[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":14697},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-company-car-tax-versus-mileage":3,"blog-related-company-car-tax-versus-mileage":288},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":259,"date":260,"description":261,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":264,"imageAlt":265,"imageCredit":266,"imageCreditUrl":267,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":270,"navigation":271,"path":272,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":276,"seo":280,"seoTitle":281,"stem":282,"tags":283,"updated":275,"__hash__":287},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-tax-versus-mileage.md","Why a company car is taxed and a mileage claim is not","Liam @ The Milometry Team",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":249},"minimark",[10,14,19,27,30,33,37,44,47,51,54,60,70,73,153,157,160,166,172,178,182,185,188,192,240,243],[11,12,13],"p",{},"The tax system draws one line here and everything else follows from it: are you receiving something, or being repaid for something?",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"the-benefit-side","The benefit side",[11,20,21,22,26],{},"A company car available for private use is a ",[23,24,25],"strong",{},"benefit in kind",". You are getting the use of an asset you did not buy, so you are taxed on the value of that use.",[11,28,29],{},"The value is not what the car costs your employer. It is a percentage of the car's list price, with the percentage set by carbon dioxide emissions, so a low emission car attracts a much smaller taxable figure than an identical petrol one. That is deliberate policy, and it is why electric company cars became so popular so quickly.",[11,31,32],{},"Fuel provided for private use is a second, separate benefit with its own charge. That charge is a fixed figure rather than a measure of how much private fuel you actually use, so for someone who does little private driving it can cost more in tax than the fuel is worth. That is why some employees choose to pay for their own private fuel instead. Whether that holds for you depends on the car and your mileage.",[15,34,36],{"id":35},"the-reimbursement-side","The reimbursement side",[11,38,39,40,43],{},"A mileage payment for using ",[23,41,42],{},"your own"," car on business is not a benefit. Nothing is being given to you. You spent money getting somewhere for your employer and they are giving it back.",[11,45,46],{},"That is why it is untaxed up to the approved rate, and why the rate is built to approximate the whole running cost rather than just fuel: it is standing in for a cost you genuinely bore.",[15,48,50],{"id":49},"what-this-means-for-the-two-situations","What this means for the two situations",[11,52,53],{},"The line explains a rule that often catches people out.",[11,55,56,59],{},[23,57,58],{},"Your own car, business miles:"," approved mileage rates. For journeys from 6 April 2026, 55p for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p (it was 45p before). Payments at or below that are untaxed.",[11,61,62,65,66,69],{},[23,63,64],{},"Company car, business miles:"," the approved rates do ",[23,67,68],{},"not"," apply. You already have the car, so the running costs are not yours. What can be reimbursed tax free is fuel, at the advisory fuel rates, which are published quarterly and are much lower per mile.",[11,71,72],{},"Paying or claiming 55p a mile for a company car is a common and costly mistake. It is not a marginal overpayment: it is several times the advisory fuel figure, repeated on every journey, and the excess is taxable. It can run for years before anyone notices.",[74,75,76,91],"table",{},[77,78,79],"thead",{},[80,81,82,85,88],"tr",{},[83,84],"th",{},[83,86,87],{},"Your own car",[83,89,90],{},"Company car",[92,93,94,109,120,131,142],"tbody",{},[80,95,96,100,103],{},[97,98,99],"td",{},"Taxed on having it",[97,101,102],{},"No",[97,104,105,108],{},[23,106,107],{},"Yes",", benefit in kind",[80,110,111,114,117],{},[97,112,113],{},"Benefit based on",[97,115,116],{},"n\u002Fa",[97,118,119],{},"List price and emissions",[80,121,122,125,128],{},[97,123,124],{},"Business miles reimbursed at",[97,126,127],{},"Approved mileage rates",[97,129,130],{},"Advisory fuel rates",[80,132,133,136,139],{},[97,134,135],{},"Roughly",[97,137,138],{},"55p, then 25p",[97,140,141],{},"Pence per mile, revised quarterly",[80,143,144,147,150],{},[97,145,146],{},"Private fuel",[97,148,149],{},"Your own cost",[97,151,152],{},"Separate taxable benefit if provided",[15,154,156],{"id":155},"the-comparison-people-actually-want","The comparison people actually want",[11,158,159],{},"Whether a company car beats taking the cash and running your own is a genuine calculation, not a rule, and it turns on three things.",[11,161,162,165],{},[23,163,164],{},"Emissions."," A low emission car has a small benefit charge, which tends to favour the company car.",[11,167,168,171],{},[23,169,170],{},"Your business mileage."," High business mileage in your own car generates a large tax free mileage claim, which tends to favour your own car.",[11,173,174,177],{},[23,175,176],{},"What the car is actually worth to you."," A company car you would never have bought is worth less than its list price suggests, and the benefit charge does not care.",[15,179,181],{"id":180},"the-record-still-matters-on-both-sides","The record still matters, on both sides",[11,183,184],{},"It is tempting to think a company car removes the need to log anything. It does the opposite in one respect: the advisory fuel rate reimbursement is per business mile, so the business miles still have to be counted, and they are being counted at a lower rate where accuracy matters proportionally more.",[11,186,187],{},"And if you ever move from a company car back to your own, the rate changes on the day you change vehicles. A log that knows which car a journey was in is the only thing that gets that boundary right.",[15,189,191],{"id":190},"sources","Sources",[193,194,195,205,212,219,226,233],"ul",{},[196,197,198],"li",{},[199,200,204],"a",{"href":201,"rel":202},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Ftax-company-benefits\u002Ftax-on-company-cars",[203],"nofollow","Tax on company cars (HMRC)",[196,206,207],{},[199,208,211],{"href":209,"rel":210},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fcalculate-tax-on-company-cars",[203],"Calculate tax on company cars (HMRC)",[196,213,214],{},[199,215,218],{"href":216,"rel":217},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fadvisory-fuel-rates",[203],"Advisory fuel rates (HMRC)",[196,220,221],{},[199,222,225],{"href":223,"rel":224},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-business-travel-mileage",[203],"Business travel mileage for employees' own vehicles (HMRC)",[196,227,228],{},[199,229,232],{"href":230,"rel":231},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002Fincrease-to-approved-mileage-allowance-payments-amaps-and-self-employed-simplified-mileage-rates\u002Fincreasing-mileage-rates",[203],"Increasing mileage rates (HMRC policy paper)",[196,234,235],{},[199,236,239],{"href":237,"rel":238},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002Frates-and-allowances-travel-mileage-and-fuel-allowances\u002Ftravel-mileage-and-fuel-rates-and-allowances",[203],"Travel, mileage and fuel rates and allowances (HMRC)",[241,242],"hr",{},[11,244,245],{},[246,247,248],"em",{},"General information, not tax advice. Benefit charges depend on your car and your circumstances: check with HMRC or your accountant.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":252},"",2,[253,254,255,256,257,258],{"id":17,"depth":251,"text":18},{"id":35,"depth":251,"text":36},{"id":49,"depth":251,"text":50},{"id":155,"depth":251,"text":156},{"id":180,"depth":251,"text":181},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"HMRC & tax","2023-03-30","One is a benefit you receive, the other is a cost you are being repaid. Once that distinction is clear, many company car questions become simpler.",false,"md","\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-tax-versus-mileage.jpg","A multi storey car park with rows of parked cars","Photo by mailer_diablo, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=638594","CC BY-SA 3.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby-sa\u002F3.0\u002F",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-tax-versus-mileage","2026-27",3,"2026-09-27",[277,278,279],"uk-amap","uk-afr","uk-bik",{"title":5,"description":261},null,"blog\u002Fcompany-car-tax-versus-mileage",[284,285,286],"hmrc","benefits","company car","7fouydrzwVpSc8SPcu_n27ZsbI72USRFZqFVAkIHg0M",[289,582,914,1166,1755,2259,2703,3049,3269,3609,3863,4339,4621,4900,5209,5433,5654,5869,6059,6367,6606,6859,7095,7342,7626,7932,8154,8543,8758,8948,9296,9495,9721,10083,10398,10691,10937,11157,11396,11601,11870,12039,12257,12481,12767,13002,13208,13441,13658,13866,14074,14260,14467],{"id":290,"title":291,"author":6,"body":292,"category":259,"date":563,"description":564,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":565,"imageAlt":566,"imageCredit":567,"imageCreditUrl":568,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":571,"navigation":271,"path":572,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":573,"reviewed":281,"reviewedAgainst":574,"seo":575,"seoTitle":281,"stem":576,"tags":577,"updated":275,"__hash__":581},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-to-the-airport-for-work.md","Driving to the airport for a work trip: what you can claim",{"type":8,"value":293,"toc":553},[294,297,301,308,311,326,374,378,381,384,388,391,394,397,401,404,408,411,414,418,421,424,428,431,493,496,498,533,546,548],[11,295,296],{},"A work trip that involves a flight usually starts and ends with a drive. It is one of the most commonly forgotten claims, partly because the flight feels like the business part and the drive feels like getting to it. HMRC does not see it that way. If the trip is for work, the drive to the airport is part of the business journey, and so is the parking while you are away.",[15,298,300],{"id":299},"the-drive-is-part-of-the-journey","The drive is part of the journey",[11,302,303,304,307],{},"For employees, travel to a ",[23,305,306],{},"temporary workplace"," is business travel, and the whole journey counts, not just the final leg. A client meeting in Dublin, a conference in Amsterdam or a site visit in Aberdeen are all temporary workplaces for most people. The drive from home to the airport is the first leg of getting there, and the drive home from the airport is the last leg of getting back.",[11,309,310],{},"That means both directions go in the log. The return trip is the one people forget, because it happens at the end of a long day when nobody is thinking about expenses.",[11,312,313,314,317,318,321,322,325],{},"At the current approved rate, the approved amount for a car or van is ",[23,315,316],{},"55p a mile"," for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then ",[23,319,320],{},"25p",". A 60-mile drive to the airport and back is 120 miles, which is ",[23,323,324],{},"£66"," at 55p. Do that for a handful of trips a year and it adds up to more than most people expect.",[74,327,328,341],{},[77,329,330],{},[80,331,332,335,338],{},[83,333,334],{},"Vehicle",[83,336,337],{},"First 10,000 business miles",[83,339,340],{},"Above 10,000",[92,342,343,354,364],{},[80,344,345,348,351],{},[97,346,347],{},"Cars and vans",[97,349,350],{},"55p per mile",[97,352,353],{},"25p per mile",[80,355,356,359,362],{},[97,357,358],{},"Motorcycles",[97,360,361],{},"24p per mile",[97,363,361],{},[80,365,366,369,372],{},[97,367,368],{},"Bicycles",[97,370,371],{},"20p per mile",[97,373,371],{},[15,375,377],{"id":376},"home-or-office-which-start-point-counts","Home or office: which start point counts",[11,379,380],{},"If you drive straight from home to the airport, the claim runs from home. If you go into the office first and then leave for the airport, the leg from home to the office is still ordinary commuting and only the office to airport leg is business travel.",[11,382,383],{},"There is one trap. If the journey to the airport is substantially the same as your normal commute, for example the airport sits just beyond your usual office on the same road, HMRC can treat it as ordinary commuting. For most people the airport is in a different direction or a lot further away, so this rarely bites, but it is worth knowing the rule exists.",[15,385,387],{"id":386},"parking-while-you-are-away","Parking while you are away",[11,389,390],{},"Airport parking for a business trip is a cost of the business journey. An employer can reimburse it tax free, and if you are self-employed you can claim it on top of the flat mileage rate, because the simplified rate covers the cost of running the car, not the cost of leaving it somewhere.",[11,392,393],{},"Keep the booking confirmation. Airport parking is often booked weeks in advance, paid on a personal card and then forgotten, and the confirmation email is the receipt.",[11,395,396],{},"The same applies to tolls on the way. A Dart Charge on the drive to Gatwick or Stansted for a business trip is a business cost. A parking fine picked up at the terminal drop-off zone is not: penalties are never an allowable expense, however work related the journey was.",[15,398,400],{"id":399},"being-dropped-off","Being dropped off",[11,402,403],{},"If someone drops you at the airport, the arithmetic changes. Your employer's mileage rate is for journeys you make in your own vehicle, and a drop-off doubles the driving, because the car has to come back empty and then come out again to collect you. Some employers will pay for it, many will prefer you take a taxi or park, and a few have a specific policy for it. Check before you assume, and if you do claim, record who drove and why.",[15,405,407],{"id":406},"the-hire-car-at-the-other-end","The hire car at the other end",[11,409,410],{},"Once you land, what you claim depends on who pays for the hire car. If your employer hires it, or reimburses the hire charge and the fuel as actual costs, then those actual costs are what is claimed, not a rate per mile. Keep the hire agreement and the fuel receipts, and do not also log those miles at the mileage rate, because the two claims would overlap.",[11,412,413],{},"If you hire a car yourself and are paid mileage for it instead, the approved rates can apply: they cover any car or van that is not a company vehicle, not only one you own. The miles you drive on either side of the flight count towards your 10,000-mile threshold, and so do hire-car miles paid at the mileage rate. Miles claimed as actual hire and fuel costs do not.",[15,415,417],{"id":416},"when-the-trip-is-partly-a-holiday","When the trip is partly a holiday",[11,419,420],{},"Plenty of people add a few days of their own to a work trip. For employees, if the trip is mainly for business and the personal part is incidental, the travel to and from the airport generally stays claimable, and the extra personal days are your own cost.",[11,422,423],{},"For the self-employed, the test is stricter. Expenses have to be incurred wholly and exclusively for the business, and a trip with a genuine dual purpose, business and holiday in roughly equal measure, can lose relief altogether. If the holiday is the real reason for going, the drive to the airport is a holiday drive.",[15,425,427],{"id":426},"what-to-record","What to record",[11,429,430],{},"The drive itself is easy to capture. The detail that makes it a claim is the purpose, and for airport runs the purpose is the trip, not the airport.",[74,432,433,443],{},[77,434,435],{},[80,436,437,440],{},[83,438,439],{},"Field",[83,441,442],{},"Example",[92,444,445,453,461,469,477,485],{},[80,446,447,450],{},[97,448,449],{},"Date",[97,451,452],{},"14 October 2026",[80,454,455,458],{},[97,456,457],{},"From",[97,459,460],{},"Home",[80,462,463,466],{},[97,464,465],{},"To",[97,467,468],{},"Manchester Airport",[80,470,471,474],{},[97,472,473],{},"Purpose",[97,475,476],{},"Flight to Dublin, client workshop at Acme Ltd",[80,478,479,482],{},[97,480,481],{},"Distance",[97,483,484],{},"58.2 mi",[80,486,487,490],{},[97,488,489],{},"Parking",[97,491,492],{},"Seven days, booking reference kept",[11,494,495],{},"\"Airport\" on its own tells nobody anything. \"Flight to Dublin, client workshop\" answers the question HMRC would actually ask, and it links the drive to the rest of the trip's expenses. Milometry records the date, route and distance automatically, so the only part you add is the reason, ideally before you board, when it is still obvious.",[15,497,191],{"id":190},[193,499,500,507,514,521,526],{},[196,501,502],{},[199,503,506],{"href":504,"rel":505},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fcollections\u002Ftax-and-national-insurance-contributions-for-employee-travel-490",[203],"490: Tax and National Insurance contributions for employee travel (HMRC)",[196,508,509],{},[199,510,513],{"href":511,"rel":512},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fbusiness-journeys-tax-relief-490-chapter-5",[203],"Business journeys: tax relief (490 chapter 5) (HMRC)",[196,515,516],{},[199,517,520],{"href":518,"rel":519},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim31240",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM31240: approved mileage allowance payments (HMRC)",[196,522,523],{},[199,524,225],{"href":223,"rel":525},[203],[196,527,528],{},[199,529,532],{"href":530,"rel":531},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fsimpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses\u002Fvehicles",[203],"Simplified expenses if you're self-employed: vehicles (HMRC)",[11,534,535,536,540,541,545],{},"Related reading: ",[199,537,539],{"href":538},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile","What actually counts as a business mile?"," and ",[199,542,544],{"href":543},"\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges","Parking, tolls and charges: what else you can claim",".",[241,547],{},[11,549,550],{},[246,551,552],{},"General information for UK drivers, not legal or tax advice. If your situation is unusual, particularly around mixed business and personal trips, take proper advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":554},[555,556,557,558,559,560,561,562],{"id":299,"depth":251,"text":300},{"id":376,"depth":251,"text":377},{"id":386,"depth":251,"text":387},{"id":399,"depth":251,"text":400},{"id":406,"depth":251,"text":407},{"id":416,"depth":251,"text":417},{"id":426,"depth":251,"text":427},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-09-25","The drive to the airport, the parking while you are away and the hire car at the other end are all treated differently. Here is how each one works.","\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-to-the-airport-for-work.jpg","Cars at the drop-off point outside Heathrow Terminal 5","Photo by Lewis Clarke","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=127296469","CC BY-SA 2.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby-sa\u002F2.0\u002F",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-to-the-airport-for-work",5,[],{"title":291,"description":564},"blog\u002Fdriving-to-the-airport-for-work",[284,578,579,580],"business travel","airports","parking","iOkMe54Jq3cvtwrMam5apiMxFqKBlhI1gk-4nO7qVNA",{"id":583,"title":584,"author":6,"body":585,"category":259,"date":896,"description":897,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":898,"imageAlt":899,"imageCredit":900,"imageCreditUrl":901,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":902,"navigation":271,"path":903,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":904,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":905,"seo":906,"seoTitle":907,"stem":908,"tags":909,"updated":275,"__hash__":913},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flandlords-claiming-mileage.md","Landlords and mileage: why where you run the business from decides the claim",{"type":8,"value":586,"toc":887},[587,590,594,601,644,647,654,661,665,672,675,678,682,689,695,701,707,711,782,785,789,792,795,802,806,809,823,826,829,831,880,882],[11,588,589],{},"Most mileage guidance is written for employees and sole traders. Landlords sit slightly to one side of both, and a lot of them either claim nothing for driving to their properties or claim everything without asking whether it counts. The rules are not complicated, but one question decides almost every claim: where is the business run from?",[15,591,593],{"id":592},"landlords-can-use-the-flat-rate","Landlords can use the flat rate",[11,595,596,597,600],{},"Since the 2017\u002F18 tax year, ",[23,598,599],{},"unincorporated landlords"," (individuals and partnerships of individuals letting property) can choose a fixed rate mileage deduction instead of working out the actual costs of running the car. The deduction comes off your rental profit, so what it saves you is your Income Tax rate on it, not the full amount. The rates are the same ones sole traders use:",[74,602,603,612],{},[77,604,605],{},[80,606,607,609],{},[83,608,334],{},[83,610,611],{},"Rate",[92,613,614,625,634],{},[80,615,616,619],{},[97,617,618],{},"Car or van, first 10,000 business miles in the tax year",[97,620,621,624],{},[23,622,623],{},"55p"," a mile",[80,626,627,630],{},[97,628,629],{},"Car or van, above 10,000 miles",[97,631,632,624],{},[23,633,320],{},[80,635,636,639],{},[97,637,638],{},"Motorcycle",[97,640,641,624],{},[23,642,643],{},"24p",[11,645,646],{},"The 55p rate applies for 2026\u002F27. For 2025\u002F26 and earlier the first band was 45p. If your property accounts do not run to 5 April, HMRC's guidance explains how to handle a period that straddles the change. The 10,000 miles count across all the cars and vans the business uses the flat rate for.",[11,648,649,650,653],{},"There is one important condition. The flat rate is ",[23,651,652],{},"not available for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on"," (or, for a van, whose purchase cost you deducted under the cash basis). If you bought the car through the property business and claimed allowances on it, you stay with actual costs for that car. (There was a one-off transitional exception in 2017 for vehicles first claimed on from 2013\u002F14. For most landlords the practical rule is simple: once you have claimed allowances on a car, the flat rate is off the table for it.) It works the other way too: once you use the flat rate for a vehicle, you keep using it for as long as that vehicle is used in the business.",[11,655,656,657,545],{},"Limited companies that hold property cannot use the flat rate for their own vehicles. A director driving their own car on company business is a different arrangement, covered in ",[199,658,660],{"href":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage","directors claiming mileage",[15,662,664],{"id":663},"the-test-every-journey-has-to-pass","The test every journey has to pass",[11,666,667,668,671],{},"The same principle runs through all property income: a cost is only deductible if it is incurred ",[23,669,670],{},"wholly and exclusively"," for the purposes of the property business.",[11,673,674],{},"For a journey, that means the purpose of the trip has to be the business. A drive to the flat to let in a plumber, meet a new tenant, carry out an inspection or collect keys from an agent passes. A trip to the city where the flat happens to be, to see family, with a quick look at the property while you are there, does not. HMRC's own guidance uses almost exactly that example: a journey with a dual purpose is not deductible. Your stated purpose counts, but it is not decisive if you or your family get a substantial private benefit from the trip.",[11,676,677],{},"Incidental personal benefit does not spoil an otherwise business journey. Stopping on the way for a newspaper or a coffee is fine. Turning the trip into a day out is not.",[15,679,681],{"id":680},"where-the-business-is-based","Where the business is based",[11,683,684,685,688],{},"This is the part landlords most often miss. Travel between properties, solely for the business, is allowable. Travel ",[23,686,687],{},"from home"," to a property is only allowable if the journey is exclusively for the business, and in practice that depends on where the business is actually run from. That is a question of fact.",[11,690,691,694],{},[23,692,693],{},"If you manage the lettings yourself from home",", keeping the records, dealing with tenants and arranging repairs, and there is no office outside the home, HMRC normally accepts home is the business base. The drive from there to a property to deal with something is then a business journey.",[11,696,697,700],{},[23,698,699],{},"If a letting agent runs the properties day to day",", HMRC's guidance (PIM2220) is direct: where the agent carries out all or virtually all of the letting duties, the business is likely to be conducted through the agent, the business base is likely to be the agent's office, and travel from your home will not normally be allowable. If you still do a real share of the management yourself from home, the answer depends on how much, which is a question of fact.",[11,702,703,706],{},[23,704,705],{},"If you have a separate office"," for the property business, that office is the base. HMRC's guidance says journeys from home to that office, or from home to the properties, are not allowable; journeys from the office to the properties and between properties can be. Occasionally taking work home does not change that.",[15,708,710],{"id":709},"the-journeys-resolved","The journeys, resolved",[74,712,713,723],{},[77,714,715],{},[80,716,717,720],{},[83,718,719],{},"Journey",[83,721,722],{},"Usually allowable?",[92,724,725,734,743,754,764,774],{},[80,726,727,730],{},[97,728,729],{},"Home to property to meet a contractor, self-managed",[97,731,732],{},[23,733,107],{},[80,735,736,739],{},[97,737,738],{},"Property to property on an inspection round",[97,740,741],{},[23,742,107],{},[80,744,745,748],{},[97,746,747],{},"Home to property, fully managed by an agent",[97,749,750,753],{},[23,751,752],{},"Not normally",", the base is likely the agent's office",[80,755,756,759],{},[97,757,758],{},"Home to the agent's office to sign paperwork",[97,760,761],{},[23,762,763],{},"Depends where the business is run from",[80,765,766,769],{},[97,767,768],{},"Visit to family near the property, with a quick look in",[97,770,771,773],{},[23,772,102],{},", dual purpose",[80,775,776,779],{},[97,777,778],{},"Driving to view a property you are thinking of