HMRC Mileage Claim Details
📊 Allowance Breakdown
When you use your personal car, van, motorcycle, or bicycle for business travel in the UK, HMRC allows you to receive tax-free reimbursement from your employer or claim tax relief on your mileage expenses.
These statutory allowances are called Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs).
⚙️ HMRC Statutory Mileage Rates (AMAPs) for 2026/27
1. Statutory Mileage Rates by Vehicle Type
- Cars and Vans (First 10,000 business miles): 45p per mile.
- Cars and Vans (Excess over 10,000 miles): 25p per mile.
- Motorcycles (All business miles): 24p per mile (flat rate).
- Bicycles (All business miles): 20p per mile (flat rate).
- Passenger Supplement: +5p per mile per fellow employee carried on a business journey.
2. Claiming Tax Relief (Form P87 vs Self Assessment)
If your employer pays you less than HMRC’s statutory rate (e.g. paying 30p/mile instead of 45p/mile), you can claim tax relief on the difference:
- Expenses under £2,500/year: Claim tax relief online via HMRC Form P87.
- Expenses over £2,500/year: Claim tax relief via your Self Assessment tax return.
📊 Practical HMRC Mileage Claim Worked Examples
Below are two worked calculation examples illustrating statutory mileage allowances and tax relief claims:
- First 10,000 miles @ 45p: 10,000 × £0.45 = **£4,500.00**
- Remaining 2,000 miles @ 25p: 2,000 × £0.25 = **£500.00**
- Total statutory AMAP allowance: **£5,000.00**
Calculation: Tax relief value for 20% basic rate taxpayer = 20% × £5,000.00 = **£1,000.00 refund**.
- Statutory HMRC allowance: 8,000 × 45p = **£3,600.00**
- Employer reimbursement received: 8,000 × 25p = **£2,000.00**
- Unreimbursed mileage expense shortfall: **£1,600.00**
Calculation: Tax relief for 40% higher rate taxpayer = 40% × £1,600.00 = **£640.00 refund**.
📑 Common Pitfalls & Mileage Log Warnings
- Counting Normal Commuting as Business Mileage: Ordinary commuting (travel between your home and permanent workplace) does NOT qualify as business travel. Claims are strictly restricted to temporary workplaces or client visits.
- Failing to Keep Detailed Mileage Logs: HMRC requires detailed contemporaneous records of every business trip, including travel date, start/end postcodes, purpose of visit, and exact miles driven.
- Forgetting Passenger Allowances: If you transport a colleague on a business trip, you can claim an additional 5p per mile per passenger tax-free.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
You can backdate unclaimed mileage tax relief claims up to **4 tax years**. For example, in 2026/27, you can claim back for tax years 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26.
If your employer pays you more than HMRC's statutory rate (e.g. paying 55p/mile), the excess 10p/mile is treated as taxable income and subject to PAYE Income Tax and National Insurance.
Yes. The statutory 45p/25p per mile AMAP rate is an all-inclusive rate designed to cover fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, repairs, and general vehicle depreciation.
No. The 45p AMAP rate is strictly for employees using their privately owned vehicles. Company car drivers must use HMRC's **Advisory Fuel Rates (AFR)**, which range between 11p and 24p per mile depending on engine size and fuel type.