) or through your Self Assessment tax return.
For example, if your employer pays 20p per mile and you drive 8,000 business miles, the shortfall is 25p per mile (45p minus 20p). Your claim would be 8,000 x 25p = £2,000. HMRC would then give you tax relief on that £2,000, saving you £400 if you are a basic rate taxpayer or £800 if you are a higher rate taxpayer.
No, you cannot claim the standard HMRC approved mileage rates for a company car or pool car. These rates are only for journeys in your own vehicle. If you drive a company car and pay for your own fuel on business journeys, your employer can reimburse you using HMRC's advisory fuel rates, which vary by engine size and fuel type. These rates are significantly lower than the 45p/25p rates because they only cover fuel, not the full cost of running the vehicle.
Pool cars are vehicles provided by your employer for business use. Since you are not bearing any of the running costs, there is no mileage allowance to claim.
A temporary workplace is a location you attend for a limited duration or for a specific task. The general rule is that a workplace is temporary if you attend it (or expect to attend it) for less than 24 months. Journeys to temporary workplaces count as business mileage.
However, there are additional conditions. If you spend (or expect to spend) more than 40% of your working time at a particular location, it may be considered a permanent workplace even if your attendance is for less than 24 months. The "24-month rule" and the "40% test" work together to determine whether a workplace is temporary.
If you are VAT-registered and use the simplified mileage expenses method, you can reclaim the VAT element of the fuel cost within your mileage claim. HMRC provides advisory fuel rates that can be used to calculate the fuel element, and the VAT is then calculated on that fuel element at the standard rate (currently 20%).
To reclaim VAT on fuel, you must keep VAT fuel receipts that cover at least the amount of fuel used for business journeys in the VAT period. You do not need a receipt for every single journey, but you must have receipts that in total cover the fuel used for business miles.
If you make a personal detour during a business journey (for example, stopping at the shops on the way to a client meeting), you should deduct the additional miles from your claim. You can only claim for the business portion of the journey. If the detour adds extra miles, you should calculate what the direct business journey would have been and claim only for those miles.
In practice, minor detours (such as stopping for fuel) are generally not an issue. But if you make a significant personal detour that adds substantial mileage, you should adjust your claim accordingly.
Parking costs and congestion charges incurred during a business journey are separate from your mileage claim and can be claimed as additional business expenses. These are not covered by the HMRC approved mileage rate, so you can claim them on top of your mileage allowance.
For employees, parking costs and congestion charges for business travel can be reimbursed by your employer tax-free, or you can claim tax relief if your employer does not reimburse you. For self-employed individuals, these costs are allowable business expenses that can be deducted from your taxable profits. Keep receipts for all parking and congestion charge payments as evidence.
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