buying",[97,780,781],{},"Treat with care, it is likely to be capital rather than a running expense",[11,783,784],{},"That last row is worth pausing on. Running costs of an existing letting business are deductible against rent. Costs that relate to buying a new property are generally capital, so not deductible against rent. Whether any of your own travel counts towards the property's cost for Capital Gains Tax is a separate and narrower question, and not one to assume. Keeping those trips separate in your records lets them be treated properly either way.",[15,786,788],{"id":787},"flat-rate-or-actual-costs","Flat rate or actual costs",[11,790,791],{},"The flat rate covers fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs, road tax and depreciation. None of those can be added on top. Tolls, congestion charges and parking on a business journey are not part of the mileage rate and can be deducted separately.",[11,793,794],{},"The alternative is to deduct the business share of actual running costs, plus capital allowances on the business share of the car, which needs every receipt and a reliable business percentage. The flat rate is simpler to administer. Which gives the larger deduction depends on the car's cost, its running costs and the business mileage, and because the choice sticks to the vehicle, the comparison is over the whole time you expect to use it.",[11,796,797,798,801],{},"One more choice sits above both: the ",[23,799,800],{},"£1,000 property allowance",". You can deduct up to £1,000 from your gross rental income instead of your actual expenses, but you then cannot deduct expenses, mileage included, as well. The choice is made each tax year, and the allowance gives the larger deduction only when your allowable expenses, mileage included, come to less than £1,000. It is not available in some cases, for example if you claim the tax reduction for mortgage interest on a residential let.",[15,803,805],{"id":804},"what-the-record-needs-to-show","What the record needs to show",[11,807,808],{},"Because the whole claim rests on purpose, the log has to show more than distance. For each trip, record:",[193,810,811,814,817,820],{},[196,812,813],{},"The date",[196,815,816],{},"Where you started and where you went, including which property",[196,818,819],{},"The reason, in a few words: \"boiler service, flat 2\", \"check-in, new tenancy\"",[196,821,822],{},"The miles",[11,824,825],{},"A log reconstructed in January from memory is exactly the kind that struggles if HMRC asks. A contemporaneous one, written on the day, is easy to defend.",[11,827,828],{},"Milometry records each journey automatically. Save each property as a location and an inspection round arrives as separate journeys you can recognise at a glance, mark as business and annotate with the reason. The claim is totalled per tax year, with progress towards the 10,000 mile threshold shown as you go.",[15,830,191],{"id":190},[193,832,833,840,847,852,859,866,873],{},[196,834,835],{},[199,836,839],{"href":837,"rel":838},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Fproperty-income-manual\u002Fpim2220",[203],"Property Income Manual PIM2220: travel expenses (HMRC)",[196,841,842],{},[199,843,846],{"href":844,"rel":845},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Fbusiness-income-manual\u002Fbim75005",[203],"Business Income Manual BIM75005: simplified expenses, motor vehicles (HMRC)",[196,848,849],{},[199,850,532],{"href":530,"rel":851},[203],[196,853,854],{},[199,855,858],{"href":856,"rel":857},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2005\u002F5\u002Fsection\u002F94E",[203],"Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, section 94E: excluded vehicles (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,860,861],{},[199,862,865],{"href":863,"rel":864},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2005\u002F5\u002Fsection\u002F94F",[203],"Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, section 94F: the mileage rates (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,867,868],{},[199,869,872],{"href":870,"rel":871},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fincome-tax-when-you-rent-out-a-property-working-out-your-rental-income",[203],"Work out your rental income when you let property (HMRC)",[196,874,875],{},[199,876,879],{"href":877,"rel":878},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Ftax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income",[203],"Tax-free allowances on property and trading income (HMRC)",[241,881],{},[11,883,884],{},[246,885,886],{},"General information for UK landlords, not legal or tax advice. Where your business is based and what a journey was for are questions of fact: if you are relying on a large claim, get it confirmed.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":888},[889,890,891,892,893,894,895],{"id":592,"depth":251,"text":593},{"id":663,"depth":251,"text":664},{"id":680,"depth":251,"text":681},{"id":709,"depth":251,"text":710},{"id":787,"depth":251,"text":788},{"id":804,"depth":251,"text":805},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-09-22","Unincorporated landlords can use the flat mileage rate. Whether the drive from home to a let property counts depends on where the business is actually run from.","\u002Fblog\u002Flandlords-claiming-mileage.jpg","A street of Georgian terraced houses with cars parked along it","Photo by stevecadman","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F98115025@N00\u002F539223762",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flandlords-claiming-mileage",6,[],{"title":584,"description":897},"Landlords and mileage: what decides the claim","blog\u002Flandlords-claiming-mileage",[284,910,911,912],"landlords","property","simplified expenses","korWBf-vDbeN-MKst5Jo8TMzEFh4uCDdZfeW-c3hWpo",{"id":915,"title":916,"author":6,"body":917,"category":259,"date":1147,"description":1148,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":1149,"imageAlt":1150,"imageCredit":1151,"imageCreditUrl":1152,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":1155,"navigation":271,"path":1156,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":573,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":1157,"seo":1158,"seoTitle":1159,"stem":1160,"tags":1161,"updated":275,"__hash__":1165},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Faustralia-cents-per-kilometre.md","Australia's cents per kilometre method: 91c and the 5,000 km cap",{"type":8,"value":918,"toc":1135},[919,922,926,929,973,976,979,983,986,990,997,1000,1003,1007,1010,1014,1017,1025,1028,1031,1035,1038,1056,1059,1063,1066,1069,1072,1076,1087,1090,1094,1097,1099,1128,1130],[11,920,921],{},"Australia treats work driving in a car you own or lease in a way that looks familiar to anyone used to HMRC's approved mileage rates, a flat amount per unit of distance, and then quietly does something quite different at the top end. The flat rate only counts the first 5,000 work kilometres, and anyone who wants to claim for more has to switch to a different method.",[15,923,925],{"id":924},"the-rate","The rate",[11,927,928],{},"The Australian Taxation Office sets a single rate for the cents per kilometre method each income year:",[74,930,931,941],{},[77,932,933],{},[80,934,935,938],{},[83,936,937],{},"Income year",[83,939,940],{},"Rate per work kilometre",[92,942,943,951,959,966],{},[80,944,945,948],{},[97,946,947],{},"2023-24",[97,949,950],{},"85c",[80,952,953,956],{},[97,954,955],{},"2024-25",[97,957,958],{},"88c",[80,960,961,964],{},[97,962,963],{},"2025-26",[97,965,958],{},[80,967,968,970],{},[97,969,273],{},[97,971,972],{},"91c",[11,974,975],{},"The Australian income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so 2025-26 is the year that ended on 30 June 2026 and 2026-27 is the year that began on 1 July 2026. The rate is set by legislative instrument, so check the ATO's figure for the year you are actually claiming rather than assuming last year's carries over.",[11,977,978],{},"There is one rate for every car. No split by engine size, no separate figure for electric vehicles, no taper. That is simpler than most of the systems Milometry covers.",[15,980,982],{"id":981},"what-the-rate-covers","What the rate covers",[11,984,985],{},"The rate is meant to account for all of your car's running costs: fuel, servicing, registration, insurance, tyres and depreciation. You cannot claim any of those separately on top of it. If you claim cents per kilometre, the rate is the whole claim for that car.",[15,987,989],{"id":988},"the-5000-km-ceiling","The 5,000 km ceiling",[11,991,992,993,996],{},"This is the part that catches people out. You can claim a maximum of ",[23,994,995],{},"5,000 work kilometres per car"," under the method. At 91c that caps the claim at $4,550 for a car in 2026-27 (at 88c in 2025-26 it was $4,400).",[11,998,999],{},"If you drove 9,000 work kilometres you can still use cents per kilometre, but only 5,000 of them count. To claim for all 9,000 you would need the logbook method, which covers the whole claim for that car rather than topping up the first 5,000. Cents per kilometre is designed for occasional work driving, not for people who live in the car.",[11,1001,1002],{},"The cap is per car, so two cars used for work can each be claimed under the method, with their own 5,000 km limit.",[15,1004,1006],{"id":1005},"which-vehicles-qualify","Which vehicles qualify",[11,1008,1009],{},"The method is for cars. It cannot be used for a vehicle with a carrying capacity of one tonne or more, or one designed to carry nine or more passengers, which rules out many utes, larger vans and minibuses. Those follow different rules, generally claiming actual costs with records to support the work share.",[15,1011,1013],{"id":1012},"what-records-you-need","What records you need",[11,1015,1016],{},"You do not need receipts under cents per kilometre. You do need to be able to show:",[193,1018,1019,1022],{},[196,1020,1021],{},"That you own or lease the car",[196,1023,1024],{},"How you worked out your work kilometres",[11,1026,1027],{},"The ATO accepts a diary or similar record for the second point. What it will not accept is a round number with nothing behind it. \"About 5,000\" on a claim that sits exactly on the cap is the kind of figure that invites questions.",[11,1029,1030],{},"A trip record with a date, a start and end point and a reason for each journey answers the question before it is asked.",[15,1032,1034],{"id":1033},"the-logbook-method","The logbook method",[11,1036,1037],{},"For heavier work use, the logbook method claims the work percentage of the car's actual running costs. The rules are specific:",[193,1039,1040,1047,1050,1053],{},[196,1041,1042,1043,1046],{},"Keep a logbook for at least ",[23,1044,1045],{},"12 continuous weeks"," that are representative of your travel across the year",[196,1048,1049],{},"Record each work journey with its destination and purpose, the odometer readings at the start and end, and the distance",[196,1051,1052],{},"Record odometer readings at the start and end of the logbook period, and at the start and end of each income year you rely on it",[196,1054,1055],{},"Keep receipts for the actual costs you claim, fuel, servicing, insurance, registration, interest and depreciation among them",[11,1057,1058],{},"A logbook can support claims for up to five years, provided your pattern of use has not materially changed, and you keep the logbook and records for five years from when you lodge the return for the last income year you rely on it.",[15,1060,1062],{"id":1061},"which-method-comes-out-ahead","Which method comes out ahead",[11,1064,1065],{},"There is no general answer, which is why the ATO lets you choose each year.",[11,1067,1068],{},"Cents per kilometre tends to suit a modest, efficient car doing a moderate amount of work driving, because the flat rate can exceed what that car actually costs to run per kilometre. The logbook tends to suit a more expensive car, or anyone well over 5,000 work kilometres, because the claim tracks real costs and has no distance ceiling.",[11,1070,1071],{},"The only way to know for your own car is to have the numbers for both: the work kilometres, the total kilometres, and the running costs. Which is an argument for recording journeys properly from the start of the year rather than reconstructing them in July.",[15,1073,1075],{"id":1074},"how-it-compares-with-the-uk","How it compares with the UK",[11,1077,1078,1079,1082,1083,1086],{},"The structure is worth setting against the HMRC approved mileage rates. The UK pays ",[23,1080,1081],{},"55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles"," in a tax year and ",[23,1084,1085],{},"25p a mile"," after that, since 6 April 2026, and there is no point at which the flat rate stops applying. Australia's flat rate simply stops counting at 5,000 kilometres; beyond that, only the logbook method reflects the extra distance.",[11,1088,1089],{},"They are also different kinds of relief. In the UK the rate governs what an employer can pay you tax free, and if they pay less you can claim tax relief on the gap (Mileage Allowance Relief). In Australia it is a deduction an individual calculates on their own tax return, against their income. Both reward the same thing, though: a record made at the time.",[15,1091,1093],{"id":1092},"commuting-still-does-not-count","Commuting still does not count",[11,1095,1096],{},"As in the UK, ordinary travel between home and your regular place of work is generally private in Australia and cannot be claimed under either method. Work kilometres are the trips made for the job itself: between workplaces, to clients, to alternative work locations.",[15,1098,191],{"id":190},[193,1100,1101,1108,1115,1121],{},[196,1102,1103],{},[199,1104,1107],{"href":1105,"rel":1106},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ato.gov.au\u002Findividuals-and-families\u002Fincome-deductions-offsets-and-records\u002Fdeductions-you-can-claim\u002Fwork-related-deductions\u002Fcars-transport-and-travel\u002Fmotor-vehicle-and-car-expenses\u002Fexpenses-for-a-car-you-own-or-lease\u002Fcents-per-kilometre-method",[203],"Cents per kilometre method (ATO)",[196,1109,1110],{},[199,1111,1114],{"href":1112,"rel":1113},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ato.gov.au\u002Findividuals-and-families\u002Fincome-deductions-offsets-and-records\u002Fdeductions-you-can-claim\u002Fwork-related-deductions\u002Fcars-transport-and-travel\u002Fmotor-vehicle-and-car-expenses\u002Fexpenses-for-a-car-you-own-or-lease\u002Flogbook-method",[203],"Logbook method (ATO)",[196,1116,1117],{},[199,1118,1120],{"href":230,"rel":1119},[203],"Increasing mileage rates (HMRC policy paper), for the British comparison",[196,1122,1123],{},[199,1124,1127],{"href":1125,"rel":1126},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ato.gov.au\u002Fforms-and-instructions\u002Findividual-tax-return-2026-instructions\u002Fdeduction-questions-d1-d10-individual-tax-return-2026\u002Fd1-work-related-car-expenses-2026",[203],"D1 Work-related car expenses 2026 (ATO)",[241,1129],{},[11,1131,1132],{},[246,1133,1134],{},"General information, not legal or tax advice. Australian car expense rules have conditions this article does not cover: check the ATO guidance or take advice on your own situation.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":1136},[1137,1138,1139,1140,1141,1142,1143,1144,1145,1146],{"id":924,"depth":251,"text":925},{"id":981,"depth":251,"text":982},{"id":988,"depth":251,"text":989},{"id":1005,"depth":251,"text":1006},{"id":1012,"depth":251,"text":1013},{"id":1033,"depth":251,"text":1034},{"id":1061,"depth":251,"text":1062},{"id":1074,"depth":251,"text":1075},{"id":1092,"depth":251,"text":1093},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-09-18","How the ATO's flat-rate car deduction works, where the 5,000 km ceiling bites, and when the logbook method is worth the extra effort.","\u002Fblog\u002Faustralia-cents-per-kilometre.jpg","A rural highway curving through wooded green hills","Photo by Tatters ✾","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F62938898@N00\u002F8341455473","CC BY 2.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby\u002F2.0\u002F",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Faustralia-cents-per-kilometre",[],{"title":916,"description":1148},"Australia's cents per kilometre method","blog\u002Faustralia-cents-per-kilometre",[1162,1163,1164],"australia","comparison","rates","CNarw8XcTaikkXwxoSAwCDOc4IeInqd_saeIUyTFKSA",{"id":1167,"title":1168,"author":6,"body":1169,"category":259,"date":1737,"description":1738,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":1739,"imageAlt":1740,"imageCredit":1741,"imageCreditUrl":1742,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":1743,"navigation":271,"path":1744,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":573,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":1745,"seo":1749,"seoTitle":1750,"stem":1751,"tags":1752,"updated":275,"__hash__":1754},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained.md","HMRC mileage rates explained: 55p, 25p and the 10,000-mile line",{"type":8,"value":1170,"toc":1726},[1171,1177,1180,1183,1187,1246,1253,1257,1264,1267,1271,1274,1277,1294,1297,1304,1308,1311,1437,1440,1444,1447,1518,1522,1529,1533,1536,1635,1642,1646,1649,1652,1654,1719,1721],[11,1172,1173,1174,1176],{},"If you are an employee using your own car for work, your employer can pay you a set amount per mile without any of it counting as taxable pay. These are the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments. The car and van rate was 45p from 2011 until it rose to ",[23,1175,623],{}," for journeys from 6 April 2026.",[11,1178,1179],{},"The 55p rate was announced on 21 May 2026 and backdated to 6 April, so if your employer paid 45p for some of those miles you may be able to claim tax relief on the gap. Anything you read quoting 45p as the current rate was written before the change.",[11,1181,1182],{},"If you are self-employed, the same car and van rates are available as simplified expenses: a deduction from your profit, not a payment.",[15,1184,1186],{"id":1185},"the-rates","The rates",[74,1188,1189,1202],{},[77,1190,1191],{},[80,1192,1193,1195,1197,1199],{},[83,1194,334],{},[83,1196,337],{},[83,1198,340],{},[83,1200,1201],{},"Banded?",[92,1203,1204,1214,1224,1234],{},[80,1205,1206,1208,1210,1212],{},[97,1207,347],{},[97,1209,350],{},[97,1211,353],{},[97,1213,107],{},[80,1215,1216,1218,1220,1222],{},[97,1217,358],{},[97,1219,361],{},[97,1221,361],{},[97,1223,102],{},[80,1225,1226,1228,1230,1232],{},[97,1227,368],{},[97,1229,371],{},[97,1231,371],{},[97,1233,102],{},[80,1235,1236,1239,1242,1244],{},[97,1237,1238],{},"Each passenger (only if your employer pays it)",[97,1240,1241],{},"5p per mile",[97,1243,1241],{},[97,1245,102],{},[11,1247,1248,1249,1252],{},"There is also a ",[23,1250,1251],{},"passenger rate",". Your employer can pay up to 5p a mile for each colleague you carry on a business journey, free of tax. Paying it is optional. If they do not pay it you cannot claim tax relief for it, and there is no passenger rate for the self-employed.",[15,1254,1256],{"id":1255},"the-10000-mile-line-is-per-tax-year-not-per-car","The 10,000-mile line is per tax year, not per car",[11,1258,1259,1260,1263],{},"This is where people slip up. The threshold resets on 6 April each year, and for an employee it counts ",[23,1261,1262],{},"all your business miles for that job across every car and van you use for it",", not each vehicle separately. (A second job with an unconnected employer has its own 10,000.) Two cars doing 6,000 business miles each for the same employer is 12,000 miles: the first 10,000 at 55p, the last 2,000 at 25p.",[11,1265,1266],{},"The other subtlety: a single journey can straddle the line. If you hit 10,000 miles halfway through a 40-mile drive, the first 20 miles are worth 55p and the rest 25p. Any log worth keeping should split that trip rather than round the whole thing one way or the other.",[15,1268,1270],{"id":1269},"what-if-your-employer-pays-less-than-55p","What if your employer pays less than 55p?",[11,1272,1273],{},"Very common, and worth money. If your employer pays you 25p a mile, you can claim tax relief on the difference between what you were paid and the approved rate. That is Mileage Allowance Relief, and you claim it through your Self Assessment return or a P87 if you do not file one.",[11,1275,1276],{},"Say you drove 4,000 business miles and were paid 25p:",[193,1278,1279,1285,1288],{},[196,1280,1281,1282],{},"Approved amount: 4,000 × 55p = ",[23,1283,1284],{},"£2,200",[196,1286,1287],{},"Actually paid: 4,000 × 25p = £1,000",[196,1289,1290,1291],{},"Relief due on: ",[23,1292,1293],{},"£1,200",[11,1295,1296],{},"You do not get £1,200 back. You get tax relief on £1,200, so a basic-rate taxpayer sees around £240. Still worth the ten minutes it takes to claim, and considerably more if your mileage is higher.",[11,1298,1299,1300,1303],{},"If your employer pays you ",[23,1301,1302],{},"more"," than the approved rate, the excess is taxable, and your employer should report it.",[15,1305,1307],{"id":1306},"what-a-year-is-worth-by-mileage","What a year is worth, by mileage",[11,1309,1310],{},"Assuming the car rate and no employer reimbursement:",[74,1312,1313,1332],{},[77,1314,1315],{},[80,1316,1317,1320,1323,1326,1329],{},[83,1318,1319],{},"Business miles",[83,1321,1322],{},"At 55p",[83,1324,1325],{},"At 25p",[83,1327,1328],{},"Approved amount",[83,1330,1331],{},"Blended rate",[92,1333,1334,1351,1367,1383,1401,1419],{},[80,1335,1336,1339,1342,1344,1348],{},[97,1337,1338],{},"2,000",[97,1340,1341],{},"£1,100",[97,1343,116],{},[97,1345,1346],{},[23,1347,1341],{},[97,1349,1350],{},"55.0p",[80,1352,1353,1356,1359,1361,1365],{},[97,1354,1355],{},"5,000",[97,1357,1358],{},"£2,750",[97,1360,116],{},[97,1362,1363],{},[23,1364,1358],{},[97,1366,1350],{},[80,1368,1369,1372,1375,1377,1381],{},[97,1370,1371],{},"10,000",[97,1373,1374],{},"£5,500",[97,1376,116],{},[97,1378,1379],{},[23,1380,1374],{},[97,1382,1350],{},[80,1384,1385,1388,1390,1393,1398],{},[97,1386,1387],{},"15,000",[97,1389,1374],{},[97,1391,1392],{},"£1,250",[97,1394,1395],{},[23,1396,1397],{},"£6,750",[97,1399,1400],{},"45.0p",[80,1402,1403,1406,1408,1411,1416],{},[97,1404,1405],{},"20,000",[97,1407,1374],{},[97,1409,1410],{},"£2,500",[97,1412,1413],{},[23,1414,1415],{},"£8,000",[97,1417,1418],{},"40.0p",[80,1420,1421,1424,1426,1429,1434],{},[97,1422,1423],{},"30,000",[97,1425,1374],{},[97,1427,1428],{},"£5,000",[97,1430,1431],{},[23,1432,1433],{},"£10,500",[97,1435,1436],{},"35.0p",[11,1438,1439],{},"The blended rate is the column worth looking at. The more you drive, the less each mile is worth on\naverage, which is the opposite of how most people assume it works, and it matters when deciding\nbetween a company car and your own.",[15,1441,1443],{"id":1442},"what-relief-is-actually-worth-to-you","What relief is actually worth to you",[11,1445,1446],{},"Relief is not a refund. It reduces your taxable income, so what you receive depends on your rate:",[74,1448,1449,1465],{},[77,1450,1451],{},[80,1452,1453,1456,1459,1462],{},[83,1454,1455],{},"Shortfall claimed",[83,1457,1458],{},"Basic rate (20%)",[83,1460,1461],{},"Higher rate (40%)",[83,1463,1464],{},"Additional rate (45%)",[92,1466,1467,1481,1494,1507],{},[80,1468,1469,1472,1475,1478],{},[97,1470,1471],{},"£200",[97,1473,1474],{},"£40",[97,1476,1477],{},"£80",[97,1479,1480],{},"£90",[80,1482,1483,1485,1488,1491],{},[97,1484,1293],{},[97,1486,1487],{},"£240",[97,1489,1490],{},"£480",[97,1492,1493],{},"£540",[80,1495,1496,1498,1501,1504],{},[97,1497,1284],{},[97,1499,1500],{},"£440",[97,1502,1503],{},"£880",[97,1505,1506],{},"£990",[80,1508,1509,1511,1513,1515],{},[97,1510,1374],{},[97,1512,1341],{},[97,1514,1284],{},[97,1516,1517],{},"£2,475",[15,1519,1521],{"id":1520},"if-you-drive-a-company-car-these-rates-are-not-yours","If you drive a company car, these rates are not yours",[11,1523,1524,1525,1528],{},"Approved mileage rates apply to your own vehicle. If the car belongs to the company, fuel is handled through ",[23,1526,1527],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates"," instead, which are lower, vary by engine size and fuel type, and are revised quarterly. Mixing the two up is a common and costly mistake.",[15,1530,1532],{"id":1531},"what-different-employer-rates-leave-on-the-table","What different employer rates leave on the table",[11,1534,1535],{},"On 6,000 business miles in a tax year, where the approved amount is £3,300:",[74,1537,1538,1557],{},[77,1539,1540],{},[80,1541,1542,1545,1548,1551,1554],{},[83,1543,1544],{},"Employer pays",[83,1546,1547],{},"You receive",[83,1549,1550],{},"Shortfall",[83,1552,1553],{},"Relief at 20%",[83,1555,1556],{},"Relief at 40%",[92,1558,1559,1574,1590,1606,1620],{},[80,1560,1561,1564,1567,1570,1572],{},[97,1562,1563],{},"55p (the approved rate)",[97,1565,1566],{},"£3,300",[97,1568,1569],{},"£0",[97,1571,116],{},[97,1573,116],{},[80,1575,1576,1579,1582,1585,1588],{},[97,1577,1578],{},"45p (the old approved rate)",[97,1580,1581],{},"£2,700",[97,1583,1584],{},"£600",[97,1586,1587],{},"£120",[97,1589,1487],{},[80,1591,1592,1595,1598,1601,1604],{},[97,1593,1594],{},"30p",[97,1596,1597],{},"£1,800",[97,1599,1600],{},"£1,500",[97,1602,1603],{},"£300",[97,1605,1584],{},[80,1607,1608,1610,1612,1614,1617],{},[97,1609,320],{},[97,1611,1600],{},[97,1613,1597],{},[97,1615,1616],{},"£360",[97,1618,1619],{},"£720",[80,1621,1622,1625,1627,1629,1632],{},[97,1623,1624],{},"Nothing",[97,1626,1569],{},[97,1628,1566],{},[97,1630,1631],{},"£660",[97,1633,1634],{},"£1,320",[11,1636,1637,1638,1641],{},"You can generally claim for the ",[23,1639,1640],{},"current tax year and the previous four",". Earlier years use the approved rate for that year, which was 45p before 6 April 2026, so each back year is worth a little less than the table shows.",[15,1643,1645],{"id":1644},"what-actually-needs-recording","What actually needs recording",[11,1647,1648],{},"For each business journey: the date, where you went and where from, why it was business, and how far it was. Keep the running total for the tax year so the banding is right, and hold on to the records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year if you are employed, or five years after the filing deadline if you are self-employed.",[11,1650,1651],{},"That is precisely the job Milometry does in the background: it records the journey as you drive, bands each trip against your running total for the year, and keeps the whole lot exportable as a PDF or CSV.",[15,1653,191],{"id":190},[193,1655,1656,1661,1666,1673,1679,1686,1693,1699,1705,1712],{},[196,1657,1658],{},[199,1659,239],{"href":237,"rel":1660},[203],[196,1662,1663],{},[199,1664,225],{"href":223,"rel":1665},[203],[196,1667,1668],{},[199,1669,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":1671},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Ftax-relief-for-employees\u002Fvehicles-you-use-for-work",[203],"Claim tax relief for your job expenses: vehicles you use for work (HMRC)",[196,1674,1675],{},[199,1676,1678],{"href":230,"rel":1677},[203],"Increasing mileage rates: policy paper (HMRC)",[196,1680,1681],{},[199,1682,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":1684},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim31330",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM31330: Mileage Allowance Relief (HMRC)",[196,1687,1688],{},[199,1689,1692],{"href":1690,"rel":1691},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F233",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 233: passenger payments (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,1694,1695],{},[199,1696,1698],{"href":530,"rel":1697},[203],"Simplified expenses: vehicles (HMRC)",[196,1700,1701],{},[199,1702,1704],{"href":216,"rel":1703},[203],"Advisory fuel rates (company cars) (HMRC)",[196,1706,1707],{},[199,1708,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":1710},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fkeeping-your-pay-tax-records\u002Fhow-long-to-keep-your-records",[203],"How long to keep your records: employees and others filing a tax return (HMRC)",[196,1713,1714],{},[199,1715,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":1717},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fself-employed-records\u002Fhow-long-to-keep-your-records",[203],"How long to keep your records if you're self-employed (HMRC)",[241,1720],{},[11,1722,1723],{},[246,1724,1725],{},"Rates and thresholds are correct at the time of writing and apply to the UK. This is general information, not tax advice: check with HMRC or your accountant before you file.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":1727},[1728,1729,1730,1731,1732,1733,1734,1735,1736],{"id":1185,"depth":251,"text":1186},{"id":1255,"depth":251,"text":1256},{"id":1269,"depth":251,"text":1270},{"id":1306,"depth":251,"text":1307},{"id":1442,"depth":251,"text":1443},{"id":1520,"depth":251,"text":1521},{"id":1531,"depth":251,"text":1532},{"id":1644,"depth":251,"text":1645},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-08-12","What the approved mileage rates actually are, how the 10,000-mile threshold works across a tax year, and the bit that is easy to get wrong.","\u002Fblog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained.jpg","A stack of pound coins","Photo by wwarby","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F26782864@N00\u002F4860335535",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained",[277,1746,278,1747,1748],"uk-simplified","uk-records","uk-sa-dates",{"title":1168,"description":1738},"HMRC mileage rates: 55p, 25p and the 10,000-mile line","blog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained",[284,1164,1753],"claims","ipmYjhrN8HxMKHOYOCWvzVf4GPSBmOhmfgyHCR57YI0",{"id":1756,"title":539,"author":6,"body":1757,"category":259,"date":2246,"description":2247,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":2248,"imageAlt":2249,"imageCredit":2250,"imageCreditUrl":2251,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":2252,"navigation":271,"path":538,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":573,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":2253,"seo":2254,"seoTitle":281,"stem":2255,"tags":2256,"updated":275,"__hash__":2258},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile.md",{"type":8,"value":1758,"toc":2234},[1759,1762,1765,1769,1776,1779,1783,1789,1796,1799,1803,1820,1824,1838,1842,1849,1853,1856,1859,1863,2025,2029,2032,2057,2061,2135,2138,2140,2227,2229],[11,1760,1761],{},"A lot of underclaimed mileage comes down to uncertainty. People are not sure which drives count, so they leave off the ones they could have claimed and add up the rest badly. Here is the line, in plain terms. These are the rules for employees; the self-employed have similar but not identical tests, which turn on where the business is run from.",[11,1763,1764],{},"\"Counts\" here means the journey is business travel. Your employer can then pay you for it tax free up to the approved amount (for a car or van in 2026-27, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p). If they pay less, or nothing, you can claim tax relief on the difference against your own Income Tax (Mileage Allowance Relief). That relief is worth your tax rate on the difference, not the difference itself.",[15,1766,1768],{"id":1767},"the-commute-does-not-count","The commute does not count",[11,1770,1771,1772,1775],{},"Travel between your home and your ",[23,1773,1774],{},"permanent workplace"," is ordinary commuting, and it is never business travel. It does not matter that you left at six in the morning, or that your employer needed you in on a Sunday.",[11,1777,1778],{},"A permanent workplace is somewhere you attend regularly for your work, other than a temporary workplace. A depot or base you report to, or where your work is handed out, counts as permanent even if you only call in briefly.",[15,1780,1782],{"id":1781},"temporary-workplaces-do-count","Temporary workplaces do count",[11,1784,1785,1786,1788],{},"Travel to a ",[23,1787,306],{}," is business travel, and this is where the claims live. A workplace is temporary if you go there to do a task of limited duration, or for a temporary purpose.",[11,1790,1791,1792,1795],{},"The catch is the ",[23,1793,1794],{},"24-month rule",". If you spend, or it is reasonable to expect you will spend, 40% or more of your working time at a site over a period of more than 24 months, it stops being temporary. Importantly, it stops from the point that expectation becomes reasonable, not when the 24 months elapse. A contract extension can change the answer from the day the expectation changes. A site also stops being temporary if you are expected to work there for all or almost all of the time you are likely to hold the job, which is common with fixed-term and site-by-site contracts.",[11,1797,1798],{},"One more limit: a trip to a temporary workplace does not count if it is, for practical purposes, the same journey as your ordinary commute. HMRC says it will not normally argue this where the trip is 10 miles or more each way longer.",[15,1800,1802],{"id":1801},"journeys-that-usually-count","Journeys that usually count",[193,1804,1805,1808,1811,1814,1817],{},[196,1806,1807],{},"Driving to a client, a customer, a supplier or a site",[196,1809,1810],{},"Travelling between two workplaces on the same day",[196,1812,1813],{},"Going from home directly to a temporary site, if you are not going via the office and the route is not substantially your usual commute",[196,1815,1816],{},"Driving to a conference, training course or trade show your work requires",[196,1818,1819],{},"A trip to the bank, the post office or the wholesaler for the business, if you are self-employed",[15,1821,1823],{"id":1822},"journeys-that-usually-do-not","Journeys that usually do not",[193,1825,1826,1829,1832,1835],{},[196,1827,1828],{},"Home to your permanent workplace, whatever the time or day",[196,1830,1831],{},"A detour for something personal, for the personal part of the distance",[196,1833,1834],{},"Taking a colleague home after work, unless it is part of a business journey",[196,1836,1837],{},"Driving somewhere purely social, even with people from work",[15,1839,1841],{"id":1840},"the-awkward-middle-home-as-a-workplace","The awkward middle: home as a workplace",[11,1843,1844,1845,1848],{},"Journeys from home to a client or a temporary site are business travel whether or not you work from home. What home working does not change is the drive to your employer's office: that is still commuting. It only becomes business travel in the rare case where working at home is a requirement of the job (not a choice) ",[246,1846,1847],{},"and"," where you live is itself dictated by the job, and then only on days when home is a workplace. Working from home three days a week by preference does not turn your Thursday commute into a business mile.",[15,1850,1852],{"id":1851},"why-the-recording-matters-more-than-the-rules","Why the recording matters more than the rules",[11,1854,1855],{},"Two people can drive identical routes and only one of them can claim, because only one of them can say what the journey was for. A date, a start, an end, a distance and a reason is what turns a drive into a claim. Reconstructing that from memory in April is where accuracy goes to die.",[11,1857,1858],{},"That is why Milometry asks one question and only one: business or personal. It already knows the date, the route, the distance and how long you were stopped. You just tell it what the drive was for, ideally on the same day, when you can still remember.",[15,1860,1862],{"id":1861},"the-quick-reference","The quick reference",[74,1864,1865,1877],{},[77,1866,1867],{},[80,1868,1869,1871,1874],{},[83,1870,719],{},[83,1872,1873],{},"Claimable?",[83,1875,1876],{},"Why",[92,1878,1879,1891,1903,1914,1926,1939,1952,1964,1976,1987,2000,2013],{},[80,1880,1881,1884,1888],{},[97,1882,1883],{},"Home → permanent workplace",[97,1885,1886],{},[23,1887,102],{},[97,1889,1890],{},"Ordinary commuting",[80,1892,1893,1896,1900],{},[97,1894,1895],{},"Home → temporary workplace",[97,1897,1898],{},[23,1899,107],{},[97,1901,1902],{},"Unless substantially your usual commute",[80,1904,1905,1908,1912],{},[97,1906,1907],{},"Home → client, direct",[97,1909,1910],{},[23,1911,107],{},[97,1913,1902],{},[80,1915,1916,1919,1923],{},[97,1917,1918],{},"Office → client → office",[97,1920,1921],{},[23,1922,107],{},[97,1924,1925],{},"Travel in the performance of duties",[80,1927,1928,1931,1936],{},[97,1929,1930],{},"Office → client → home",[97,1932,1933],{},[23,1934,1935],{},"Usually yes",[97,1937,1938],{},"Unless you detour somewhere personal",[80,1940,1941,1944,1949],{},[97,1942,1943],{},"Home → office → client",[97,1945,1946],{},[23,1947,1948],{},"Mixed",[97,1950,1951],{},"First leg commuting, second leg business",[80,1953,1954,1957,1961],{},[97,1955,1956],{},"Permanent workplace → second permanent workplace, same employer",[97,1958,1959],{},[23,1960,107],{},[97,1962,1963],{},"Travel between workplaces",[80,1965,1966,1969,1973],{},[97,1967,1968],{},"Home → workplace of a second, unconnected employer",[97,1970,1971],{},[23,1972,102],{},[97,1974,1975],{},"Commuting for that employment",[80,1977,1978,1981,1985],{},[97,1979,1980],{},"Home → workplace of a second employer in the same group",[97,1982,1983],{},[23,1984,102],{},[97,1986,1975],{},[80,1988,1989,1992,1997],{},[97,1990,1991],{},"Workplace of one group company → workplace of another",[97,1993,1994],{},[23,1995,1996],{},"Often yes",[97,1998,1999],{},"Travel between group employments",[80,2001,2002,2005,2010],{},[97,2003,2004],{},"Detour to the shops on the way back from a client",[97,2006,2007],{},[23,2008,2009],{},"Partly",[97,2011,2012],{},"The business element only",[80,2014,2015,2018,2022],{},[97,2016,2017],{},"Driving to a training course required by the job",[97,2019,2020],{},[23,2021,1935],{},[97,2023,2024],{},"If the course venue is a temporary workplace",[15,2026,2028],{"id":2027},"the-three-tests-in-order","The three tests, in order",[11,2030,2031],{},"Work through these and most journeys resolve:",[2033,2034,2035,2041,2051],"ol",{},[196,2036,2037,2040],{},[23,2038,2039],{},"Is this a workplace you attend, or somewhere you are going for work?"," A client visit is\nstraightforwardly business travel.",[196,2042,2043,2046,2047,2050],{},[23,2044,2045],{},"If it is a workplace, is it permanent or temporary?"," Apply the 24-month rule, remembering it\nturns on what you ",[246,2048,2049],{},"expect",", not what has happened so far.",[196,2052,2053,2056],{},[23,2054,2055],{},"If it is permanent, is the journey between two workplaces rather than from home?"," Workplace to\nworkplace for the same job (or between companies in the same group) is business travel; home to workplace is not.",[15,2058,2060],{"id":2059},"what-a-defensible-record-looks-like","What a defensible record looks like",[74,2062,2063,2074],{},[77,2064,2065],{},[80,2066,2067,2069,2071],{},[83,2068,439],{},[83,2070,442],{},[83,2072,2073],{},"Why it matters",[92,2075,2076,2086,2095,2105,2115,2125],{},[80,2077,2078,2080,2083],{},[97,2079,449],{},[97,2081,2082],{},"14 August 2026",[97,2084,2085],{},"Ties to your calendar and invoices",[80,2087,2088,2090,2092],{},[97,2089,457],{},[97,2091,460],{},[97,2093,2094],{},"Establishes the journey type",[80,2096,2097,2099,2102],{},[97,2098,465],{},[97,2100,2101],{},"Harrogate, Acme Ltd",[97,2103,2104],{},"Names the workplace, not just a town",[80,2106,2107,2109,2112],{},[97,2108,473],{},[97,2110,2111],{},"Site survey",[97,2113,2114],{},"The business character, in a few words",[80,2116,2117,2119,2122],{},[97,2118,481],{},[97,2120,2121],{},"18.4 mi",[97,2123,2124],{},"Not a round number, because real drives are not round",[80,2126,2127,2129,2132],{},[97,2128,334],{},[97,2130,2131],{},"Van (AB26 CDE)",[97,2133,2134],{},"Keeps multi-vehicle totals apart",[11,2136,2137],{},"The purpose column is the one people leave out and the one that turns a list of distances into a\nrecord. \"Site survey\" takes three seconds and answers the question HMRC would actually ask.",[15,2139,191],{"id":190},[193,2141,2142,2147,2154,2161,2168,2175,2182,2189,2196,2203,2210,2217,2222],{},[196,2143,2144],{},[199,2145,506],{"href":504,"rel":2146},[203],[196,2148,2149],{},[199,2150,2153],{"href":2151,"rel":2152},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32075",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32075: temporary workplace (HMRC)",[196,2155,2156],{},[199,2157,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":2159},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32080",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32080: the 24-month rule (HMRC)",[196,2162,2163],{},[199,2164,2167],{"href":2165,"rel":2166},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32125",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32125: the fixed term appointment rule (HMRC)",[196,2169,2170],{},[199,2171,2174],{"href":2172,"rel":2173},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32370",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32370: travel from home where it is a place of work (HMRC)",[196,2176,2177],{},[199,2178,2181],{"href":2179,"rel":2180},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fordinary-commuting-and-private-travel-490-chapter-3",[203],"Ordinary commuting and private travel (490: Chapter 3) (HMRC)",[196,2183,2184],{},[199,2185,2188],{"href":2186,"rel":2187},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fsafeguards-against-abuse-of-employee-travel-tax-relief-490-chapter-4",[203],"Safeguards against abuse of employee travel tax relief (490: Chapter 4) (HMRC)",[196,2190,2191],{},[199,2192,2195],{"href":2193,"rel":2194},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F338",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 338: travel for necessary attendance (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,2197,2198],{},[199,2199,2202],{"href":2200,"rel":2201},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F339",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 339 (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,2204,2205],{},[199,2206,2209],{"href":2207,"rel":2208},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F340",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 340: travel between group employments (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,2211,2212],{},[199,2213,2216],{"href":2214,"rel":2215},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F231",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 231: mileage allowance relief (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,2218,2219],{},[199,2220,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":2221},[203],[196,2223,2224],{},[199,2225,225],{"href":223,"rel":2226},[203],[241,2228],{},[11,2230,2231],{},[246,2232,2233],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. If your situation is unusual, particularly around temporary workplaces, take proper advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":2235},[2236,2237,2238,2239,2240,2241,2242,2243,2244,2245],{"id":1767,"depth":251,"text":1768},{"id":1781,"depth":251,"text":1782},{"id":1801,"depth":251,"text":1802},{"id":1822,"depth":251,"text":1823},{"id":1840,"depth":251,"text":1841},{"id":1851,"depth":251,"text":1852},{"id":1861,"depth":251,"text":1862},{"id":2027,"depth":251,"text":2028},{"id":2059,"depth":251,"text":2060},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-08-05","The commute trap, the temporary workplace rule, and the everyday journeys people wrongly leave off their claim.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile.jpg","Traffic moving along a busy city street","Photo by Oran Viriyincy","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F95482862@N00\u002F3889341309",{},[277],{"title":539,"description":2247},"blog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile",[284,578,2257],"commuting","hb_Li74qhpzeZ0aSamnhzax4192CvJvpbAoywNh86IQ",{"id":2260,"title":2261,"author":6,"body":2262,"category":259,"date":2688,"description":2689,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":2690,"imageAlt":2691,"imageCredit":2692,"imageCreditUrl":2693,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":2694,"navigation":271,"path":2695,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":2696,"seo":2697,"seoTitle":281,"stem":2698,"tags":2699,"updated":275,"__hash__":2702},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up.md","How to keep a mileage log that stands up",{"type":8,"value":2263,"toc":2677},[2264,2267,2271,2274,2303,2306,2310,2324,2327,2330,2334,2337,2343,2349,2355,2359,2362,2365,2369,2372,2386,2389,2393,2510,2513,2560,2564,2626,2628,2670,2672],[11,2265,2266],{},"A mileage claim is only as good as the record behind it. If someone asks you to justify 8,400 business miles two years after the fact, you want a log that answers the question rather than a number you once believed.",[15,2268,2270],{"id":2269},"what-a-record-should-contain","What a record should contain",[11,2272,2273],{},"For every business journey:",[193,2275,2276,2281,2286,2292,2297],{},[196,2277,2278,2280],{},[23,2279,813],{}," it happened",[196,2282,2283],{},[23,2284,2285],{},"Where you started and where you finished",[196,2287,2288,2291],{},[23,2289,2290],{},"Why it was business",", in enough words to jog a memory",[196,2293,2294],{},[23,2295,2296],{},"How far you went",[196,2298,2299,2302],{},[23,2300,2301],{},"Which vehicle"," you used, if you have more than one",[11,2304,2305],{},"Add a running total for the tax year and you can show the banding is right: for cars and vans, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after (for journeys from 6 April 2026). Reconstructed logs often get this wrong.",[15,2307,2309],{"id":2308},"how-long-to-keep-it","How long to keep it",[193,2311,2312,2318],{},[196,2313,2314,2317],{},[23,2315,2316],{},"Employees"," who file a tax return: at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the claim relates to.",[196,2319,2320,2323],{},[23,2321,2322],{},"Self-employed",": at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year.",[11,2325,2326],{},"If you might backdate a claim, keep the records for every year you claim.",[11,2328,2329],{},"Keep the record in a form you can still open. A note on a phone you no longer own is not a record.",[15,2331,2333],{"id":2332},"why-the-april-spreadsheet-is-the-weak-version","Why the April spreadsheet is the weak version",[11,2335,2336],{},"Three things go wrong when you write it all up at the end of the year.",[11,2338,2339,2342],{},[23,2340,2341],{},"Memory."," You remember the big trips and forget the twenty-mile round trip to a supplier in October. Those are the miles you paid for and never claimed.",[11,2344,2345,2348],{},[23,2346,2347],{},"Distance."," Postcode-to-postcode estimates are not the same as the route you drove. Sometimes that is in your favour, sometimes it is not, and either way it is not evidence.",[11,2350,2351,2354],{},[23,2352,2353],{},"Banding."," Fill in the mileage in one lump and there is no running total showing when you crossed 10,000, so you cannot check that what you were paid through the year was banded correctly.",[15,2356,2358],{"id":2357},"the-habit-that-fixes-it","The habit that fixes it",[11,2360,2361],{},"Record as you go, and sort promptly. Anything that captures the drive at the time (an app, a notebook in the glovebox, a note dictated at the traffic lights) beats a perfect spreadsheet built from memory.",[11,2363,2364],{},"If you use Milometry, this is the whole design: the journey is recorded while it happens, and the only question left is business or personal. It bands each trip against your running total for the tax year, keeps a per-trip and per-month record, and exports the lot as a PDF or CSV that reads like something you could hand to an accountant, because that is what it is for.",[15,2366,2368],{"id":2367},"a-quick-self-test","A quick self-test",[11,2370,2371],{},"Pick a random week from three months ago. Can you say, without guessing:",[2033,2373,2374,2377,2380,2383],{},[196,2375,2376],{},"Which drives you made for work?",[196,2378,2379],{},"Where each one started and ended?",[196,2381,2382],{},"How far each one was?",[196,2384,2385],{},"Why it was business?",[11,2387,2388],{},"If the answer is no, your log is not a log yet. That is entirely fixable, and the fix takes about ten seconds a day.",[15,2390,2392],{"id":2391},"what-a-record-must-contain","What a record must contain",[74,2394,2395,2409],{},[77,2396,2397],{},[80,2398,2399,2401,2404,2406],{},[83,2400,439],{},[83,2402,2403],{},"Required?",[83,2405,442],{},[83,2407,2408],{},"What it proves",[92,2410,2411,2423,2435,2448,2459,2470,2483,2497],{},[80,2412,2413,2415,2417,2420],{},[97,2414,449],{},[97,2416,107],{},[97,2418,2419],{},"14 Aug 2026",[97,2421,2422],{},"Ties to calendar, invoices, fuel receipts",[80,2424,2425,2428,2430,2432],{},[97,2426,2427],{},"Start location",[97,2429,107],{},[97,2431,460],{},[97,2433,2434],{},"Establishes commuting or not",[80,2436,2437,2440,2442,2445],{},[97,2438,2439],{},"Destination",[97,2441,107],{},[97,2443,2444],{},"Acme Ltd, Harrogate",[97,2446,2447],{},"The workplace, not just a town",[80,2449,2450,2452,2454,2456],{},[97,2451,473],{},[97,2453,107],{},[97,2455,2111],{},[97,2457,2458],{},"The business character",[80,2460,2461,2463,2465,2467],{},[97,2462,481],{},[97,2464,107],{},[97,2466,2121],{},[97,2468,2469],{},"The claim itself",[80,2471,2472,2474,2477,2480],{},[97,2473,334],{},[97,2475,2476],{},"If more than one",[97,2478,2479],{},"Van, AB26 CDE",[97,2481,2482],{},"Keeps totals apart",[80,2484,2485,2488,2491,2494],{},[97,2486,2487],{},"Route",[97,2489,2490],{},"Helpful",[97,2492,2493],{},"Recorded",[97,2495,2496],{},"Answers \"why so far?\"",[80,2498,2499,2502,2504,2507],{},[97,2500,2501],{},"Running total",[97,2503,2490],{},[97,2505,2506],{},"4,210 mi YTD",[97,2508,2509],{},"Gets the banding right",[15,2511,2309],{"id":2512},"how-long-to-keep-it-1",[74,2514,2515,2525],{},[77,2516,2517],{},[80,2518,2519,2522],{},[83,2520,2521],{},"If you are",[83,2523,2524],{},"Keep records until",[92,2526,2527,2539,2549],{},[80,2528,2529,2532],{},[97,2530,2531],{},"Employed and filing a tax return",[97,2533,2534,2535,2538],{},"At least ",[23,2536,2537],{},"22 months"," after the end of the tax year",[80,2540,2541,2543],{},[97,2542,2322],{},[97,2544,2534,2545,2548],{},[23,2546,2547],{},"5 years"," after the 31 January filing deadline",[80,2550,2551,2554],{},[97,2552,2553],{},"Running a limited company",[97,2555,2556,2559],{},[23,2557,2558],{},"6 years"," from the end of the company financial year the records relate to",[15,2561,2563],{"id":2562},"strong-record-versus-weak-record","Strong record versus weak record",[74,2565,2566,2576],{},[77,2567,2568],{},[80,2569,2570,2573],{},[83,2571,2572],{},"Weak",[83,2574,2575],{},"Strong",[92,2577,2578,2586,2594,2602,2610,2618],{},[80,2579,2580,2583],{},[97,2581,2582],{},"\"August: 340 business miles\"",[97,2584,2585],{},"22 individual journeys totalling 341.6 miles",[80,2587,2588,2591],{},[97,2589,2590],{},"Round numbers throughout",[97,2592,2593],{},"Distances that are obviously measured",[80,2595,2596,2599],{},[97,2597,2598],{},"Written up in April from memory",[97,2600,2601],{},"Recorded on the day",[80,2603,2604,2607],{},[97,2605,2606],{},"No purpose recorded",[97,2608,2609],{},"Client or job named on each trip",[80,2611,2612,2615],{},[97,2613,2614],{},"Commuting included",[97,2616,2617],{},"Home-to-workplace excluded and visibly so",[80,2619,2620,2623],{},[97,2621,2622],{},"One total across two vehicles",[97,2624,2625],{},"Each vehicle separately",[15,2627,191],{"id":190},[193,2629,2630,2635,2640,2645,2650,2657,2664],{},[196,2631,2632],{},[199,2633,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":2634},[203],[196,2636,2637],{},[199,2638,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":2639},[203],[196,2641,2642],{},[199,2643,239],{"href":237,"rel":2644},[203],[196,2646,2647],{},[199,2648,506],{"href":504,"rel":2649},[203],[196,2651,2652],{},[199,2653,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":2655},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-if-youre-self-employed\u002Ftravel",[203],"Expenses if you're self-employed: car, van and travel expenses (HMRC)",[196,2658,2659],{},[199,2660,2663],{"href":2661,"rel":2662},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Frunning-a-limited-company\u002Fcompany-and-accounting-records",[203],"Running a limited company: company and accounting records (HMRC and Companies House)",[196,2665,2666],{},[199,2667,2669],{"href":230,"rel":2668},[203],"Increasing mileage rates (HM Treasury and HMRC policy paper)",[241,2671],{},[11,2673,2674],{},[246,2675,2676],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":2678},[2679,2680,2681,2682,2683,2684,2685,2686,2687],{"id":2269,"depth":251,"text":2270},{"id":2308,"depth":251,"text":2309},{"id":2332,"depth":251,"text":2333},{"id":2357,"depth":251,"text":2358},{"id":2367,"depth":251,"text":2368},{"id":2391,"depth":251,"text":2392},{"id":2512,"depth":251,"text":2309},{"id":2562,"depth":251,"text":2563},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-07-24","What HMRC expects a mileage record to contain, how long to keep it, and why the spreadsheet you fill in every April is the weakest version of it.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up.jpg","A hand writing notes in a lined notebook","Photo by CarbonNYC [in SF!]","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F15923063@N00\u002F2965625438",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up",[277,1747],{"title":2261,"description":2689},"blog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up",[284,2700,2701],"records","self assessment","SOglICHJ8dlEpD4n25B1opZ0YORRvbM_oiBM9tTuil0",{"id":2704,"title":544,"author":6,"body":2705,"category":259,"date":3033,"description":3034,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":3035,"imageAlt":3036,"imageCredit":3037,"imageCreditUrl":3038,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3039,"imageLicenceUrl":3040,"meta":3041,"navigation":271,"path":543,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":3042,"seo":3043,"seoTitle":281,"stem":3044,"tags":3045,"updated":275,"__hash__":3048},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges.md",{"type":8,"value":2706,"toc":3024},[2707,2710,2714,2745,2748,2752,2781,2785,2788,2791,2794,2798,2808,2811,2815,2818,2937,2941,2987,2989,3017,3019],[11,2708,2709],{},"The approved mileage rate covers the cost of running the car: fuel, wear, servicing, insurance, depreciation. It does not cover what you spend on the way. Those are separate, claimable, and routinely forgotten.",[15,2711,2713],{"id":2712},"costs-that-usually-go-on-top","Costs that usually go on top",[193,2715,2716,2721,2727,2733,2739],{},[196,2717,2718,2720],{},[23,2719,489],{}," at the destination of a business journey",[196,2722,2723,2726],{},[23,2724,2725],{},"Tolls"," and bridge charges",[196,2728,2729,2732],{},[23,2730,2731],{},"Congestion charge",", where the journey was business",[196,2734,2735,2738],{},[23,2736,2737],{},"Clean-air and low-emission zone charges"," for a business trip",[196,2740,2741,2744],{},[23,2742,2743],{},"Ferry crossings"," where they form part of the journey",[11,2746,2747],{},"Each of these is claimable in its own right, in addition to the pence-per-mile. Keep the receipt and note which journey it belongs to.",[15,2749,2751],{"id":2750},"costs-that-do-not","Costs that do not",[193,2753,2754,2760,2766,2775],{},[196,2755,2756,2759],{},[23,2757,2758],{},"Parking fines and speeding tickets."," Never allowable, however the ticket came about.",[196,2761,2762,2765],{},[23,2763,2764],{},"Anything on your commute."," If the journey is not business travel, its parking is not either.",[196,2767,2768,2771,2772,2774],{},[23,2769,2770],{},"Fuel, on top of mileage."," You cannot claim the approved rate ",[246,2773,1847],{}," the petrol. The rate already includes it. Claiming both is a genuine and expensive error.",[196,2776,2777,2780],{},[23,2778,2779],{},"Personal detours."," If you paid to park while doing something personal, that is yours.",[15,2782,2784],{"id":2783},"the-evidence-problem","The evidence problem",[11,2786,2787],{},"Parking is where records fall apart, because so much of it is now a card tap or an app payment with no paper at all. Three months later you have a bank line that says \"RingGo\" and no idea which site it was or why you were there.",[11,2789,2790],{},"The fix is to capture it at the moment of payment. A photo of the receipt or the machine, attached to the journey it belongs to, does the job. If there is no paper, note the amount and the reason while you are still standing there.",[11,2792,2793],{},"Milometry keeps these against the trip itself: pick the type, enter the amount, and add a photo if you have one. The photo is copied into the app's own storage, so it survives you clearing out your camera roll. The totals then flow through into your monthly and tax-year statements, and appear as their own section in the exported PDF, clearly separated from the mileage claim.",[15,2795,2797],{"id":2796},"if-you-are-self-employed","If you are self-employed",[11,2799,2800,2801,2803,2804,2807],{},"You have a choice per vehicle: ",[23,2802,912],{}," (the flat pence-per-mile) or ",[23,2805,2806],{},"actual costs"," (a business proportion of fuel, insurance, servicing, capital allowances and so on). You cannot mix the two for the same vehicle, and once you have chosen for a particular car you must keep to that method for as long as you have it.",[11,2809,2810],{},"Parking, tolls and charges sit outside that choice: they are claimable either way.",[15,2812,2814],{"id":2813},"what-is-claimable-alongside-mileage","What is claimable alongside mileage",[11,2816,2817],{},"The mileage rate covers running the vehicle. These are separate, and claimable when the journey was\nbusiness:",[74,2819,2820,2833],{},[77,2821,2822],{},[80,2823,2824,2827,2830],{},[83,2825,2826],{},"Cost",[83,2828,2829],{},"Claimable on a business journey?",[83,2831,2832],{},"Notes",[92,2834,2835,2846,2858,2869,2881,2893,2905,2917,2927],{},[80,2836,2837,2839,2843],{},[97,2838,489],{},[97,2840,2841],{},[23,2842,107],{},[97,2844,2845],{},"Not at your permanent workplace",[80,2847,2848,2851,2855],{},[97,2849,2850],{},"Tolls and crossings",[97,2852,2853],{},[23,2854,107],{},[97,2856,2857],{},"Dartford, M6 Toll, estuarial crossings",[80,2859,2860,2862,2866],{},[97,2861,2731],{},[97,2863,2864],{},[23,2865,107],{},[97,2867,2868],{},"Journey must be business",[80,2870,2871,2874,2878],{},[97,2872,2873],{},"ULEZ \u002F clean air charges",[97,2875,2876],{},[23,2877,107],{},[97,2879,2880],{},"Same test",[80,2882,2883,2886,2890],{},[97,2884,2885],{},"Parking fine",[97,2887,2888],{},[23,2889,102],{},[97,2891,2892],{},"Penalties are never deductible",[80,2894,2895,2898,2902],{},[97,2896,2897],{},"Speeding fine",[97,2899,2900],{},[23,2901,102],{},[97,2903,2904],{},"Same",[80,2906,2907,2910,2914],{},[97,2908,2909],{},"Clamping release fee",[97,2911,2912],{},[23,2913,102],{},[97,2915,2916],{},"Consequence of a penalty",[80,2918,2919,2922,2924],{},[97,2920,2921],{},"Vehicle cleaning",[97,2923,102],{},[97,2925,2926],{},"A running cost, covered by the mileage rate",[80,2928,2929,2932,2934],{},[97,2930,2931],{},"Breakdown cover",[97,2933,102],{},[97,2935,2936],{},"Covered by the mileage rate; only apportioned by the self-employed on actual costs",[15,2938,2940],{"id":2939},"where-the-receipts-go-wrong","Where the receipts go wrong",[74,2942,2943,2953],{},[77,2944,2945],{},[80,2946,2947,2950],{},[83,2948,2949],{},"Problem",[83,2951,2952],{},"Fix",[92,2954,2955,2963,2971,2979],{},[80,2956,2957,2960],{},[97,2958,2959],{},"Thermal receipts fade to blank",[97,2961,2962],{},"Photograph at the time",[80,2964,2965,2968],{},[97,2966,2967],{},"Charges paid days later in a batch",[97,2969,2970],{},"Attach each to its journey when it happens",[80,2972,2973,2976],{},[97,2974,2975],{},"No record of which trip a charge belongs to",[97,2977,2978],{},"Log the cost against the trip, not the month",[80,2980,2981,2984],{},[97,2982,2983],{},"Personal and business charges mixed",[97,2985,2986],{},"Classify at the point of payment",[15,2988,191],{"id":190},[193,2990,2991,2996,3001,3006,3012],{},[196,2992,2993],{},[199,2994,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":2995},[203],[196,2997,2998],{},[199,2999,225],{"href":223,"rel":3000},[203],[196,3002,3003],{},[199,3004,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":3005},[203],[196,3007,3008],{},[199,3009,3011],{"href":844,"rel":3010},[203],"BIM75005: simplified expenses, motor vehicles (HMRC manual)",[196,3013,3014],{},[199,3015,1698],{"href":530,"rel":3016},[203],[241,3018],{},[11,3020,3021],{},[246,3022,3023],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Check anything unusual with HMRC or your accountant.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":3025},[3026,3027,3028,3029,3030,3031,3032],{"id":2712,"depth":251,"text":2713},{"id":2750,"depth":251,"text":2751},{"id":2783,"depth":251,"text":2784},{"id":2796,"depth":251,"text":2797},{"id":2813,"depth":251,"text":2814},{"id":2939,"depth":251,"text":2940},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-07-02","Mileage is not the whole claim. The out-of-pocket costs that ride along with a business journey, and the ones that never qualify.","\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges.jpg","A circular multi storey car park in a city","Photo by Newcastle Libraries","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F39821974@N06\u002F4090657232","Public domain","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Fpublicdomain\u002Fmark\u002F1.0\u002F",{},[277,1746],{"title":544,"description":3034},"blog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges",[284,3046,3047],"expenses","receipts","QG9HiUeqG_TTvPKIy3LPY38JYgV21M1wKAVxL5BNZhA",{"id":3050,"title":3051,"author":6,"body":3052,"category":259,"date":3252,"description":3253,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":3254,"imageAlt":3255,"imageCredit":3256,"imageCreditUrl":3257,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":3260,"navigation":271,"path":3261,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":3262,"seo":3263,"seoTitle":281,"stem":3264,"tags":3265,"updated":275,"__hash__":3268},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates.md","The 24p and 20p rates for motorcycles and bicycles",{"type":8,"value":3053,"toc":3244},[3054,3057,3059,3076,3083,3086,3090,3093,3161,3164,3168,3171,3174,3177,3181,3188,3191,3195,3198,3201,3203,3237,3239],[11,3055,3056],{},"The car rate is better known: 55p a mile for journeys from 6 April 2026. HMRC also publishes approved rates for motorcycles and bicycles, and they behave differently.",[15,3058,1186],{"id":1185},[193,3060,3061,3066,3071],{},[196,3062,3063,3065],{},[23,3064,347],{},": 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p",[196,3067,3068,3070],{},[23,3069,358],{},": 24p a mile, flat",[196,3072,3073,3075],{},[23,3074,368],{},": 20p a mile, flat",[11,3077,3078,3079,3082],{},"The important word is ",[246,3080,3081],{},"flat",". The 10,000-mile threshold that drops car mileage to 25p does not apply to motorcycles or bicycles. Ride 15,000 business miles on a motorbike and every one of them is 24p.",[11,3084,3085],{},"These are the approved amounts an employer can pay an employee tax free. If you are self-employed and use simplified expenses, the 24p motorcycle rate applies too, but there is no bicycle rate in simplified expenses.",[15,3087,3089],{"id":3088},"what-the-flat-rate-is-worth-at-higher-mileage","What the flat rate is worth at higher mileage",[11,3091,3092],{},"Because motorcycle and bicycle rates are not banded, the gap to the car narrows once you pass the\nthreshold:",[74,3094,3095,3110],{},[77,3096,3097],{},[80,3098,3099,3101,3104,3107],{},[83,3100,1319],{},[83,3102,3103],{},"Car (banded)",[83,3105,3106],{},"Motorcycle (24p flat)",[83,3108,3109],{},"Bicycle (20p flat)",[92,3111,3112,3123,3135,3148],{},[80,3113,3114,3116,3118,3120],{},[97,3115,1338],{},[97,3117,1341],{},[97,3119,1490],{},[97,3121,3122],{},"£400",[80,3124,3125,3127,3129,3132],{},[97,3126,1371],{},[97,3128,1374],{},[97,3130,3131],{},"£2,400",[97,3133,3134],{},"£2,000",[80,3136,3137,3139,3142,3145],{},[97,3138,1405],{},[97,3140,3141],{},"£8,000 (40.0p avg)",[97,3143,3144],{},"£4,800",[97,3146,3147],{},"£4,000",[80,3149,3150,3152,3155,3158],{},[97,3151,1423],{},[97,3153,3154],{},"£10,500 (35.0p avg)",[97,3156,3157],{},"£7,200",[97,3159,3160],{},"£6,000",[11,3162,3163],{},"The car rate is higher per mile at every level, but the gap narrows above 10,000 miles. All of\nthese are approved amounts, meant to cover the cost of running the vehicle, not money to keep.",[15,3165,3167],{"id":3166},"why-the-bicycle-rate-gets-ignored","Why the bicycle rate gets ignored",[11,3169,3170],{},"Because it sounds trivial. It is worth doing the arithmetic before you decide that.",[11,3172,3173],{},"A four-mile round trip to a client twice a week is roughly 400 business miles a year. At 20p that is an approved amount of £80 for journeys that are easy not to record. If you are an employee whose employer pays nothing, that becomes tax relief on £80 (£16 for a basic-rate taxpayer). Not life-changing, but it costs you nothing to have counted it.",[11,3175,3176],{},"For employees who make local calls by bike, or anyone employed in a city where the bike genuinely is the sensible vehicle, the numbers get considerably more interesting.",[15,3178,3180],{"id":3179},"the-same-rules-still-apply","The same rules still apply",[11,3182,3183,3184,3187],{},"None of this changes what counts as business travel. A cycle commute from home to a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not claimable, exactly as it would be in a car. The journey has to be travel ",[246,3185,3186],{},"in the performance of your duties",", or to a temporary workplace.",[11,3189,3190],{},"A Cycle to Work bike is provided by your employer, so the 20p rate for your own bike does not apply to it.",[15,3192,3194],{"id":3193},"recording-them","Recording them",[11,3196,3197],{},"The evidence HMRC expects is the same whatever you were riding: the date, where you went and came from, why it was business, and the distance. That is the awkward part on a bike, because there is no odometer to photograph and nobody wants to stop and write things down.",[11,3199,3200],{},"Milometry records the journey by GPS regardless of what you were on, so a bike trip logs itself the same way a drive does. Set the vehicle up with its own rate and the claim adds up correctly against the flat rate rather than the banded car one.",[15,3202,191],{"id":190},[193,3204,3205,3210,3215,3221,3226,3232],{},[196,3206,3207],{},[199,3208,239],{"href":237,"rel":3209},[203],[196,3211,3212],{},[199,3213,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":3214},[203],[196,3216,3217],{},[199,3218,3220],{"href":518,"rel":3219},[203],"EIM31240: approved mileage allowance payments, the rates (HMRC manual)",[196,3222,3223],{},[199,3224,1698],{"href":530,"rel":3225},[203],[196,3227,3228],{},[199,3229,3231],{"href":2179,"rel":3230},[203],"Ordinary commuting and private travel: 490 chapter 3 (HMRC)",[196,3233,3234],{},[199,3235,506],{"href":504,"rel":3236},[203],[241,3238],{},[11,3240,3241],{},[246,3242,3243],{},"General information for UK drivers and riders, not tax advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":3245},[3246,3247,3248,3249,3250,3251],{"id":1185,"depth":251,"text":1186},{"id":3088,"depth":251,"text":3089},{"id":3166,"depth":251,"text":3167},{"id":3179,"depth":251,"text":3180},{"id":3193,"depth":251,"text":3194},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-05-28","Motorcycles and bicycles have their own approved mileage rates, and unlike the car rate they are not banded at 10,000 miles.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates.jpg","Motorcyclists riding in city traffic","Photo by Skitter Photo","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Fmotorbike-motorcycle-6F4302CB15","CC0 1.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Fpublicdomain\u002Fzero\u002F1.0\u002F",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates",[277,1746],{"title":3051,"description":3253},"blog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates",[284,3266,3267],"motorcycle","cycling","T3hkq3nb9Jh4_JDyMAIJbQlw0LnkRfItE9wSJlf6A7o",{"id":3270,"title":3271,"author":6,"body":3272,"category":259,"date":3595,"description":3596,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":3597,"imageAlt":3598,"imageCredit":3599,"imageCreditUrl":3600,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":3601,"navigation":271,"path":3602,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":3604,"seo":3605,"seoTitle":281,"stem":3606,"tags":3607,"updated":275,"__hash__":3608},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained.md","The 24-month rule, in plain English",{"type":8,"value":3273,"toc":3585},[3274,3282,3285,3289,3303,3306,3309,3313,3319,3326,3333,3336,3340,3343,3346,3350,3413,3416,3420,3423,3474,3477,3481,3484,3487,3491,3494,3508,3511,3513,3578,3580],[11,3275,1785,3276,3278,3279,3281],{},[23,3277,306],{}," is claimable. Travel to a ",[23,3280,1774],{}," is ordinary commuting and is not. The 24-month rule, which applies to employees (including directors of their own company), is one of the tests the law uses to decide which one you are looking at, and it catches people out because it works on expectation rather than hindsight.",[11,3283,3284],{},"\"Claimable\" here means your employer can pay you for the journey tax free up to the approved amount, and if they pay less you can claim tax relief on the shortfall against your own Income Tax (Mileage Allowance Relief).",[15,3286,3288],{"id":3287},"the-rule","The rule",[11,3290,3291,3292,3295,3296,3298,3299,3302],{},"A workplace you go to for a task of limited duration is normally temporary. It stops being temporary when your work there runs, or can reasonably be expected to run, for ",[23,3293,3294],{},"more than 24 months",", ",[246,3297,1847],{}," your attendance is for a ",[23,3300,3301],{},"significant part"," of your working time.",[11,3304,3305],{},"Both halves matter. More than two years on a site three days a week is caught. More than two years popping in once a quarter is not.",[11,3307,3308],{},"There is a sister rule: a site is also permanent if you are expected to work there for all or almost all of the time you are likely to hold the job, however short that is. That is the one that catches fixed-term and site-by-site contracts.",[15,3310,3312],{"id":3311},"the-part-that-surprises-people","The part that surprises people",[11,3314,3315,3316,545],{},"It is not \"you can claim for the first 24 months and then stop\". The test is about ",[23,3317,3318],{},"expectation",[11,3320,3321,3322,3325],{},"If you take an assignment that everyone knows from day one will run for three years, the workplace is permanent from the ",[246,3323,3324],{},"first day",". There is no 24 months of allowable travel followed by a cut-off. It was never temporary. That stays true even if the assignment is cut short: HMRC's own example is a 28-month posting that ended after 18, with no relief for any of it.",[11,3327,3328,3329,3332],{},"Conversely, if a six-month contract keeps being extended and at month 20 it becomes clear it will run past two years, the travel stops being claimable ",[23,3330,3331],{},"from the point the expectation changed",", not from month 24. The change works the other way too: a long posting that is shortened to under 24 months becomes temporary from the date it is shortened.",[11,3334,3335],{},"That is the trap. The clock is not counting your journeys. It is measuring what could reasonably be expected at the time, judged on things like what your employer told you and the expected length of the project.",[15,3337,3339],{"id":3338},"significant-part-of-your-working-time","\"Significant part of your working time\"",[11,3341,3342],{},"The legislation does not fix a percentage, but HMRC's guidance treats 40% or more of your working time as a significant part. Below that, a workplace you attend for a limited-duration task can remain temporary even beyond 24 months. (A place you attend for an open-ended purpose is permanent however little time you spend there: the 40% test only applies to somewhere that would otherwise be temporary.)",[11,3344,3345],{},"This is what makes the occasional-visit case genuinely different from the four-days-a-week case, and why two people on the same contract can get different answers.",[15,3347,3349],{"id":3348},"four-scenarios-worked-through","Four scenarios, worked through",[74,3351,3352,3365],{},[77,3353,3354],{},[80,3355,3356,3359,3362],{},[83,3357,3358],{},"Situation",[83,3360,3361],{},"Temporary?",[83,3363,3364],{},"Travel claimable",[92,3366,3367,3377,3391,3402],{},[80,3368,3369,3372,3374],{},[97,3370,3371],{},"9-month contract, expected 9 months",[97,3373,107],{},[97,3375,3376],{},"Throughout",[80,3378,3379,3382,3386],{},[97,3380,3381],{},"3-year contract, known on day one",[97,3383,3384],{},[23,3385,102],{},[97,3387,3388],{},[23,3389,3390],{},"None, from day one",[80,3392,3393,3396,3399],{},[97,3394,3395],{},"12-month contract, extended at month 10 to 30 months",[97,3397,3398],{},"Yes, then no",[97,3400,3401],{},"Until month 10 only",[80,3403,3404,3407,3410],{},[97,3405,3406],{},"30-month engagement, attending one day a fortnight",[97,3408,3409],{},"Yes, if the visits are for that limited-duration task",[97,3411,3412],{},"Throughout, below the \"significant part\" test",[11,3414,3415],{},"The third row is the one that costs people money, because nothing visible changes on the day the\nanswer does.",[15,3417,3419],{"id":3418},"what-it-is-worth-in-money","What it is worth, in money",[11,3421,3422],{},"A 30-mile each-way drive to a site, four days a week, 46 weeks a year, at the 2026-27 approved rates for an employee's own car (55p a mile, 25p above 10,000):",[74,3424,3425,3436],{},[77,3426,3427],{},[80,3428,3429,3431,3434],{},[83,3430],{},[83,3432,3433],{},"Miles",[83,3435,1328],{},[92,3437,3438,3449,3460],{},[80,3439,3440,3443,3446],{},[97,3441,3442],{},"Per day",[97,3444,3445],{},"60",[97,3447,3448],{},"£33.00",[80,3450,3451,3454,3457],{},[97,3452,3453],{},"Per week (4 days)",[97,3455,3456],{},"240",[97,3458,3459],{},"£132.00",[80,3461,3462,3465,3468],{},[97,3463,3464],{},"Per year",[97,3466,3467],{},"11,040",[97,3469,3470,3473],{},[23,3471,3472],{},"£5,760"," (banded)",[11,3475,3476],{},"£5,760 is the approved amount, not money you keep. If your employer pays you that much for the\nmiles, it is tax free. If they pay nothing, Mileage Allowance Relief on £5,760 is worth your tax\nrate on it: £1,152 at 20%, £2,304 at 40%.",[15,3478,3480],{"id":3479},"why-it-is-worth-getting-right","Why it is worth getting right",[11,3482,3483],{},"If the workplace was in fact permanent, those miles were commuting. Payments your employer made for them were taxable pay, and any relief you claimed was not due, so HMRC can recover the tax, with interest and possibly penalties. Repeated across several years, that adds up.",[11,3485,3486],{},"Getting it wrong the other way, treating a site as permanent when it qualified as temporary, means the tax-free payment or the relief goes unclaimed.",[15,3488,3490],{"id":3489},"what-to-do-about-it","What to do about it",[11,3492,3493],{},"Keep the record either way. A journey you did not log is hard to support later if it turns out you were entitled, and a journey you logged but did not claim costs you nothing.",[11,3495,3496,3497,3500,3501,3503,3504,3507],{},"In Milometry, tag a genuinely permanent workplace as ",[23,3498,3499],{},"Workplace"," and your house as ",[23,3502,460],{},": those journeys are then recognised as ordinary commuting and kept out of your claim automatically, while staying in your records. Tag a temporary site as ",[23,3505,3506],{},"Business"," instead, and it counts.",[11,3509,3510],{},"If the status of a site changes (an extension lands, the expectation shifts), change the tag from that date. The history stays intact and the claim adjusts.",[15,3512,191],{"id":190},[193,3514,3515,3520,3525,3530,3537,3544,3551,3558,3563,3568,3573],{},[196,3516,3517],{},[199,3518,506],{"href":504,"rel":3519},[203],[196,3521,3522],{},[199,3523,2153],{"href":2151,"rel":3524},[203],[196,3526,3527],{},[199,3528,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":3529},[203],[196,3531,3532],{},[199,3533,3536],{"href":3534,"rel":3535},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32083",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32083: example, posting ended early (HMRC)",[196,3538,3539],{},[199,3540,3543],{"href":3541,"rel":3542},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32084",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32084: example, posting extended (HMRC)",[196,3545,3546],{},[199,3547,3550],{"href":3548,"rel":3549},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32086",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32086: example, below 40% of working time (HMRC)",[196,3552,3553],{},[199,3554,3557],{"href":3555,"rel":3556},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32100",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32100: working out what the employee expects (HMRC)",[196,3559,3560],{},[199,3561,2167],{"href":2165,"rel":3562},[203],[196,3564,3565],{},[199,3566,2202],{"href":2200,"rel":3567},[203],[196,3569,3570],{},[199,3571,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":3572},[203],[196,3574,3575],{},[199,3576,225],{"href":223,"rel":3577},[203],[241,3579],{},[11,3581,3582],{},[246,3583,3584],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. The 24-month rule turns on the facts of your case: if a site is close to the line, take proper advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":3586},[3587,3588,3589,3590,3591,3592,3593,3594],{"id":3287,"depth":251,"text":3288},{"id":3311,"depth":251,"text":3312},{"id":3338,"depth":251,"text":3339},{"id":3348,"depth":251,"text":3349},{"id":3418,"depth":251,"text":3419},{"id":3479,"depth":251,"text":3480},{"id":3489,"depth":251,"text":3490},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-05-21","When a temporary workplace quietly becomes a permanent one, why the clock can start before you notice, and what it costs when it does.","\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained.jpg","A close-up of a calendar page, the dates running towards the end of the month","Photo by DafneCholet","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F57113749@N07\u002F5374200948",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained",4,[277],{"title":3271,"description":3596},"blog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained",[284,306,578],"RSdBCEOLr8K9jkWgUmNEFVJju119XKhBBAVOrnVOL9A",{"id":3610,"title":3611,"author":6,"body":3612,"category":259,"date":3849,"description":3850,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":3851,"imageAlt":3852,"imageCredit":3853,"imageCreditUrl":3854,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":3855,"navigation":271,"path":3856,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":3857,"seo":3858,"seoTitle":281,"stem":3859,"tags":3860,"updated":275,"__hash__":3862},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile.md","The 5p a mile your employer can pay for passengers",{"type":8,"value":3613,"toc":3840},[3614,3621,3625,3628,3631,3635,3719,3726,3730,3733,3744,3751,3754,3758,3761,3765,3786,3789,3793,3796,3799,3801,3834,3836],[11,3615,3616,3617,3620],{},"If you carry a colleague on a business journey, your employer can pay you up to ",[23,3618,3619],{},"5p per passenger per mile",", tax free. Few employers do unless asked. It is easy not to know about, and it works differently from the main rate.",[15,3622,3624],{"id":3623},"how-it-works","How it works",[11,3626,3627],{},"The passenger payment is up to 5p a mile for each fellow employee who is also travelling on business, paid by your employer. It is not banded. The 10,000-mile threshold that drops your car rate to 25p does not touch it. Every passenger mile is 5p, all year.",[11,3629,3630],{},"Two colleagues in the car for a 120-mile round trip is £12 on top of the mileage payment, if your employer pays it. Do that fortnightly and it is over £300 a year.",[15,3632,3634],{"id":3633},"what-it-adds-up-to","What it adds up to",[74,3636,3637,3653],{},[77,3638,3639],{},[80,3640,3641,3644,3647,3650],{},[83,3642,3643],{},"Journey pattern",[83,3645,3646],{},"Passengers",[83,3648,3649],{},"Business miles\u002Fyr",[83,3651,3652],{},"Passenger payment (if your employer pays it)",[92,3654,3655,3669,3681,3694,3706],{},[80,3656,3657,3660,3663,3666],{},[97,3658,3659],{},"Fortnightly 120-mile round trip",[97,3661,3662],{},"1",[97,3664,3665],{},"3,120",[97,3667,3668],{},"£156",[80,3670,3671,3673,3676,3678],{},[97,3672,3659],{},[97,3674,3675],{},"2",[97,3677,3665],{},[97,3679,3680],{},"£312",[80,3682,3683,3686,3688,3691],{},[97,3684,3685],{},"Weekly 80-mile site visit, 48 weeks",[97,3687,3675],{},[97,3689,3690],{},"3,840",[97,3692,3693],{},"£384",[80,3695,3696,3699,3701,3704],{},[97,3697,3698],{},"Daily 40-mile run, 3 days a week",[97,3700,3662],{},[97,3702,3703],{},"6,240",[97,3705,3680],{},[80,3707,3708,3711,3714,3716],{},[97,3709,3710],{},"Territory driving, colleague half the time",[97,3712,3713],{},"1 (50%)",[97,3715,1405],{},[97,3717,3718],{},"£500",[11,3720,3721,3722,3725],{},"Unlike the main rate, this is ",[23,3723,3724],{},"not banded",": every passenger mile is 5p regardless of your annual\ntotal.",[15,3727,3729],{"id":3728},"the-catch-employees-need-to-know","The catch employees need to know",[11,3731,3732],{},"Here is where it differs from the main rate, and why it is worth understanding before you rely on it.",[11,3734,3735,3736,3739,3740,3743],{},"If your employer pays you a passenger payment, up to 5p a mile is tax-free. But if your employer pays you ",[23,3737,3738],{},"nothing"," for carrying passengers, you ",[23,3741,3742],{},"cannot"," claim tax relief on the difference the way you can with the main mileage rate.",[11,3745,3746,3747,3750],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief covers the gap between what you were paid and the approved rate for the ",[246,3748,3749],{},"vehicle",". It does not extend to passenger payments. If the employer does not pay it, there is nothing to claim.",[11,3752,3753],{},"That makes this one worth raising with your employer rather than saving up for your tax return. Some will pay it if asked, because it costs them little and is tax-free up to 5p.",[15,3755,3757],{"id":3756},"for-the-self-employed","For the self-employed",[11,3759,3760],{},"Nothing. If you are self-employed there is no passenger rate at all. The simplified expenses rate is a deduction for the vehicle and its running costs, and HMRC's guidance says the number of people in the vehicle does not affect it.",[15,3762,3764],{"id":3763},"the-conditions","The conditions",[193,3766,3767,3773,3780,3783],{},[196,3768,3769,3770],{},"The passenger must be a ",[23,3771,3772],{},"fellow employee",[196,3774,3775,3776,3779],{},"They must also be travelling ",[23,3777,3778],{},"on business",", not being dropped somewhere convenient",[196,3781,3782],{},"It applies to the same journey, in your own car or van or a company one",[196,3784,3785],{},"Your employer has to pay it: there is no tax relief if they do not",[11,3787,3788],{},"A spouse, a client or a friend does not count, however useful the lift was.",[15,3790,3792],{"id":3791},"recording-it","Recording it",[11,3794,3795],{},"The evidence is the journey plus who was in the car. Milometry lets you add passengers to a trip, works out the payment at 5p a mile per head, and shows it alongside the mileage claim, so if your employer does pay it, the number is already there rather than being reconstructed from memory at year end.",[11,3797,3798],{},"The same passenger count also drives the fuel split for personal journeys, which is a different calculation for a different purpose, but the same question: who was actually in the car.",[15,3800,191],{"id":190},[193,3802,3803,3808,3813,3818,3823,3828],{},[196,3804,3805],{},[199,3806,239],{"href":237,"rel":3807},[203],[196,3809,3810],{},[199,3811,225],{"href":223,"rel":3812},[203],[196,3814,3815],{},[199,3816,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":3817},[203],[196,3819,3820],{},[199,3821,1692],{"href":1690,"rel":3822},[203],[196,3824,3825],{},[199,3826,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":3827},[203],[196,3829,3830],{},[199,3831,3833],{"href":844,"rel":3832},[203],"Business Income Manual BIM75005: simplified expenses for vehicles (HMRC)",[241,3835],{},[11,3837,3838],{},[246,3839,2676],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":3841},[3842,3843,3844,3845,3846,3847,3848],{"id":3623,"depth":251,"text":3624},{"id":3633,"depth":251,"text":3634},{"id":3728,"depth":251,"text":3729},{"id":3756,"depth":251,"text":3757},{"id":3763,"depth":251,"text":3764},{"id":3791,"depth":251,"text":3792},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-05-14","Your employer can pay up to 5p a mile, tax free, for each colleague you carry on a business journey. It is optional, and unpaid it cannot be claimed.","\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile.jpg","A group of people gathered around a car","Photo by wbaiv","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F9998127@N06\u002F8587536257",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile",[277,1746],{"title":3611,"description":3850},"blog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile",[284,3861,578],"passengers","UergMd8VQkmNh1qF5_YyqBOgmq0tTZ8ONi5Br0DWf8I",{"id":3864,"title":3865,"author":6,"body":3866,"category":259,"date":4326,"description":4327,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":4328,"imageAlt":4329,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":4330,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":4331,"navigation":271,"path":4332,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":573,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":4333,"seo":4334,"seoTitle":281,"stem":4335,"tags":4336,"updated":275,"__hash__":4338},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs.md","Mileage rate or actual costs: how the two compare",{"type":8,"value":3867,"toc":4316},[3868,3871,3875,3881,3887,3891,3898,3901,3904,3908,3911,3972,3976,3979,3993,3996,4010,4013,4017,4100,4104,4107,4209,4212,4215,4219,4225,4228,4230,4309,4311],[11,3869,3870],{},"If you are self-employed (a sole trader, or a partnership of individuals), you can deduct the cost of business driving from your profit in one of two ways. Either way it is a deduction, so what it saves is your Income Tax and National Insurance rate on it, not the full amount. The difference between them can be significant, and the choice is stickier than many people realise. Limited companies cannot use the flat rate.",[15,3872,3874],{"id":3873},"the-two-options","The two options",[11,3876,3877,3880],{},[23,3878,3879],{},"Simplified expenses (the mileage rate)."," Deduct a flat 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the accounting period and 25p after that (the rates for 2026-27; it was 45p up to 2025-26, and HMRC's guidance explains how to handle accounts that straddle the change). The 10,000 miles count across all the business's cars and vans that use the flat rate. That figure is meant to cover everything: fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs, road tax, depreciation. You deduct nothing else for buying or running the vehicle (parking, tolls and congestion charges on business journeys are still allowed on top).",[11,3882,3883,3886],{},[23,3884,3885],{},"Actual costs."," Work out what the vehicle really costs you across the year, then deduct the business proportion of it. You also get relief for the business share of the purchase price: capital allowances, or for a van under the cash basis (the default since 2024-25) a deduction for its cost. This means keeping receipts for everything and knowing your business-use percentage.",[15,3888,3890],{"id":3889},"the-rule-that-catches-people","The rule that catches people",[11,3892,3893,3894,3897],{},"Once you have used the mileage rate for a particular vehicle, ",[23,3895,3896],{},"you must keep using it for that vehicle"," for as long as you use it in the business. You cannot use the flat rate for three years and then switch to actual costs when the car needs a new gearbox.",[11,3899,3900],{},"It also runs the other way: if you claim capital allowances on a vehicle, or deduct a van's purchase cost under the cash basis, the mileage rate is closed for that vehicle. HMRC's guidance is that you can only change method when the vehicle is replaced.",[11,3902,3903],{},"So the decision is made once, early, and lives with the car.",[15,3905,3907],{"id":3906},"rough-patterns","Rough patterns",[11,3909,3910],{},"These are general tendencies, not a recommendation for any particular business:",[74,3912,3913,3922],{},[77,3914,3915],{},[80,3916,3917,3919],{},[83,3918,3358],{},[83,3920,3921],{},"Tends to favour",[92,3923,3924,3934,3941,3951,3958,3965],{},[80,3925,3926,3929],{},[97,3927,3928],{},"Cheap or already-owned car, high business mileage",[97,3930,3931],{},[23,3932,3933],{},"Mileage rate",[80,3935,3936,3939],{},[97,3937,3938],{},"Economical car, moderate mileage",[97,3940,3933],{},[80,3942,3943,3946],{},[97,3944,3945],{},"Expensive vehicle, high business-use percentage",[97,3947,3948],{},[23,3949,3950],{},"Actual costs",[80,3952,3953,3956],{},[97,3954,3955],{},"Thirsty van working hard",[97,3957,3950],{},[80,3959,3960,3963],{},[97,3961,3962],{},"Low business mileage, expensive car",[97,3964,3950],{},[80,3966,3967,3970],{},[97,3968,3969],{},"You would rather not keep receipts",[97,3971,3933],{},[15,3973,3975],{"id":3974},"when-each-tends-to-come-out-ahead","When each tends to come out ahead",[11,3977,3978],{},"The mileage rate tends to win when:",[193,3980,3981,3984,3987,3990],{},[196,3982,3983],{},"The car was cheap, or was already yours",[196,3985,3986],{},"You drive a lot of business miles in it",[196,3988,3989],{},"It is economical, so 55p comfortably exceeds what the mile actually cost",[196,3991,3992],{},"You would rather not keep every receipt",[11,3994,3995],{},"Actual costs tend to win when:",[193,3997,3998,4001,4004,4007],{},[196,3999,4000],{},"The vehicle was expensive, so the capital allowances are substantial",[196,4002,4003],{},"Business use is a high proportion of total use",[196,4005,4006],{},"Running costs are genuinely high: a van, something thirsty, something old and needy",[196,4008,4009],{},"Your annual business mileage is modest, so the flat rate does not add up to much",[11,4011,4012],{},"A rough comparison: estimate the business miles for the year, multiply by the rate, and compare that with the real annual running costs times the business-use percentage, plus the business share of the purchase relief. Where the two are close, the flat rate has the advantage of being simpler to administer. Because the choice is locked in for the vehicle, the comparison that matters covers the vehicle's whole expected life in the business, including what it sells for at the end.",[15,4014,4016],{"id":4015},"the-two-methods-side-by-side","The two methods side by side",[74,4018,4019,4029],{},[77,4020,4021],{},[80,4022,4023,4025,4027],{},[83,4024],{},[83,4026,3933],{},[83,4028,3950],{},[92,4030,4031,4042,4054,4065,4077,4089],{},[80,4032,4033,4036,4039],{},[97,4034,4035],{},"What you claim",[97,4037,4038],{},"55p \u002F 25p a mile",[97,4040,4041],{},"Business share of real costs",[80,4043,4044,4047,4051],{},[97,4045,4046],{},"Capital allowances",[97,4048,4049],{},[23,4050,102],{},[97,4052,4053],{},"Yes, on the purchase",[80,4055,4056,4059,4062],{},[97,4057,4058],{},"Receipts needed",[97,4060,4061],{},"Mileage log only",[97,4063,4064],{},"Everything, all year",[80,4066,4067,4070,4072],{},[97,4068,4069],{},"Business-use % needed",[97,4071,102],{},[97,4073,4074],{},[23,4075,4076],{},"Yes, and defensible",[80,4078,4079,4082,4087],{},[97,4080,4081],{},"Can you switch later?",[97,4083,4084],{},[23,4085,4086],{},"No, not for that vehicle",[97,4088,4086],{},[80,4090,4091,4094,4097],{},[97,4092,4093],{},"Best for",[97,4095,4096],{},"Cheap, economical, high mileage",[97,4098,4099],{},"Expensive, thirsty, high business use",[15,4101,4103],{"id":4102},"a-worked-comparison","A worked comparison",[11,4105,4106],{},"A van bought for £18,000, doing 8,000 business miles out of 12,000 total (67% business), running\ncosts of £4,200 a year, kept four years and sold for £7,000:",[74,4108,4109,4119],{},[77,4110,4111],{},[80,4112,4113,4115,4117],{},[83,4114],{},[83,4116,3933],{},[83,4118,3950],{},[92,4120,4121,4131,4141,4151,4167,4182,4192],{},[80,4122,4123,4126,4128],{},[97,4124,4125],{},"Fuel, servicing, tyres, insurance, tax (£4,200 × 67%), each year",[97,4127,116],{},[97,4129,4130],{},"£2,814",[80,4132,4133,4136,4138],{},[97,4134,4135],{},"Purchase relief in year one (£18,000 × 67%, through the Annual Investment Allowance, or a cash basis deduction)",[97,4137,116],{},[97,4139,4140],{},"£12,060",[80,4142,4143,4146,4149],{},[97,4144,4145],{},"8,000 miles at 55p, each year",[97,4147,4148],{},"£4,400",[97,4150,116],{},[80,4152,4153,4158,4162],{},[97,4154,4155],{},[23,4156,4157],{},"Year one deduction",[97,4159,4160],{},[23,4161,4148],{},[97,4163,4164],{},[23,4165,4166],{},"£14,874",[80,4168,4169,4174,4178],{},[97,4170,4171],{},[23,4172,4173],{},"Years two to four, each",[97,4175,4176],{},[23,4177,4148],{},[97,4179,4180],{},[23,4181,4130],{},[80,4183,4184,4187,4189],{},[97,4185,4186],{},"Sale proceeds brought back into profit (£7,000 × 67%)",[97,4188,116],{},[97,4190,4191],{},"−£4,690",[80,4193,4194,4199,4204],{},[97,4195,4196],{},[23,4197,4198],{},"Four years in total",[97,4200,4201],{},[23,4202,4203],{},"£17,600",[97,4205,4206],{},[23,4207,4208],{},"£18,626",[11,4210,4211],{},"In this illustration actual costs front-load the relief into year one and the mileage rate is\nsteady, and over the van's life the totals end up close. Change the price, the running costs, the\nmileage or the resale value and the answer moves. These are deductions from profit, not cash: what\neach saves is your tax rate on it.",[11,4213,4214],{},"Figures are illustrative. How the purchase is relieved depends on the vehicle (cars do not get the\nAnnual Investment Allowance) and on whether you use the cash basis, which is why this comparison is\nworth checking against your own figures before committing.",[15,4216,4218],{"id":4217},"you-still-need-the-mileage-log-either-way","You still need the mileage log either way",[11,4220,4221,4222,4224],{},"This is easy to overlook. Choosing actual costs does not free you from recording journeys. It makes the record ",[246,4223,1302],{}," important, because your business-use percentage has to be justified from somewhere. \"About 60%\" is not a figure HMRC can check, and neither can you.",[11,4226,4227],{},"Whichever route you take, the underlying evidence is the same: date, from, to, purpose, distance. That is what Milometry records, and why the log is worth keeping before you have decided which method you are using.",[15,4229,191],{"id":190},[193,4231,4232,4237,4244,4249,4255,4261,4268,4275,4282,4289,4294,4299,4304],{},[196,4233,4234],{},[199,4235,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":4236},[203],[196,4238,4239],{},[199,4240,4243],{"href":4241,"rel":4242},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fsimplified-expenses-checker",[203],"Simplified expenses checker (HMRC)",[196,4245,4246],{},[199,4247,532],{"href":530,"rel":4248},[203],[196,4250,4251],{},[199,4252,4254],{"href":844,"rel":4253},[203],"BIM75005: simplified expenses, expenditure on motor vehicles (HMRC)",[196,4256,4257],{},[199,4258,4260],{"href":863,"rel":4259},[203],"Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, section 94F (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,4262,4263],{},[199,4264,4267],{"href":4265,"rel":4266},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fcapital-allowances\u002Fannual-investment-allowance",[203],"Annual Investment Allowance (HMRC)",[196,4269,4270],{},[199,4271,4274],{"href":4272,"rel":4273},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fcapital-allowances\u002Fbusiness-cars",[203],"Capital allowances on business cars (HMRC)",[196,4276,4277],{},[199,4278,4281],{"href":4279,"rel":4280},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fsimpler-income-tax-cash-basis",[203],"Cash basis (HMRC)",[196,4283,4284],{},[199,4285,4288],{"href":4286,"rel":4287},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2005\u002F5\u002Fsection\u002F94D",[203],"Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, section 94D: expenditure on vehicles (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,4290,4291],{},[199,4292,858],{"href":856,"rel":4293},[203],[196,4295,4296],{},[199,4297,232],{"href":230,"rel":4298},[203],[196,4300,4301],{},[199,4302,239],{"href":237,"rel":4303},[203],[196,4305,4306],{},[199,4307,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":4308},[203],[241,4310],{},[11,4312,4313],{},[246,4314,4315],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. The choice between methods has long-term consequences: worth an hour of an accountant's time before you commit.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":4317},[4318,4319,4320,4321,4322,4323,4324,4325],{"id":3873,"depth":251,"text":3874},{"id":3889,"depth":251,"text":3890},{"id":3906,"depth":251,"text":3907},{"id":3974,"depth":251,"text":3975},{"id":4015,"depth":251,"text":4016},{"id":4102,"depth":251,"text":4103},{"id":4217,"depth":251,"text":4218},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-05-07","Self-employed drivers get a choice, and it is effectively permanent for that vehicle. How the two compare depends on what it cost and how far it goes.","\u002Fblog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs.jpg","A hand writing figures on a pad beside a calculator","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F5913662\u002Faccountant-free-public-domain-cc0-photo",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs",[1746],{"title":3865,"description":4327},"blog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs",[4337,912,284],"self-employed","Hu9sbafuZlZjI2DT4r1yhvhp3gKYjJ6DEf_DX-ZKGdc",{"id":4340,"title":4341,"author":6,"body":4342,"category":259,"date":4608,"description":4609,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":4610,"imageAlt":4611,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":4612,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":4613,"navigation":271,"path":4614,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":4615,"seo":4616,"seoTitle":281,"stem":4617,"tags":4618,"updated":275,"__hash__":4620},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own.md","Company car or your own: what you can actually claim",{"type":8,"value":4343,"toc":4599},[4344,4347,4351,4358,4361,4365,4375,4378,4395,4398,4402,4468,4475,4479,4482,4532,4535,4539,4542,4549,4553,4556,4559,4562,4564,4592,4594],[11,4345,4346],{},"There are two entirely separate systems here, they use different numbers, and mixing them up is a common and costly mistake on UK mileage claims.",[15,4348,4350],{"id":4349},"if-the-car-is-yours","If the car is yours",[11,4352,4353,4354,4357],{},"You use ",[23,4355,4356],{},"Approved Mileage Allowance Payments",": 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, 25p thereafter (for journeys from 6 April 2026). These are the most your employer can pay tax free. That rate is meant to cover everything the car costs you. Fuel, insurance, servicing, depreciation, the lot.",[11,4359,4360],{},"If your employer pays you less than that, you can claim tax relief (Mileage Allowance Relief) on the shortfall. If they pay more, the excess is taxable.",[15,4362,4364],{"id":4363},"if-the-car-belongs-to-the-company","If the car belongs to the company",[11,4366,4367,4368,4371,4372,4374],{},"Approved mileage rates do not apply. The company already owns the car and bears its costs, so there is nothing to reimburse you for except ",[23,4369,4370],{},"fuel",". That is what ",[23,4373,1527],{}," are for.",[11,4376,4377],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates are:",[193,4379,4380,4383,4389,4392],{},[196,4381,4382],{},"Much lower: pence per mile figures that vary by engine size and fuel type",[196,4384,4385,4388],{},[23,4386,4387],{},"Revised quarterly",", so last year's figure is not this year's",[196,4390,4391],{},"Used both for reimbursing employees for business fuel, and for employees repaying the cost of private fuel",[196,4393,4394],{},"Only for company cars: they are not a rate for your own car",[11,4396,4397],{},"The practical consequence: if someone with a company car is paid 55p a mile, the amount above the advisory fuel rate is not covered by the tax-free treatment and is normally taxable. It often goes unnoticed for years.",[15,4399,4401],{"id":4400},"which-system-applies","Which system applies",[74,4403,4404,4415],{},[77,4405,4406],{},[80,4407,4408,4410,4413],{},[83,4409,3358],{},[83,4411,4412],{},"Rate system",[83,4414,135],{},[92,4416,4417,4427,4436,4446,4457],{},[80,4418,4419,4422,4424],{},[97,4420,4421],{},"Your own car, business journey",[97,4423,127],{},[97,4425,4426],{},"55p then 25p",[80,4428,4429,4432,4434],{},[97,4430,4431],{},"Your own EV, business journey",[97,4433,127],{},[97,4435,4426],{},[80,4437,4438,4441,4443],{},[97,4439,4440],{},"Company car, business fuel",[97,4442,1527],{},[97,4444,4445],{},"Pence per mile, by engine and fuel",[80,4447,4448,4451,4454],{},[97,4449,4450],{},"Company EV, business mileage",[97,4452,4453],{},"Advisory electricity rates",[97,4455,4456],{},"Two pence-per-mile figures, one for home charging and one for public charging",[80,4458,4459,4462,4465],{},[97,4460,4461],{},"Company car, private fuel paid by employer",[97,4463,4464],{},"Car fuel benefit",[97,4466,4467],{},"Fixed charge from CO2, not usage",[11,4469,4470,4471,4474],{},"Advisory rates are revised ",[23,4472,4473],{},"quarterly",". The approved rate for cars and vans rose from 45p to 55p for journeys from 6 April 2026, its first change since 2011.",[15,4476,4478],{"id":4477},"the-size-of-the-error","The size of the error",[11,4480,4481],{},"Someone with a company car paid the approved car rate instead of the advisory fuel rate, on\n10,000 business miles:",[74,4483,4484,4496],{},[77,4485,4486],{},[80,4487,4488,4490,4493],{},[83,4489],{},[83,4491,4492],{},"Per mile",[83,4494,4495],{},"10,000 miles",[92,4497,4498,4507,4518],{},[80,4499,4500,4503,4505],{},[97,4501,4502],{},"Paid at 55p",[97,4504,623],{},[97,4506,1374],{},[80,4508,4509,4512,4515],{},[97,4510,4511],{},"Advisory fuel rate (illustrative)",[97,4513,4514],{},"~14p",[97,4516,4517],{},"£1,400",[80,4519,4520,4525,4527],{},[97,4521,4522],{},[23,4523,4524],{},"Excess over the advisory rate (taxable)",[97,4526],{},[97,4528,4529],{},[23,4530,4531],{},"~£4,100",[11,4533,4534],{},"Repeated across several years, that is the kind of error that gets expensive with interest attached.\nThe advisory figure varies by engine size and fuel type. Check the current table rather than using\nthe number above.",[15,4536,4538],{"id":4537},"electric-company-cars","Electric company cars",[11,4540,4541],{},"There are separate advisory electricity rates for fully electric company cars, one for home charging and one for public charging, published alongside the fuel rates and revised on the same cycle. They are not the same as the 55p rate, for the same reason: the company owns the car.",[11,4543,4544,4545,4548],{},"An electric car that is ",[246,4546,4547],{},"yours"," is different again. Approved mileage rates apply at the normal 55p and 25p, regardless of the fact you are charging rather than filling up.",[15,4550,4552],{"id":4551},"why-the-record-still-matters","Why the record still matters",[11,4554,4555],{},"Under both systems the underlying evidence is identical: which journeys were business, when, where from and to, and how far.",[11,4557,4558],{},"The difference is only in what you multiply the miles by. Get the log right and switching between the two, a new job, a company car arriving or going away, is a change of rate rather than a change of habit.",[11,4560,4561],{},"Milometry keeps each vehicle separate, with its own economy and running costs, so a company car and your own car do not end up in the same total.",[15,4563,191],{"id":190},[193,4565,4566,4571,4576,4581,4586],{},[196,4567,4568],{},[199,4569,218],{"href":216,"rel":4570},[203],[196,4572,4573],{},[199,4574,239],{"href":237,"rel":4575},[203],[196,4577,4578],{},[199,4579,225],{"href":223,"rel":4580},[203],[196,4582,4583],{},[199,4584,232],{"href":230,"rel":4585},[203],[196,4587,4588],{},[199,4589,4591],{"href":1670,"rel":4590},[203],"Tax relief for vehicles you use for work (HMRC)",[241,4593],{},[11,4595,4596],{},[246,4597,4598],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Advisory Fuel Rates change quarterly. Check the current table before you claim.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":4600},[4601,4602,4603,4604,4605,4606,4607],{"id":4349,"depth":251,"text":4350},{"id":4363,"depth":251,"text":4364},{"id":4400,"depth":251,"text":4401},{"id":4477,"depth":251,"text":4478},{"id":4537,"depth":251,"text":4538},{"id":4551,"depth":251,"text":4552},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-04-30","Advisory Fuel Rates, approved mileage rates, and the expensive habit of confusing the two. Which one applies depends on whose car it is.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own.jpg","Cars lined up outside a dealership","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F6111399\u002Fphoto-image-public-domain-white-free",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own",[277,278],{"title":4341,"description":4609},"blog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own",[286,4619,284],"advisory fuel rates","j6zD1PSOQ0xSvX_esUj2BHpTKNikHunZH0cXcwT_2h0",{"id":4622,"title":4623,"author":6,"body":4624,"category":259,"date":4885,"description":4886,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":4887,"imageAlt":4888,"imageCredit":4889,"imageCreditUrl":4890,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":4891,"navigation":271,"path":4892,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":4893,"seo":4894,"seoTitle":281,"stem":4895,"tags":4896,"updated":275,"__hash__":4899},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage.md","If you work from home, where does business travel start?",{"type":8,"value":4625,"toc":4876},[4626,4629,4633,4639,4642,4646,4656,4659,4662,4666,4669,4672,4676,4765,4769,4772,4783,4786,4790,4793,4802,4804,4869,4871],[11,4627,4628],{},"Hybrid working broke a rule that used to be simple. When everyone went to an office five days a week, home was home and the office was the permanent workplace. Now the line moves, and a lot of people are guessing. This post covers the rules for employees. Where a journey is business travel, your employer can pay you for it tax free up to the approved amount, and if they pay less you can claim tax relief on the shortfall against your own Income Tax (Mileage Allowance Relief).",[15,4630,4632],{"id":4631},"the-default-answer","The default answer",[11,4634,4635,4636,4638],{},"Your home is ",[23,4637,68],{}," automatically a workplace just because you work in it. HMRC's starting position is that where you live is a personal choice, and travel from it to your employer's premises is ordinary commuting, not claimable, whether you go five days a week or one. The courts agreed in the leading case, where a civil servant on a voluntary homeworking scheme worked at home four days a week and still could not claim his weekly trip to the office.",[11,4640,4641],{},"That is the answer most hybrid workers do not want, and it is the answer that applies to most of them.",[15,4643,4645],{"id":4644},"when-home-genuinely-is-a-workplace","When home genuinely is a workplace",[11,4647,4648,4649,4652,4653,545],{},"It can be, but the bar is high, and for the drive to the office there are two hurdles. First, working at home has to be an ",[23,4650,4651],{},"objective requirement"," of the job, doing real duties of the job there, rather than a personal preference or an employer being relaxed about it. Second, HMRC's guidance says that even then, travel from home to another permanent workplace only qualifies if ",[23,4654,4655],{},"where you live is itself dictated by the job",[11,4657,4658],{},"\"My employer lets me work from home three days a week\" does not clear either. A role that requires you to live and work in a particular area, far from any office, is the kind of case that can.",[11,4660,4661],{},"Even where both are met, the relief only applies on days when home is a workplace. HMRC's example is someone required to work at home every Friday: the trip to the office Monday to Thursday is commuting, but an unexpected call into the office on a Friday is travel between two workplaces.",[15,4663,4665],{"id":4664},"the-trap-in-the-middle","The trap in the middle",[11,4667,4668],{},"A common and costly hybrid mistake is treating office days as claimable because they are occasional. An office you are based at does not stop being a permanent workplace because you go in less often: HMRC's guidance says even fortnightly attendance can be \"regular\". (The longer the gap between visits, the more room there is for a particular visit to be for a temporary purpose, but that turns on the facts of each visit.)",[11,4670,4671],{},"Equally, people under-claim: a drive from home straight to a client or temporary site is business travel whether or not you work from home, and often goes unrecorded because it did not feel like a \"work trip\". The one exception is a trip that is, for practical purposes, the same journey as your commute.",[15,4673,4675],{"id":4674},"the-hybrid-cases-resolved","The hybrid cases, resolved",[74,4677,4678,4686],{},[77,4679,4680],{},[80,4681,4682,4684],{},[83,4683,719],{},[83,4685,1873],{},[92,4687,4688,4698,4709,4719,4727,4737,4745,4754],{},[80,4689,4690,4693],{},[97,4691,4692],{},"Home → office, 5 days a week",[97,4694,4695,4697],{},[23,4696,102],{},", commuting",[80,4699,4700,4703],{},[97,4701,4702],{},"Home → office, once a fortnight",[97,4704,4705,4708],{},[23,4706,4707],{},"Usually no",", still a permanent workplace",[80,4710,4711,4714],{},[97,4712,4713],{},"Home → client, on a home-working day",[97,4715,4716,4718],{},[23,4717,107],{},", unless substantially your usual commute",[80,4720,4721,4724],{},[97,4722,4723],{},"Home → office → client → home",[97,4725,4726],{},"Leg 1 no, legs 2 and 3 yes",[80,4728,4729,4732],{},[97,4730,4731],{},"Home → temporary project site",[97,4733,4734,4736],{},[23,4735,107],{},", subject to the 24-month rule",[80,4738,4739,4742],{},[97,4740,4741],{},"Home → coworking space the employer pays for",[97,4743,4744],{},"Depends whether it is a permanent workplace",[80,4746,4747,4750],{},[97,4748,4749],{},"Home → office on a day you were not required in",[97,4751,4752,4697],{},[23,4753,102],{},[80,4755,4756,4759],{},[97,4757,4758],{},"Home → office, on a day the job requires you to work at home (rare, see above)",[97,4760,4761,4764],{},[23,4762,4763],{},"Possibly",", travel between two workplaces",[15,4766,4768],{"id":4767},"triangular-journeys","Triangular journeys",[11,4770,4771],{},"Home → office → client → home is three legs and they are not all the same.",[193,4773,4774,4777,4780],{},[196,4775,4776],{},"Home to office: commuting, not claimable",[196,4778,4779],{},"Office to client: business travel, claimable",[196,4781,4782],{},"Client to home: usually claimable, though if you detour somewhere personal on the way, that part is not",[11,4784,4785],{},"The practical answer is to record all of it and classify each leg for what it was, rather than deciding at the end of the month that the whole day was or was not \"business\".",[15,4787,4789],{"id":4788},"why-the-record-helps-here-more-than-anywhere","Why the record helps here more than anywhere",[11,4791,4792],{},"This is precisely the area where a claim gets challenged, because the facts vary person to person and month to month. A contemporaneous log, recorded on the day rather than reconstructed in April, is the difference between a defensible position and an argument.",[11,4794,4795,4796,4798,4799,4801],{},"Milometry records each leg separately, so a day like the one above arrives as three journeys you can sort individually. Tag home as ",[23,4797,460],{}," and the office as ",[23,4800,3499],{}," and the commuting legs are recognised and kept out of the claim automatically, while still sitting in your records where you can see them.",[15,4803,191],{"id":190},[193,4805,4806,4811,4816,4821,4828,4835,4842,4847,4854,4859,4864],{},[196,4807,4808],{},[199,4809,506],{"href":504,"rel":4810},[203],[196,4812,4813],{},[199,4814,2153],{"href":2151,"rel":4815},[203],[196,4817,4818],{},[199,4819,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":4820},[203],[196,4822,4823],{},[199,4824,4827],{"href":4825,"rel":4826},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32070",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32070: regular attendance (HMRC)",[196,4829,4830],{},[199,4831,4834],{"href":4832,"rel":4833},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32170",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32170: employees who work at home (HMRC)",[196,4836,4837],{},[199,4838,4841],{"href":4839,"rel":4840},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32173",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32173: example, home a workplace on Fridays (HMRC)",[196,4843,4844],{},[199,4845,2174],{"href":2172,"rel":4846},[203],[196,4848,4849],{},[199,4850,4853],{"href":4851,"rel":4852},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32374",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32374: Kirkwood v Evans (HMRC)",[196,4855,4856],{},[199,4857,2188],{"href":2186,"rel":4858},[203],[196,4860,4861],{},[199,4862,2202],{"href":2200,"rel":4863},[203],[196,4865,4866],{},[199,4867,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":4868},[203],[241,4870],{},[11,4872,4873],{},[246,4874,4875],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Whether a home qualifies as a workplace is fact-specific: if you are relying on it, get it confirmed.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":4877},[4878,4879,4880,4881,4882,4883,4884],{"id":4631,"depth":251,"text":4632},{"id":4644,"depth":251,"text":4645},{"id":4664,"depth":251,"text":4665},{"id":4674,"depth":251,"text":4675},{"id":4767,"depth":251,"text":4768},{"id":4788,"depth":251,"text":4789},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-04-16","Whether your house counts as a workplace, when the drive to the office becomes claimable, and why hybrid working makes this harder rather than easier.","\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage.jpg","A home office desk with a computer by a window","Photo by Gabriel Beaudry","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Foffice-work-4ALWT6KXM0",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage",[277],{"title":4623,"description":4886},"blog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage",[284,4897,4898],"working from home","hybrid","_07f3E2sMd7ljaEgZDgGCUgCkgDtulDmkf_Gcr2IYxg",{"id":4901,"title":4902,"author":6,"body":4903,"category":259,"date":5195,"description":5196,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":5197,"imageAlt":5198,"imageCredit":5199,"imageCreditUrl":5200,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":5201,"navigation":271,"path":5202,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":5203,"seo":5204,"seoTitle":281,"stem":5205,"tags":5206,"updated":275,"__hash__":5208},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers.md","A tax year end checklist for anyone who drives for work",{"type":8,"value":4904,"toc":5184},[4905,4912,4916,4919,4922,4926,4933,4936,4940,4943,4946,4950,4953,4956,4960,4963,4967,4978,4982,5083,5087,5139,5141,5178,5180],[11,4906,4907,4908,4911],{},"The UK tax year ends on ",[23,4909,4910],{},"5 April",". Nothing dramatic happens on the day, but a few things get considerably harder once it has passed. Here is the short list.",[15,4913,4915],{"id":4914},"_1-sort-anything-still-unclassified","1. Sort anything still unclassified",[11,4917,4918],{},"An unclassified journey is in no total. If you have a backlog of trips you never got round to marking business or personal, those miles are missing from your total.",[11,4920,4921],{},"Do it now while you can still remember what a Tuesday in November was for. In six months you will be guessing, and a guessed log is a weak log.",[15,4923,4925],{"id":4924},"_2-check-your-business-mileage-against-the-10000-line","2. Check your business mileage against the 10,000 line",[11,4927,4928,4929,4932],{},"For employees, the approved rate for cars and vans drops from 55p to 25p once you pass 10,000 business miles ",[23,4930,4931],{},"in the tax year"," (counted per employment), and the counter resets on 6 April. The 55p applies to journeys from 6 April 2026; the rate was 45p before that. If you are self-employed and use simplified expenses, the same rates apply, but the 10,000 is counted over your accounting period.",[11,4934,4935],{},"Check where you are against 10,000 so each trip is banded correctly. The count restarts on 6 April.",[15,4937,4939],{"id":4938},"_3-reconcile-your-odometer","3. Reconcile your odometer",[11,4941,4942],{},"This is the one people skip and later regret. Compare what your odometer says against what your log accounts for. If the car has covered 14,000 miles and your journeys add up to 11,000, then 3,000 miles went unrecorded, and unrecorded business miles cannot be claimed.",[11,4944,4945],{},"You will not recover all of it, but a gap between two known dates is a far better prompt for your memory than a blank year. Milometry does this comparison for you from your fill-up odometer readings and flags stretches where the two disagree.",[15,4947,4949],{"id":4948},"_4-collect-the-out-of-pocket-costs","4. Collect the out-of-pocket costs",[11,4951,4952],{},"Parking, tolls, congestion and clean-air charges on business journeys sit outside the mileage rate: an employer can reimburse them, and the self-employed can deduct them on top of simplified mileage. The mileage rate covers running the vehicle, not what you paid to leave it somewhere.",[11,4954,4955],{},"Receipts are easier to find in April than in January. If you photograph them onto the journey as you go, this step is already done.",[15,4957,4959],{"id":4958},"_5-export-before-you-need-it","5. Export before you need it",[11,4961,4962],{},"Produce the CSV and the claim PDF for the year while everything is fresh, and put them somewhere that is not only your phone. If you file in January, the version of events you want is the one you assembled in April.",[15,4964,4966],{"id":4965},"_6-check-how-long-to-keep-it","6. Check how long to keep it",[11,4968,4969,4970,4973,4974,4977],{},"Employees who file a tax return should keep records for ",[23,4971,4972],{},"at least 22 months after the end of the tax year",". The self-employed should keep them for ",[23,4975,4976],{},"at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline",". If you might backdate a claim, keep the records for every year you claim. Deleting last year's log to tidy up is a bad trade.",[15,4979,4981],{"id":4980},"the-checklist-in-one-table","The checklist in one table",[74,4983,4984,5000],{},[77,4985,4986],{},[80,4987,4988,4991,4994,4997],{},[83,4989,4990],{},"#",[83,4992,4993],{},"Task",[83,4995,4996],{},"Why it is harder later",[83,4998,4999],{},"Time",[92,5001,5002,5015,5028,5042,5056,5070],{},[80,5003,5004,5006,5009,5012],{},[97,5005,3662],{},[97,5007,5008],{},"Sort anything unclassified",[97,5010,5011],{},"Memory fades; guesses are weak evidence",[97,5013,5014],{},"10 min",[80,5016,5017,5019,5022,5025],{},[97,5018,3675],{},[97,5020,5021],{},"Check where you are against 10,000 miles",[97,5023,5024],{},"The counter resets on 6 April",[97,5026,5027],{},"1 min",[80,5029,5030,5033,5036,5039],{},[97,5031,5032],{},"3",[97,5034,5035],{},"Reconcile the odometer against your log",[97,5037,5038],{},"A year-old gap is unrecoverable",[97,5040,5041],{},"5 min",[80,5043,5044,5047,5050,5053],{},[97,5045,5046],{},"4",[97,5048,5049],{},"Collect parking, tolls and charges",[97,5051,5052],{},"Receipts vanish",[97,5054,5055],{},"15 min",[80,5057,5058,5061,5064,5067],{},[97,5059,5060],{},"5",[97,5062,5063],{},"Export the CSV and claim PDF",[97,5065,5066],{},"You will file in January from April's data",[97,5068,5069],{},"2 min",[80,5071,5072,5075,5078,5081],{},[97,5073,5074],{},"6",[97,5076,5077],{},"Check retention periods",[97,5079,5080],{},"Deleting last year to tidy up is costly",[97,5082,116],{},[15,5084,5086],{"id":5085},"key-dates","Key dates",[74,5088,5089,5098],{},[77,5090,5091],{},[80,5092,5093,5095],{},[83,5094,449],{},[83,5096,5097],{},"What happens",[92,5099,5100,5107,5115,5123,5131],{},[80,5101,5102,5104],{},[97,5103,4910],{},[97,5105,5106],{},"Tax year ends",[80,5108,5109,5112],{},[97,5110,5111],{},"6 April",[97,5113,5114],{},"New tax year begins; employees' 10,000-mile counter resets",[80,5116,5117,5120],{},[97,5118,5119],{},"31 October",[97,5121,5122],{},"Paper Self Assessment deadline",[80,5124,5125,5128],{},[97,5126,5127],{},"31 January",[97,5129,5130],{},"Online filing and payment deadline for the year ended the previous 5 April",[80,5132,5133,5136],{},[97,5134,5135],{},"4 years back",[97,5137,5138],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief can be claimed for the current tax year and the previous four",[15,5140,191],{"id":190},[193,5142,5143,5148,5153,5158,5163,5168,5173],{},[196,5144,5145],{},[199,5146,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":5147},[203],[196,5149,5150],{},[199,5151,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":5152},[203],[196,5154,5155],{},[199,5156,239],{"href":237,"rel":5157},[203],[196,5159,5160],{},[199,5161,2669],{"href":230,"rel":5162},[203],[196,5164,5165],{},[199,5166,1698],{"href":530,"rel":5167},[203],[196,5169,5170],{},[199,5171,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":5172},[203],[196,5174,5175],{},[199,5176,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":5177},[203],[241,5179],{},[11,5181,5182],{},[246,5183,2676],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":5185},[5186,5187,5188,5189,5190,5191,5192,5193,5194],{"id":4914,"depth":251,"text":4915},{"id":4924,"depth":251,"text":4925},{"id":4938,"depth":251,"text":4939},{"id":4948,"depth":251,"text":4949},{"id":4958,"depth":251,"text":4959},{"id":4965,"depth":251,"text":4966},{"id":4980,"depth":251,"text":4981},{"id":5085,"depth":251,"text":5086},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-04-09","What to do in the fortnight before 5 April, and the three things that are much harder to fix afterwards. A checklist for anyone who drives for work.","\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers.jpg","Paperwork and a pen on a desk","Photo by Ch�u Th�ng Phan","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Foffice-work-UP9J4EZYNJ",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers",[277,1747,1748],{"title":4902,"description":5196},"blog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers",[5207,2701,2700],"tax year","IV9KjXCK3bMldiAUxfDXs6ckSMUrvnCbMUYaz6MGoOQ",{"id":5210,"title":5211,"author":6,"body":5212,"category":259,"date":5419,"description":5420,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":5421,"imageAlt":5422,"imageCredit":5423,"imageCreditUrl":5424,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":5425,"navigation":271,"path":5426,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":5427,"seo":5428,"seoTitle":281,"stem":5429,"tags":5430,"updated":275,"__hash__":5432},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate.md","Electric cars and the 55p rate",{"type":8,"value":5213,"toc":5411},[5214,5223,5226,5230,5237,5240,5243,5246,5250,5253,5293,5296,5333,5336,5340,5347,5350,5353,5357,5360,5362,5365,5368,5370,5404,5406],[5215,5216,5217],"blockquote",{},[11,5218,5219,5222],{},[23,5220,5221],{},"Updated 27 September 2026:"," the car and van rate rose from 45p to 55p for journeys from 6 April 2026 (announced 21 May 2026). Figures below use 55p.",[11,5224,5225],{},"The rules here are simpler than people expect, but they land in a way that surprises many people the first time.",[15,5227,5229],{"id":5228},"if-the-ev-is-yours","If the EV is yours",[11,5231,5232,5233,5236],{},"If you are an employee, your employer can pay you the ",[23,5234,5235],{},"same approved mileage rates as for any other car",", tax free: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p. If it pays less, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall. Self-employed drivers using simplified expenses deduct the same rates from profit.",[11,5238,5239],{},"There is no separate electric rate, no reduction for the fact you are charging rather than filling up, and no requirement to work out what the electricity cost. The rate is the rate.",[11,5241,5242],{},"The approved rate is one figure for every car, whatever it runs on. If you charge mostly at home on a cheap overnight tariff, the electricity for a business mile can cost a small fraction of 55p. Charge exclusively on the rapid network at motorway prices and the energy cost per mile is much higher.",[11,5244,5245],{},"The rate also has to cover insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation, so this is not profit.",[15,5247,5249],{"id":5248},"approved-amount-against-electricity-cost-only","Approved amount against electricity cost only",[11,5251,5252],{},"An EV owned by you, doing 8,000 business miles, charged at home on an off-peak tariff (illustrative energy costs):",[74,5254,5255,5264],{},[77,5256,5257],{},[80,5258,5259,5261],{},[83,5260],{},[83,5262,5263],{},"Figure",[92,5265,5266,5273,5281],{},[80,5267,5268,5271],{},[97,5269,5270],{},"Approved amount (8,000 × 55p)",[97,5272,4148],{},[80,5274,5275,5278],{},[97,5276,5277],{},"Electricity cost at ~2p a mile",[97,5279,5280],{},"£160",[80,5282,5283,5288],{},[97,5284,5285],{},[23,5286,5287],{},"Approved amount less electricity only",[97,5289,5290],{},[23,5291,5292],{},"£4,240",[11,5294,5295],{},"The same car charged exclusively on motorway rapids at ~23p a mile:",[74,5297,5298,5306],{},[77,5299,5300],{},[80,5301,5302,5304],{},[83,5303],{},[83,5305,5263],{},[92,5307,5308,5314,5322],{},[80,5309,5310,5312],{},[97,5311,1328],{},[97,5313,4148],{},[80,5315,5316,5319],{},[97,5317,5318],{},"Electricity cost",[97,5320,5321],{},"£1,840",[80,5323,5324,5328],{},[97,5325,5326],{},[23,5327,5287],{},[97,5329,5330],{},[23,5331,5332],{},"£2,560",[11,5334,5335],{},"Same car, same rate, same journeys. Where you plug in changes the energy cost by more than a thousand\npounds. Neither figure is money left over: the approved amount also has to cover insurance,\nservicing, tyres and depreciation.",[15,5337,5339],{"id":5338},"if-the-ev-belongs-to-the-company","If the EV belongs to the company",[11,5341,5342,5343,5346],{},"Different system. Approved mileage rates do not apply, because the company owns the car and bears its costs. What applies instead are the ",[23,5344,5345],{},"advisory electricity rates",", published by HMRC alongside Advisory Fuel Rates and revised on the same quarterly cycle.",[11,5348,5349],{},"There are two pence-per-mile figures, one for home charging and one for public charging, for reimbursing business mileage in a company EV. Both are a lot lower than 55p, for exactly the reason it should be: you are being reimbursed for electricity, not for running a car you own.",[11,5351,5352],{},"Being paid 55p for a company EV is the same mistake as for a company diesel: a common and costly one, because the amount above the advisory rate is normally taxable, and it adds up if it runs for years.",[15,5354,5356],{"id":5355},"home-charging-and-company-cars","Home charging and company cars",[11,5358,5359],{},"Reimbursement for charging a company car at home has its own treatment and has changed in recent years. If that is your situation, check the current guidance rather than relying on what was true when you got the car.",[15,5361,427],{"id":426},[11,5363,5364],{},"Identical to any other vehicle: date, from, to, purpose, distance. The rate you apply differs; the evidence does not.",[11,5366,5367],{},"If you run an EV alongside a petrol car, keep them as separate vehicles in your records. They may be on different systems entirely. For an employee, the 10,000-mile threshold is counted per tax year across all the cars and vans used for that job rather than per car, which is a detail worth getting right when two cars are in play.",[15,5369,191],{"id":190},[193,5371,5372,5377,5382,5387,5392,5399],{},[196,5373,5374],{},[199,5375,239],{"href":237,"rel":5376},[203],[196,5378,5379],{},[199,5380,218],{"href":216,"rel":5381},[203],[196,5383,5384],{},[199,5385,225],{"href":223,"rel":5386},[203],[196,5388,5389],{},[199,5390,232],{"href":230,"rel":5391},[203],[196,5393,5394],{},[199,5395,5398],{"href":5396,"rel":5397},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F230",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 230: the approved amount (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,5400,5401],{},[199,5402,4591],{"href":1670,"rel":5403},[203],[241,5405],{},[11,5407,5408],{},[246,5409,5410],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Rates for company vehicles are revised quarterly, check the current table.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":5412},[5413,5414,5415,5416,5417,5418],{"id":5228,"depth":251,"text":5229},{"id":5248,"depth":251,"text":5249},{"id":5338,"depth":251,"text":5339},{"id":5355,"depth":251,"text":5356},{"id":426,"depth":251,"text":427},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-03-26","Why an EV you own uses exactly the same approved rate as a petrol car, why a company EV does not, and how the rate compares with the cost of electricity.","\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate.jpg","Electric vehicle charging connectors","Photo by Paul Sladen","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=76903497",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate",[277,278],{"title":5211,"description":5420},"blog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate",[5431,284,286],"electric","cTx5xqNO8NE4MO8SlfezXDoAgaaMg15806POyzxsJmc",{"id":5434,"title":5435,"author":6,"body":5436,"category":259,"date":5642,"description":5643,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":5644,"imageAlt":5645,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":3259,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":5646,"navigation":271,"path":5647,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":5648,"seo":5649,"seoTitle":281,"stem":5650,"tags":5651,"updated":275,"__hash__":5653},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van.md","Claiming mileage in a van",{"type":8,"value":5437,"toc":5633},[5438,5445,5449,5452,5458,5461,5465,5468,5532,5535,5539,5550,5553,5557,5560,5563,5567,5570,5574,5577,5580,5582,5627,5629],[11,5439,5440,5441,5444],{},"Vans sit in the same band as cars, both for employees paid approved mileage and for the self-employed using simplified expenses: ",[23,5442,5443],{},"55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after"," (for journeys from 6 April 2026; it was 45p before). There is no separate van rate, which is the first thing worth knowing and the reason the mileage rate suits some trades less well.",[15,5446,5448],{"id":5447},"why-the-flat-rate-can-work-against-a-van","Why the flat rate can work against a van",[11,5450,5451],{},"The flat rate is a single figure for cars and vans alike. A van is generally not an average car. It is heavier, thirstier, harder on tyres and brakes, more expensive to insure commercially, and often working considerably harder than a family hatchback.",[11,5453,5454,5455,5457],{},"If you are running a long-wheelbase van at 28 mpg, loaded, doing 6,000 business miles a year, the flat rate may well be less than the vehicle genuinely costs you. If you are self-employed, that is the case where ",[23,5456,2806],{}," deserve a proper look: real fuel, real servicing, real insurance, plus capital allowances on the purchase. (Employees do not get this choice. Their relief is based on the approved rate.)",[11,5459,5460],{},"Against that: actual costs mean keeping every receipt and defending a business-use percentage.",[15,5462,5464],{"id":5463},"when-the-flat-rate-stops-covering-a-van","When the flat rate stops covering a van",[11,5466,5467],{},"Approved rate against real running cost per mile (illustrative estimates, not measured figures):",[74,5469,5470,5482],{},[77,5471,5472],{},[80,5473,5474,5476,5479],{},[83,5475,334],{},[83,5477,5478],{},"Real cost\u002Fmile",[83,5480,5481],{},"Does 55p cover it?",[92,5483,5484,5497,5508,5519],{},[80,5485,5486,5489,5492],{},[97,5487,5488],{},"Small van, 45 mpg, bought used",[97,5490,5491],{},"~28p",[97,5493,5494],{},[23,5495,5496],{},"Comfortably",[80,5498,5499,5502,5505],{},[97,5500,5501],{},"Mid van, 38 mpg, 3 years old",[97,5503,5504],{},"~36p",[97,5506,5507],{},"Yes, with margin",[80,5509,5510,5513,5516],{},[97,5511,5512],{},"LWB van, 30 mpg, loaded, new",[97,5514,5515],{},"~48p",[97,5517,5518],{},"Narrowly",[80,5520,5521,5524,5527],{},[97,5522,5523],{},"LWB van, 28 mpg, high mileage, towing",[97,5525,5526],{},"~55p",[97,5528,5529],{},[23,5530,5531],{},"Barely, if at all",[11,5533,5534],{},"Past 10,000 business miles the rate drops to 25p, which covers none of these. The bottom two rows,\nand any van doing high mileage, are where actual costs deserve a proper look, remembering that the\nchoice is close to permanent for that vehicle.",[15,5536,5538],{"id":5537},"where-the-mileage-rate-tends-to-come-out-ahead","Where the mileage rate tends to come out ahead",[193,5540,5541,5544,5547],{},[196,5542,5543],{},"High business mileage in a smaller, economical van",[196,5545,5546],{},"The van was bought cheaply, or is old enough that capital allowances are largely spent",[196,5548,5549],{},"You would rather have a simple, defensible number than a shoebox of receipts",[11,5551,5552],{},"The arithmetic is the same test as for a car: business miles × the rate, against real annual costs × business-use percentage.",[15,5554,5556],{"id":5555},"the-decision-is-close-to-permanent","The decision is close to permanent",[11,5558,5559],{},"Worth repeating, because it bites hardest here: once you use the mileage rate for a vehicle, you must keep using it for that vehicle. You cannot use the flat rate for three years and switch to actual costs the year the clutch goes.",[11,5561,5562],{},"For a van with a hard life, that is a decision worth making deliberately at purchase rather than discovering later.",[15,5564,5566],{"id":5565},"private-use","Private use",[11,5568,5569],{},"If the van is also your personal transport, only the business proportion is claimable, and for employees a company van available for private use is a benefit in kind with its own charge. \"It's a work van\" is not, by itself, an answer to any of this.",[15,5571,5573],{"id":5572},"recording","Recording",[11,5575,5576],{},"Same evidence as any vehicle: date, from, to, purpose, distance. Trades doing many short drops in a day are easy to under-record, because stopping to write down a four-mile hop between jobs is not going to happen.",[11,5578,5579],{},"That is the case for recording automatically. Milometry logs each leg as its own journey, so a day of eleven drops arrives as eleven trips to sort rather than one vague total, and keeps each vehicle's economy and costs separate if you run more than one.",[15,5581,191],{"id":190},[193,5583,5584,5589,5594,5599,5604,5609,5615,5620],{},[196,5585,5586],{},[199,5587,239],{"href":237,"rel":5588},[203],[196,5590,5591],{},[199,5592,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":5593},[203],[196,5595,5596],{},[199,5597,4243],{"href":4241,"rel":5598},[203],[196,5600,5601],{},[199,5602,532],{"href":530,"rel":5603},[203],[196,5605,5606],{},[199,5607,4254],{"href":844,"rel":5608},[203],[196,5610,5611],{},[199,5612,5614],{"href":518,"rel":5613},[203],"EIM31240: statutory mileage rates, kinds of vehicle (HMRC)",[196,5616,5617],{},[199,5618,232],{"href":230,"rel":5619},[203],[196,5621,5622],{},[199,5623,5626],{"href":5624,"rel":5625},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-company-vans",[203],"Expenses and benefits: company vans (HMRC)",[241,5628],{},[11,5630,5631],{},[246,5632,2676],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":5634},[5635,5636,5637,5638,5639,5640,5641],{"id":5447,"depth":251,"text":5448},{"id":5463,"depth":251,"text":5464},{"id":5537,"depth":251,"text":5538},{"id":5555,"depth":251,"text":5556},{"id":5565,"depth":251,"text":5566},{"id":5572,"depth":251,"text":5573},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-03-19","Vans use the same 55p rate as cars, which suits some trades better than others, and for a few may fall short of actual costs.","\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van.jpg","A white van travelling on a road",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van",[277,1746],{"title":5435,"description":5643},"blog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van",[5652,4337,284],"vans","5orOonJX7QrTRiw9_rutC5JabB7hpmjn8TWyxBHh5YQ",{"id":5655,"title":5656,"author":6,"body":5657,"category":259,"date":5856,"description":5857,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":5858,"imageAlt":5859,"imageCredit":5860,"imageCreditUrl":5861,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":5862,"navigation":271,"path":5863,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":251,"reviewed":281,"reviewedAgainst":5864,"seo":5865,"seoTitle":281,"stem":5866,"tags":5867,"updated":281,"__hash__":5868},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses.md","Parking fees you can claim, and fines you cannot",{"type":8,"value":5658,"toc":5848},[5659,5662,5666,5673,5676,5682,5686,5689,5692,5696,5785,5789,5792,5806,5813,5817,5820,5823,5825,5842,5844],[11,5660,5661],{},"Both come out of the same wallet on the same day. Only one of them is deductible.",[15,5663,5665],{"id":5664},"parking-fees-claimable","Parking fees: claimable",[11,5667,5668,5669,5672],{},"Parking while on a business journey is a legitimate business expense, and it is claimable ",[23,5670,5671],{},"separately from mileage",". The approved mileage rate covers the cost of running the vehicle (fuel, wear, insurance, depreciation), not what you paid to leave it somewhere.",[11,5674,5675],{},"The same goes for tolls, the Dartford Crossing, the Severn crossing when it charged, congestion charges and clean-air zone charges, provided the journey itself was business.",[11,5677,5678,5679,5681],{},"What is not claimable is parking at your ",[23,5680,1774],{},". That follows the same logic as commuting: getting yourself to your normal place of work is your own affair.",[15,5683,5685],{"id":5684},"parking-fines-not-claimable","Parking fines: not claimable",[11,5687,5688],{},"Penalties are not an allowable deduction. The reasoning is straightforward. The tax system does not subsidise breaking the law, however routine it feels.",[11,5690,5691],{},"That covers parking tickets, speeding fines, and penalty charge notices, whether you were on business or not.",[15,5693,5695],{"id":5694},"claimable-or-not","Claimable or not",[74,5697,5698,5706],{},[77,5699,5700],{},[80,5701,5702,5704],{},[83,5703,2826],{},[83,5705,1873],{},[92,5707,5708,5717,5724,5733,5742,5750,5758,5767,5776],{},[80,5709,5710,5713],{},[97,5711,5712],{},"Parking on a business journey",[97,5714,5715],{},[23,5716,107],{},[80,5718,5719,5722],{},[97,5720,5721],{},"Parking at your permanent workplace",[97,5723,102],{},[80,5725,5726,5729],{},[97,5727,5728],{},"Toll or crossing on a business journey",[97,5730,5731],{},[23,5732,107],{},[80,5734,5735,5738],{},[97,5736,5737],{},"Congestion or clean air charge, business journey",[97,5739,5740],{},[23,5741,107],{},[80,5743,5744,5746],{},[97,5745,2885],{},[97,5747,5748],{},[23,5749,102],{},[80,5751,5752,5754],{},[97,5753,2897],{},[97,5755,5756],{},[23,5757,102],{},[80,5759,5760,5763],{},[97,5761,5762],{},"Penalty charge notice",[97,5764,5765],{},[23,5766,102],{},[80,5768,5769,5772],{},[97,5770,5771],{},"Late payment penalty on a toll",[97,5773,5774],{},[23,5775,102],{},[80,5777,5778,5781],{},[97,5779,5780],{},"Clamping or removal fee",[97,5782,5783],{},[23,5784,102],{},[15,5786,5788],{"id":5787},"the-bit-that-differs-by-structure","The bit that differs by structure",[11,5790,5791],{},"There is a wrinkle worth knowing if you run a limited company.",[193,5793,5794,5800],{},[196,5795,5796,5799],{},[23,5797,5798],{},"Sole trader",": the fine is simply not deductible. It comes out of taxed money.",[196,5801,5802,5805],{},[23,5803,5804],{},"Limited company paying a fine issued to the driver personally",": the company has effectively settled a personal liability, which can be treated as a benefit in kind or as earnings, with the reporting that implies.",[11,5807,5808,5809,5812],{},"Fines issued to the ",[246,5810,5811],{},"company"," rather than the individual are treated differently again. Either way, \"the company paid it\" does not make it deductible.",[15,5814,5816],{"id":5815},"the-practical-bit","The practical bit",[11,5818,5819],{},"Keep the receipts for the fees and attach them to the journey they belong to. A parking receipt on its own is a scrap of thermal paper that will be illegible by August; a parking receipt attached to a recorded journey with a date, a destination and a purpose is evidence.",[11,5821,5822],{},"Milometry lets you add parking, tolls and charges to a trip with a photo of the receipt, and carries them into your monthly statements alongside the mileage, so the claimable costs are itemised, and the fines are somewhere else entirely, which is where they belong.",[15,5824,191],{"id":190},[193,5826,5827,5832,5837],{},[196,5828,5829],{},[199,5830,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":5831},[203],[196,5833,5834],{},[199,5835,225],{"href":223,"rel":5836},[203],[196,5838,5839],{},[199,5840,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":5841},[203],[241,5843],{},[11,5845,5846],{},[246,5847,2676],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":5849},[5850,5851,5852,5853,5854,5855],{"id":5664,"depth":251,"text":5665},{"id":5684,"depth":251,"text":5685},{"id":5694,"depth":251,"text":5695},{"id":5787,"depth":251,"text":5788},{"id":5815,"depth":251,"text":5816},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-03-12","The line between a cost of doing business and a penalty, and the small print that catches sole traders and directors differently.","\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses.jpg","A penalty notice tucked under a car windscreen wiper","Photo by kewl","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F58411470@N00\u002F54235995960",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses",[],{"title":5656,"description":5857},"blog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses",[3046,580,284],"jvKd8kGtGRbbEjOXu9bFOWnMmljdN3GcIZBOj4QAWOI",{"id":5870,"title":5871,"author":6,"body":5872,"category":259,"date":6044,"description":6045,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":6046,"imageAlt":6047,"imageCredit":6048,"imageCreditUrl":6049,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":6050,"navigation":271,"path":6051,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":251,"reviewed":281,"reviewedAgainst":6052,"seo":6053,"seoTitle":281,"stem":6054,"tags":6055,"updated":275,"__hash__":6058},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones.md","Congestion, ULEZ and clean air zones: what you can claim",{"type":8,"value":5873,"toc":6036},[5874,5877,5881,5888,5895,5899,5902,5905,5909,5987,5990,5994,5997,6000,6004,6007,6010,6012,6029,6031],[11,5875,5876],{},"Anyone driving for work in a UK city is now paying charges that did not exist a few years ago. They add up faster than people expect, and they are claimable, but only under the same test as everything else.",[15,5878,5880],{"id":5879},"they-are-separate-from-mileage","They are separate from mileage",[11,5882,5883,5884,5887],{},"This is the part worth internalising. The approved mileage rate covers ",[23,5885,5886],{},"running the vehicle",": fuel, servicing, insurance, depreciation. It does not cover what you paid to drive it into a particular postcode.",[11,5889,5890,5891,5894],{},"So congestion charges, ULEZ charges and clean air zone charges on a business journey are claimed ",[23,5892,5893],{},"in addition"," to the mileage, not instead of it. The same is true of tolls and crossings.",[15,5896,5898],{"id":5897},"the-test-is-the-journey-not-the-charge","The test is the journey, not the charge",[11,5900,5901],{},"A charge is claimable if the journey was business travel. It is not claimable if the journey was ordinary commuting. Driving into a zone to reach your permanent workplace is your own cost, however unwelcome.",[11,5903,5904],{},"That means the same £15 charge can be claimable on Tuesday and not on Wednesday, depending on where you were going. This is exactly why a per-journey record beats a monthly total: a bank statement showing charges tells you what you paid, not which of them qualify.",[15,5906,5908],{"id":5907},"which-vehicles-pay-by-zone-class","Which vehicles pay, by zone class",[74,5910,5911,5930],{},[77,5912,5913],{},[80,5914,5915,5918,5921,5924,5927],{},[83,5916,5917],{},"Class",[83,5919,5920],{},"Buses, coaches, taxis",[83,5922,5923],{},"HGVs",[83,5925,5926],{},"Vans, minibuses",[83,5928,5929],{},"Cars",[92,5931,5932,5946,5959,5972],{},[80,5933,5934,5937,5940,5942,5944],{},[97,5935,5936],{},"A",[97,5938,5939],{},"Charged",[97,5941,116],{},[97,5943,116],{},[97,5945,116],{},[80,5947,5948,5951,5953,5955,5957],{},[97,5949,5950],{},"B",[97,5952,5939],{},[97,5954,5939],{},[97,5956,116],{},[97,5958,116],{},[80,5960,5961,5964,5966,5968,5970],{},[97,5962,5963],{},"C",[97,5965,5939],{},[97,5967,5939],{},[97,5969,5939],{},[97,5971,116],{},[80,5973,5974,5977,5979,5981,5983],{},[97,5975,5976],{},"D",[97,5978,5939],{},[97,5980,5939],{},[97,5982,5939],{},[97,5984,5985],{},[23,5986,5939],{},[11,5988,5989],{},"Compliant vehicles pay nothing in any class. The test is emissions standard, not age. Broadly Euro\n6 for diesels and Euro 4 for petrols.",[15,5991,5993],{"id":5992},"zones-vary-and-so-does-what-they-charge","Zones vary, and so does what they charge",[11,5995,5996],{},"There is no single national scheme. London's congestion charge and ULEZ are separate things with separate rules. Clean air zones in other cities differ in class, some charge vans and taxis but not private cars, some charge almost everything, some charge nothing for compliant vehicles.",[11,5998,5999],{},"The practical consequence: what you owe depends on the vehicle as much as the city. If you run more than one vehicle, the same trip can cost differently depending on which one you took, and that is worth knowing before you decide which to take.",[15,6001,6003],{"id":6002},"keep-the-evidence-attached-to-the-journey","Keep the evidence attached to the journey",[11,6005,6006],{},"Charges are usually paid online, often days later, sometimes in a batch. By the time it reaches your statement it is a line item with a reference number and no context.",[11,6008,6009],{},"The version that survives a question is the charge attached to the journey it belongs to, with the date, the destination and the reason it was business. Milometry takes parking, tolls and charges as costs on a trip, with a photo of the receipt or confirmation, and carries them into the monthly statement alongside the mileage, so the claimable ones are itemised where the journey is.",[15,6011,191],{"id":190},[193,6013,6014,6019,6024],{},[196,6015,6016],{},[199,6017,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":6018},[203],[196,6020,6021],{},[199,6022,225],{"href":223,"rel":6023},[203],[196,6025,6026],{},[199,6027,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":6028},[203],[241,6030],{},[11,6032,6033],{},[246,6034,6035],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Zone rules and charges change: check the operating authority for current rates.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":6037},[6038,6039,6040,6041,6042,6043],{"id":5879,"depth":251,"text":5880},{"id":5897,"depth":251,"text":5898},{"id":5907,"depth":251,"text":5908},{"id":5992,"depth":251,"text":5993},{"id":6002,"depth":251,"text":6003},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-03-05","Daily charges are a real cost of driving for work, they are claimable separately from mileage, and the rules on which vehicle pays what keep moving.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones.jpg","Two green Ultra Low Emission Zone signs at the edge of the zone","Photo by Matt From London","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F57868312@N00\u002F52716289592",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones",[],{"title":5871,"description":6045},"blog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones",[3046,6056,6057],"ulez","clean air zones","2OnOHvdDKG-AlViCHuatCpK9SBbF2jT4I_zSKLCTKF0",{"id":6060,"title":6061,"author":6,"body":6062,"category":259,"date":6353,"description":6354,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":6355,"imageAlt":6356,"imageCredit":6357,"imageCreditUrl":6358,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":6359,"navigation":271,"path":6360,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":6361,"seo":6362,"seoTitle":281,"stem":6363,"tags":6364,"updated":275,"__hash__":6366},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query.md","What makes HMRC look twice at a mileage claim",{"type":8,"value":6063,"toc":6341},[6064,6067,6071,6074,6077,6081,6084,6087,6091,6094,6098,6105,6109,6112,6116,6119,6216,6220,6223,6277,6281,6284,6291,6295,6298,6301,6303,6335,6337],[11,6065,6066],{},"HMRC does not publish how it picks claims to query. In our view, the claims that draw questions tend to share a handful of characteristics, and they are rarely about the amount alone.",[15,6068,6070],{"id":6069},"round-numbers-everywhere","Round numbers everywhere",[11,6072,6073],{},"Real driving does not produce round numbers. A month of genuine journeys totals 847 miles, not 850. A claim made of tidy fifties and hundreds looks estimated because it usually is.",[11,6075,6076],{},"This is a common tell, and it is entirely avoidable: record the distance you actually drove.",[15,6078,6080],{"id":6079},"the-same-figure-every-month","The same figure every month",[11,6082,6083],{},"A claim of exactly 500 miles in twelve consecutive months describes a standing order, not a working year. Real mileage moves with holidays, weather, illness, quiet Augusts and busy Novembers.",[11,6085,6086],{},"If your driving genuinely is that regular, the record will show it, but it will show it as 512, 486, 503, not 500 twelve times.",[15,6088,6090],{"id":6089},"days-that-could-not-have-happened","Days that could not have happened",[11,6092,6093],{},"Claims that require being in two places at once, or covering 400 miles in a working day that also contained six hours of meetings, do not survive contact with a calendar. Reconstructing a year from memory produces these without anyone intending to mislead.",[15,6095,6097],{"id":6096},"no-evidence-of-the-journeys-purpose","No evidence of the journey's purpose",[11,6099,6100,6101,6104],{},"The distance is only half of it. HMRC's expectation is that you can say ",[23,6102,6103],{},"why"," a journey was business, which client, which site, which job. \"Business mileage: 340\" is a number, not a record.",[15,6106,6108],{"id":6107},"commuting-mixed-in","Commuting mixed in",[11,6110,6111],{},"Home to a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not claimable, and a claim that quietly includes it is a common and costly mistake: a substantive error rather than a presentational one. If a pattern of identical journeys on identical weekdays runs through the log, it invites exactly the question you do not want.",[15,6113,6115],{"id":6114},"patterns-that-tend-to-invite-questions","Patterns that tend to invite questions",[11,6117,6118],{},"This is our own reading of what stands out, not a list HMRC publishes.",[74,6120,6121,6134],{},[77,6122,6123],{},[80,6124,6125,6128,6131],{},[83,6126,6127],{},"Pattern",[83,6129,6130],{},"How obvious",[83,6132,6133],{},"Why it draws attention",[92,6135,6136,6146,6156,6166,6176,6185,6196,6206],{},[80,6137,6138,6140,6143],{},[97,6139,2590],{},[97,6141,6142],{},"Very",[97,6144,6145],{},"Real driving is not round",[80,6147,6148,6151,6153],{},[97,6149,6150],{},"Identical total every month",[97,6152,6142],{},[97,6154,6155],{},"Describes a standing order, not a year",[80,6157,6158,6161,6163],{},[97,6159,6160],{},"Impossible days",[97,6162,6142],{},[97,6164,6165],{},"Fails against a calendar",[80,6167,6168,6170,6173],{},[97,6169,2614],{},[97,6171,6172],{},"High",[97,6174,6175],{},"A repeating weekday pattern is visible",[80,6177,6178,6180,6182],{},[97,6179,2606],{},[97,6181,6172],{},[97,6183,6184],{},"A distance is not a record",[80,6186,6187,6190,6193],{},[97,6188,6189],{},"Claim jumps sharply year on year",[97,6191,6192],{},"Medium",[97,6194,6195],{},"Invites \"what changed?\"",[80,6197,6198,6201,6203],{},[97,6199,6200],{},"Mileage inconsistent with fuel receipts",[97,6202,6192],{},[97,6204,6205],{},"Two of your own records disagree",[80,6207,6208,6211,6213],{},[97,6209,6210],{},"Claim inconsistent with the odometer",[97,6212,6192],{},[97,6214,6215],{},"Easy to check at MOT",[15,6217,6219],{"id":6218},"what-your-claim-can-be-checked-against","What your claim can be checked against",[11,6221,6222],{},"Most of these are your own documents, which is why a consistent record is so much stronger than a\nplausible one:",[74,6224,6225,6235],{},[77,6226,6227],{},[80,6228,6229,6232],{},[83,6230,6231],{},"Cross-check",[83,6233,6234],{},"What it reveals",[92,6236,6237,6245,6253,6261,6269],{},[80,6238,6239,6242],{},[97,6240,6241],{},"Your calendar",[97,6243,6244],{},"Whether the meetings existed",[80,6246,6247,6250],{},[97,6248,6249],{},"Your invoices",[97,6251,6252],{},"Whether the client was visited that week",[80,6254,6255,6258],{},[97,6256,6257],{},"Fuel receipts",[97,6259,6260],{},"Whether enough fuel was bought to cover the miles",[80,6262,6263,6266],{},[97,6264,6265],{},"MOT odometer history",[97,6267,6268],{},"Whether the car covered the distance at all",[80,6270,6271,6274],{},[97,6272,6273],{},"Employer's reimbursement records",[97,6275,6276],{},"Whether the figures agree",[15,6278,6280],{"id":6279},"what-a-good-record-looks-like","What a good record looks like",[11,6282,6283],{},"For each journey: the date, where you went from and to, why it was business, and how far. Kept as you go, not assembled afterwards. Employees who file a tax return should keep records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year. The self-employed should keep them for at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline. If you might backdate a claim, keep the records for every year you claim.",[11,6285,6286,6287,6290],{},"The reason contemporaneous records matter is not bureaucratic. It is that they are ",[246,6288,6289],{},"checkable",", against your calendar, your invoices, your fuel receipts and your odometer, and a claim that agrees with four other sources is not a claim anyone spends long on.",[15,6292,6294],{"id":6293},"the-quiet-advantage-of-recording-automatically","The quiet advantage of recording automatically",[11,6296,6297],{},"A log that writes itself as you drive is contemporaneous by definition. It produces the awkward, specific numbers real driving makes, it carries the route rather than just the total, and it cannot accidentally include the school run because nobody was reconstructing anything in April.",[11,6299,6300],{},"Milometry records each journey as it happens, keeps commuting out of the claim once home and workplace are tagged, and exports the year as a CSV or PDF that shows the individual journeys rather than a monthly figure.",[15,6302,191],{"id":190},[193,6304,6305,6310,6315,6320,6325,6330],{},[196,6306,6307],{},[199,6308,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":6309},[203],[196,6311,6312],{},[199,6313,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":6314},[203],[196,6316,6317],{},[199,6318,506],{"href":504,"rel":6319},[203],[196,6321,6322],{},[199,6323,3231],{"href":2179,"rel":6324},[203],[196,6326,6327],{},[199,6328,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":6329},[203],[196,6331,6332],{},[199,6333,239],{"href":237,"rel":6334},[203],[241,6336],{},[11,6338,6339],{},[246,6340,2676],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":6342},[6343,6344,6345,6346,6347,6348,6349,6350,6351,6352],{"id":6069,"depth":251,"text":6070},{"id":6079,"depth":251,"text":6080},{"id":6089,"depth":251,"text":6090},{"id":6096,"depth":251,"text":6097},{"id":6107,"depth":251,"text":6108},{"id":6114,"depth":251,"text":6115},{"id":6218,"depth":251,"text":6219},{"id":6279,"depth":251,"text":6280},{"id":6293,"depth":251,"text":6294},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-02-19","Round numbers, impossible days, claims that never change, and the other patterns that invite a question you would rather not answer.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query.jpg","A person examining paperwork with a magnifying glass","Photo by Kai Hendry","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F16105436@N00\u002F467030028",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query",[1747],{"title":6061,"description":6354},"blog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query",[284,2700,6365],"compliance","34Qufsta22_Wcq4Jp9tvcYhn4Tx9TIjZCoJH2F3xL3c",{"id":6368,"title":6369,"author":6,"body":6370,"category":259,"date":6592,"description":6593,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":6594,"imageAlt":6595,"imageCredit":6596,"imageCreditUrl":6597,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":6598,"navigation":271,"path":659,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":6599,"seo":6600,"seoTitle":281,"stem":6601,"tags":6602,"updated":275,"__hash__":6605},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage.md","Claiming mileage as a company director",{"type":8,"value":6371,"toc":6583},[6372,6378,6381,6384,6388,6391,6394,6398,6401,6475,6478,6482,6485,6488,6492,6495,6498,6502,6505,6509,6512,6514,6576,6578],[5215,6373,6374],{},[11,6375,6376,5222],{},[23,6377,5221],{},[11,6379,6380],{},"If you run a limited company and drive your own car on its business, the company can pay you up to the approved mileage rates, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p. Up to those rates the payment is tax free in your hands, and it is normally a deductible expense for the company.",[11,6382,6383],{},"It is how the company covers the cost of business driving in your own car without creating a tax charge. It is not a way to take profit out: every payment has to match business journeys you actually made. It is also easy to do sloppily.",[15,6385,6387],{"id":6386},"you-are-an-employee-here","You are an employee here",[11,6389,6390],{},"A director is an office holder, and for these purposes the same rules apply as to any employee. The car is yours, the company reimburses you for business journeys, and the approved amount is what it can pay without creating a tax charge.",[11,6392,6393],{},"Pay more than the approved amount and the excess is earnings, reportable and taxable. Pay less and you can claim tax relief (Mileage Allowance Relief) on the shortfall against your own Income Tax, exactly as an employee would. For National Insurance the tax-free figure is 55p for every business mile, with no 25p band, so a payment between the two figures can be free of National Insurance but still partly taxable.",[15,6395,6397],{"id":6396},"reimbursing-business-mileage-salary-route-vs-approved-mileage","Reimbursing business mileage: salary route vs approved mileage",[11,6399,6400],{},"Say you drove 10,000 business miles in your own car this tax year. The company can pay you £5,500 of extra salary instead, or pay £5,500 as approved mileage:",[74,6402,6403,6415],{},[77,6404,6405],{},[80,6406,6407,6409,6412],{},[83,6408],{},[83,6410,6411],{},"Extra salary",[83,6413,6414],{},"Approved mileage",[92,6416,6417,6427,6440,6452,6462],{},[80,6418,6419,6422,6425],{},[97,6420,6421],{},"Cost to the company",[97,6423,6424],{},"£5,500 + employer NIC",[97,6426,1374],{},[80,6428,6429,6432,6435],{},[97,6430,6431],{},"Income tax on you",[97,6433,6434],{},"On the salary, but you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief of £5,500 against it",[97,6436,6437],{},[23,6438,6439],{},"None",[80,6441,6442,6445,6448],{},[97,6443,6444],{},"Employee NIC",[97,6446,6447],{},"Yes, on the £5,500",[97,6449,6450],{},[23,6451,6439],{},[80,6453,6454,6457,6460],{},[97,6455,6456],{},"Corporation tax deduction for the company",[97,6458,6459],{},"Normally yes",[97,6461,6459],{},[80,6463,6464,6467,6470],{},[97,6465,6466],{},"Paperwork required",[97,6468,6469],{},"Payroll, your own relief claim, and a mileage log",[97,6471,6472],{},[23,6473,6474],{},"A mileage log",[11,6476,6477],{},"The real difference is National Insurance, on both sides, plus the extra claim. The log matters\neither way: the tax-free treatment rests on the payment being a reimbursement of real business\njourneys rather than disguised remuneration.",[15,6479,6481],{"id":6480},"the-record-is-the-whole-thing","The record is the whole thing",[11,6483,6484],{},"Because you are both sides of this transaction, nobody else is checking your figures, which is precisely why the record needs to stand on its own.",[11,6486,6487],{},"What is expected is a journey-level log: date, from, to, purpose, distance. A monthly transfer from the company account described as \"mileage\" with no underlying detail is not a record, it is a payment. If the detail is missing, the payment starts to look like undeclared salary, and that is an expensive reclassification.",[15,6489,6491],{"id":6490},"commuting-is-still-commuting","Commuting is still commuting",[11,6493,6494],{},"Owning the company does not change the rule. Travel from home to your permanent workplace is ordinary commuting whether the workplace belongs to your employer or to you.",[11,6496,6497],{},"Journeys from home to a client or a temporary site are business travel in the usual way. The drive from home to a permanent workplace only becomes business travel if home is itself a workplace because the job requires it, and where you live is dictated by the job, which HMRC looks at closely. \"The company is registered at my house\" does not by itself make any drive claimable. This is worth getting right, because it applies to a lot of journeys repeated a lot of times.",[15,6499,6501],{"id":6500},"company-car-versus-your-own","Company car versus your own",[11,6503,6504],{},"If instead the company provides the car and it is available for your private use, none of the above applies: the car is a taxable benefit with its own charge, and business fuel is usually reimbursed at Advisory Fuel Rates rather than approved mileage rates. How the two compare depends on the car's price, its emissions and your business and private mileage.",[15,6506,6508],{"id":6507},"keeping-it-simple","Keeping it simple",[11,6510,6511],{},"Record every journey as it happens, mark it business or personal, tag home and any permanent workplace so commuting is excluded automatically, and export the year as a CSV. Then the mileage the company paid you and the mileage you can evidence are the same number, which is the whole point.",[15,6513,191],{"id":190},[193,6515,6516,6521,6526,6531,6536,6543,6549,6555,6560,6565,6571],{},[196,6517,6518],{},[199,6519,225],{"href":223,"rel":6520},[203],[196,6522,6523],{},[199,6524,239],{"href":237,"rel":6525},[203],[196,6527,6528],{},[199,6529,218],{"href":216,"rel":6530},[203],[196,6532,6533],{},[199,6534,232],{"href":230,"rel":6535},[203],[196,6537,6538],{},[199,6539,6542],{"href":6540,"rel":6541},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim31205",[203],"EIM31205: employees using own vehicles for work, overview (HMRC)",[196,6544,6545],{},[199,6546,6548],{"href":1683,"rel":6547},[203],"EIM31330: Mileage Allowance Relief, outline (HMRC)",[196,6550,6551],{},[199,6552,6554],{"href":2172,"rel":6553},[203],"EIM32370: travel from home where it is a place of work (HMRC)",[196,6556,6557],{},[199,6558,2216],{"href":2214,"rel":6559},[203],[196,6561,6562],{},[199,6563,4591],{"href":1670,"rel":6564},[203],[196,6566,6567],{},[199,6568,6570],{"href":1709,"rel":6569},[203],"How long to keep your records (HMRC)",[196,6572,6573],{},[199,6574,506],{"href":504,"rel":6575},[203],[241,6577],{},[11,6579,6580],{},[246,6581,6582],{},"General information, not tax advice. Director remuneration has knock-on effects: take proper advice on the whole picture.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":6584},[6585,6586,6587,6588,6589,6590,6591],{"id":6386,"depth":251,"text":6387},{"id":6396,"depth":251,"text":6397},{"id":6480,"depth":251,"text":6481},{"id":6490,"depth":251,"text":6491},{"id":6500,"depth":251,"text":6501},{"id":6507,"depth":251,"text":6508},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-02-12","Your own car, your own company, and the paperwork that keeps approved mileage payments out of the taxman's definition of salary.","\u002Fblog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage.jpg","People meeting around a table in an office","Photo by Senator Stabenow, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=70841172",{},[277,1747],{"title":6369,"description":6593},"blog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage",[6603,6604,284],"limited company","directors","AMYQGEB7gPTVcd6xT1vAElj08WWqyW07VmSr5s-uxu4",{"id":6607,"title":6608,"author":6,"body":6609,"category":259,"date":6846,"description":6847,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":6848,"imageAlt":6849,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":6850,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":6851,"navigation":271,"path":6852,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":6853,"seo":6854,"seoTitle":281,"stem":6855,"tags":6856,"updated":275,"__hash__":6858},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs.md","Two jobs, one car: which journeys count",{"type":8,"value":6610,"toc":6838},[6611,6614,6618,6621,6624,6628,6631,6638,6641,6645,6731,6734,6738,6741,6744,6747,6751,6758,6761,6764,6767,6769,6831,6833],[11,6612,6613],{},"Plenty of people hold two jobs, and the travel between them is where the confusion sits. These are the rules for employees. Where a journey is business travel, the employer for that job can pay you for it tax free up to the approved amount, and if they pay less you can claim tax relief on the shortfall against your own Income Tax (Mileage Allowance Relief).",[15,6615,6617],{"id":6616},"the-default-each-job-has-its-own-commute","The default: each job has its own commute",[11,6619,6620],{},"If you work for two separate employers, the journey from home to each of them is ordinary commuting for that employment. Neither is claimable.",[11,6622,6623],{},"That includes the awkward middle case: finishing at job A, driving to job B. Even though it feels like a working journey rather than a commute, HMRC's guidance is that there is no relief for travel between a permanent workplace and a place where you do the duties of another job, unless one of the exceptions below applies.",[15,6625,6627],{"id":6626},"the-exception-companies-in-the-same-group","The exception: companies in the same group",[11,6629,6630],{},"Where both employers are companies in the same group (a company and its 51% subsidiaries, directly or indirectly), travel from a place where you did the duties of one job to a place where you do the duties of the other can be business travel. Two companies that are both owned by the same person, with no parent company above them, are not a group for this purpose.",[11,6632,6633,6634,6637],{},"There is a second, narrower exception: if you are a director of one company ",[246,6635,6636],{},"because"," another company you work for (or a company in its group) has a shareholding or other financial interest in it, travel between the two within the UK can also qualify.",[11,6639,6640],{},"This is the case most likely to be missed by people who work across a group. Those journeys can be claimable, and often are not claimed because they feel like commuting. The drive from home to either workplace is still ordinary commuting.",[15,6642,6644],{"id":6643},"which-journeys-count","Which journeys count",[74,6646,6647,6658],{},[77,6648,6649],{},[80,6650,6651,6653,6656],{},[83,6652,719],{},[83,6654,6655],{},"Employers",[83,6657,1873],{},[92,6659,6660,6671,6682,6695,6709,6720],{},[80,6661,6662,6665,6667],{},[97,6663,6664],{},"Home → job A",[97,6666,116],{},[97,6668,6669,4697],{},[23,6670,102],{},[80,6672,6673,6676,6678],{},[97,6674,6675],{},"Home → job B",[97,6677,116],{},[97,6679,6680,4697],{},[23,6681,102],{},[80,6683,6684,6687,6690],{},[97,6685,6686],{},"Job A → job B",[97,6688,6689],{},"Not in the same group",[97,6691,6692,6694],{},[23,6693,102],{},", unless the director exception applies",[80,6696,6697,6699,6704],{},[97,6698,6686],{},[97,6700,6701],{},[23,6702,6703],{},"Same group of companies",[97,6705,6706,6708],{},[23,6707,1996],{},", travel between group employments",[80,6710,6711,6714,6716],{},[97,6712,6713],{},"Job A → client of job A",[97,6715,116],{},[97,6717,6718],{},[23,6719,107],{},[80,6721,6722,6725,6727],{},[97,6723,6724],{},"Home → temporary site for job B",[97,6726,116],{},[97,6728,6729,4736],{},[23,6730,107],{},[11,6732,6733],{},"The third and fourth rows are the same physical drive with different answers, decided by something\ninvisible from the road.",[15,6735,6737],{"id":6736},"the-temporary-workplace-overlay","The temporary workplace overlay",[11,6739,6740],{},"Everything from the 24-month rule still applies on top. If a workplace is genuinely temporary for that job (a short assignment, a site with a defined end), travel to it may be business travel for that job, including from the other job's workplace.",[11,6742,6743],{},"One more point where the two jobs interact: the 10,000-mile band. Business miles for employments with the same employer, or with employers under common control, are added together before the 55p rate drops to 25p. Miles for unconnected employers are counted separately.",[11,6745,6746],{},"Two tests, applied in order: is this workplace permanent or temporary for this employment, and if permanent, is the journey commuting or travel between group employments.",[15,6748,6750],{"id":6749},"why-this-argues-for-recording-everything","Why this argues for recording everything",[11,6752,6753,6754,6757],{},"The pattern here is that the ",[246,6755,6756],{},"same physical journey"," can be claimable or not depending on facts that are not visible from the road: who employs whom, whether an assignment is expected to run past two years, whether the two employers are in the same group.",[11,6759,6760],{},"Those facts can also change after the journey. A contract extends; a company is acquired; a temporary site becomes the permanent base.",[11,6762,6763],{},"If the journey was never recorded, none of that helps you. If it was recorded and classified, changing the classification later is trivial and the underlying evidence still holds.",[11,6765,6766],{},"That is the argument for logging everything and deciding afterwards, rather than deciding at the roadside whether a drive is worth writing down.",[15,6768,191],{"id":190},[193,6770,6771,6776,6781,6786,6791,6796,6803,6809,6816,6821,6826],{},[196,6772,6773],{},[199,6774,506],{"href":504,"rel":6775},[203],[196,6777,6778],{},[199,6779,2153],{"href":2151,"rel":6780},[203],[196,6782,6783],{},[199,6784,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":6785},[203],[196,6787,6788],{},[199,6789,2202],{"href":2200,"rel":6790},[203],[196,6792,6793],{},[199,6794,2209],{"href":2207,"rel":6795},[203],[196,6797,6798],{},[199,6799,6802],{"href":6800,"rel":6801},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F340A",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 340A: travel between linked employments (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,6804,6805],{},[199,6806,6808],{"href":5396,"rel":6807},[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 230: the approved amount and associated employments (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,6810,6811],{},[199,6812,6815],{"href":6813,"rel":6814},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim32035",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM32035: travel between separate employers within a group (HMRC)",[196,6817,6818],{},[199,6819,2181],{"href":2179,"rel":6820},[203],[196,6822,6823],{},[199,6824,225],{"href":223,"rel":6825},[203],[196,6827,6828],{},[199,6829,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":6830},[203],[241,6832],{},[11,6834,6835],{},[246,6836,6837],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Group-employment cases turn on the detail: take advice before relying on one.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":6839},[6840,6841,6842,6843,6844,6845],{"id":6616,"depth":251,"text":6617},{"id":6626,"depth":251,"text":6627},{"id":6643,"depth":251,"text":6644},{"id":6736,"depth":251,"text":6737},{"id":6749,"depth":251,"text":6750},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-01-22","Travel between separate employments, the second-job commute, and the rule that surprises people working for companies in the same group.","\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs.jpg","A busy transit station concourse","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F3297136\u002Ffree-photo-image-bicycle-banister-bike",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs",[277],{"title":6608,"description":6847},"blog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs",[284,6857,578],"second job","1a-BBZkNYFbKYwErpomz70bjzQdJVRl9RY6Z4ySHWM4",{"id":6860,"title":6861,"author":6,"body":6862,"category":259,"date":7081,"description":7082,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":7083,"imageAlt":7084,"imageCredit":7085,"imageCreditUrl":7086,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":7087,"navigation":271,"path":7088,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":7089,"seo":7090,"seoTitle":281,"stem":7091,"tags":7092,"updated":275,"__hash__":7094},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work.md","Driving abroad for work: what you can still claim",{"type":8,"value":6863,"toc":7073},[6864,6867,6871,6874,6877,6881,6884,6905,6908,6912,6993,6997,7003,7009,7015,7017,7020,7023,7025,7066,7068],[11,6865,6866],{},"If you take your own car abroad on business, the mileage itself is treated much as it would be at home. Nearly everything else about the trip is treated differently, and that is where the money and the mistakes are.",[15,6868,6870],{"id":6869},"the-mileage","The mileage",[11,6872,6873],{},"For an employee, approved mileage allowance payments apply to business travel in a vehicle that is not a company vehicle, usually your own. For cars and vans the approved rate is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after (for journeys from 6 April 2026). The self-employed using simplified expenses use the same rates. The rates are not restricted to UK roads. A business journey is a business journey, and the miles you drive in France on the way to a client count towards the same annual total as the miles you drove to get to the ferry.",[11,6875,6876],{},"That includes the 10,000-mile threshold. For an employee it is one running total for the tax year, per employment, across all the cars and vans used for that job, wherever they were driven. The self-employed count over their accounting period across all the business's cars and vans.",[15,6878,6880],{"id":6879},"the-costs-that-are-not-mileage","The costs that are not mileage",[11,6882,6883],{},"The mileage rate covers running the vehicle. It does not cover:",[193,6885,6886,6891,6896,6901],{},[196,6887,6888],{},[23,6889,6890],{},"Ferries and tunnel crossings",[196,6892,6893],{},[23,6894,6895],{},"Foreign tolls and vignettes",[196,6897,6898],{},[23,6899,6900],{},"Emissions stickers and city permits",[196,6902,6903],{},[23,6904,489],{},[11,6906,6907],{},"These are claimable separately where the journey is business, exactly as tolls and parking are at home. Keep them attached to the journey rather than in a pile.",[15,6909,6911],{"id":6910},"what-is-claimable-and-how","What is claimable, and how",[74,6913,6914,6923],{},[77,6915,6916],{},[80,6917,6918,6920],{},[83,6919,2826],{},[83,6921,6922],{},"Treatment",[92,6924,6925,6933,6941,6948,6955,6961,6969,6977,6985],{},[80,6926,6927,6930],{},[97,6928,6929],{},"Mileage in your own car",[97,6931,6932],{},"Approved rates, same annual 10,000-mile total",[80,6934,6935,6938],{},[97,6936,6937],{},"Ferry or tunnel crossing",[97,6939,6940],{},"Separate claimable expense",[80,6942,6943,6946],{},[97,6944,6945],{},"Foreign tolls, vignettes",[97,6947,6940],{},[80,6949,6950,6953],{},[97,6951,6952],{},"Emissions stickers, city permits",[97,6954,6940],{},[80,6956,6957,6959],{},[97,6958,489],{},[97,6960,6940],{},[80,6962,6963,6966],{},[97,6964,6965],{},"Extra insurance or breakdown cover for the trip",[97,6967,6968],{},"Covered by the mileage rate, not claimed on top",[80,6970,6971,6974],{},[97,6972,6973],{},"Hire car your employer arranges",[97,6975,6976],{},"The hire cost, not a per-mile rate",[80,6978,6979,6982],{},[97,6980,6981],{},"Fuel in that hire car",[97,6983,6984],{},"Actual cost, not the mileage rate",[80,6986,6987,6990],{},[97,6988,6989],{},"Hire car you arrange and pay for yourself",[97,6991,6992],{},"Not a company vehicle, so the approved rates can apply",[15,6994,6996],{"id":6995},"where-it-gets-complicated","Where it gets complicated",[11,6998,6999,7002],{},[23,7000,7001],{},"Mixed trips."," A week abroad that is three days of client work and four days of holiday is not wholly business. The travel there and back has to be apportioned, or may fail entirely if the primary purpose was personal. It is a contested area of foreign business travel and one worth taking advice on.",[11,7004,7005,7008],{},[23,7006,7007],{},"Subsistence."," Meals and accommodation abroad have their own treatment, including HMRC's published overseas scale rates for some countries. That is a separate topic from mileage but usually part of the same trip.",[11,7010,7011,7014],{},[23,7012,7013],{},"Foreign exchange."," Costs paid in another currency need converting at a reasonable rate, applied consistently. Pick a method (the card's rate on the day is usually the cleanest) and use it for the whole trip.",[15,7016,427],{"id":426},[11,7018,7019],{},"The same as at home, plus a bit more: date, from, to, purpose, distance, and enough detail to show the business character of the trip if the days were mixed. A calendar of meetings alongside the journey log answers most questions before they are asked.",[11,7021,7022],{},"Milometry records the drive by GPS wherever you are, so the distance is measured rather than estimated from a map afterwards, which matters more abroad, where the route you actually took and the route you planned are often not the same.",[15,7024,191],{"id":190},[193,7026,7027,7032,7037,7044,7049,7054,7061],{},[196,7028,7029],{},[199,7030,239],{"href":237,"rel":7031},[203],[196,7033,7034],{},[199,7035,506],{"href":504,"rel":7036},[203],[196,7038,7039],{},[199,7040,7043],{"href":7041,"rel":7042},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F229",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 229: mileage allowance payments (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,7045,7046],{},[199,7047,3220],{"href":518,"rel":7048},[203],[196,7050,7051],{},[199,7052,3011],{"href":844,"rel":7053},[203],[196,7055,7056],{},[199,7057,7060],{"href":7058,"rel":7059},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fexpenses-rates-for-employees-travelling-outside-the-uk",[203],"Expenses rates for employees travelling outside the UK (HMRC)",[196,7062,7063],{},[199,7064,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":7065},[203],[241,7067],{},[11,7069,7070],{},[246,7071,7072],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Mixed business and personal trips abroad are fact-sensitive: take advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":7074},[7075,7076,7077,7078,7079,7080],{"id":6869,"depth":251,"text":6870},{"id":6879,"depth":251,"text":6880},{"id":6910,"depth":251,"text":6911},{"id":6995,"depth":251,"text":6996},{"id":426,"depth":251,"text":427},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-01-08","The approved rates do not stop at Dover, but almost everything around them changes. What the mileage covers, what it does not, and what to record.","\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work.jpg","Traffic on a motorway with overhead direction signs","Photo by David Dixon","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.geograph.ie\u002Fphoto\u002F6067447",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work",[277,1746],{"title":6861,"description":7082},"blog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work",[284,7093,578],"travel abroad","2mj_jIw7hdmZQs96OHngIAcFGmGlfYk-JNAJeZ2YKrM",{"id":7096,"title":7097,"author":6,"body":7098,"category":259,"date":7328,"description":7329,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":7330,"imageAlt":7331,"imageCredit":7332,"imageCreditUrl":7333,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":7334,"navigation":271,"path":7335,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":7336,"seo":7337,"seoTitle":281,"stem":7338,"tags":7339,"updated":275,"__hash__":7341},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage.md","Fuel cards and mileage claims: how they interact",{"type":8,"value":7099,"toc":7320},[7100,7103,7107,7114,7117,7120,7123,7127,7134,7141,7144,7148,7151,7154,7158,7237,7240,7244,7255,7258,7260,7313,7315],[11,7101,7102],{},"Fuel cards feel like they simplify things. The fuel is paid for, so surely there is nothing to claim. In practice they usually create more record-keeping, not less, because the question stops being \"what am I owed\" and becomes \"what did I use that I should not have\". This post is about employees.",[15,7104,7106],{"id":7105},"your-own-car-employers-fuel-card","Your own car, employer's fuel card",[11,7108,7109,7110,7113],{},"If the card pays for fuel in ",[23,7111,7112],{},"your"," car, the employer is meeting a cost that is partly personal. That has consequences.",[11,7115,7116],{},"Fuel your employer provides for your own car is not a mileage allowance payment, because it is not a payment to you, and the fuel benefit rules for company cars do not apply to it. HMRC's guidance is that the cost of fuel an employer provides for an employee's own vehicle is taxable on the employee, and it is reported as a benefit. Fuel for personal journeys, including your commute, is the obvious part of that.",[11,7118,7119],{},"So the split between business and personal mileage stops being about what you can claim and starts being about what you owe. Get the log wrong in the generous direction and you have understated a benefit. That is a worse position than under-claiming.",[11,7121,7122],{},"Because the fuel is not a mileage allowance payment, your employer has paid you nothing towards your business miles for Mileage Allowance Relief purposes. You can claim that relief on the approved amount for your business miles (for a car or van in 2026-27, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p) against your own Income Tax. Where the card only ever buys business fuel, the relief broadly offsets the tax on that fuel and leaves relief on the rest of the approved amount. How your employer reports the card, and whether National Insurance is due, depends on how the card is set up; the result shows on your P11D or payslip.",[15,7124,7126],{"id":7125},"company-car-fuel-card-no-reimbursement","Company car, fuel card, no reimbursement",[11,7128,7129,7130,7133],{},"If the car belongs to the company and the card pays for all fuel including private use, that is the ",[23,7131,7132],{},"car fuel benefit",": a charge worked out from the car's CO2-based percentage applied to a fixed sum set each year, not from how much fuel you actually used.",[11,7135,7136,7137,7140],{},"The catch is that it is fixed. Someone doing very little private mileage can be taxed as though they did a great deal. The charge is nil only if you are required to repay, and do repay, the cost of ",[23,7138,7139],{},"all"," private fuel by 6 July after the end of the tax year. A partial repayment does not reduce it at all. HMRC accepts repayment at Advisory Fuel Rates for company cars.",[11,7142,7143],{},"Whether repaying beats being taxed is arithmetic, and it depends on your private mileage. You cannot do that arithmetic without a mileage record.",[15,7145,7147],{"id":7146},"company-car-business-fuel-only","Company car, business fuel only",[11,7149,7150],{},"The cleanest arrangement: the card is used for business fuel, private fuel is repaid or bought separately. Advisory Fuel Rates are the yardstick.",[11,7152,7153],{},"Here the mileage log is the entire basis of the split. Without it there is no defensible line between the two.",[15,7155,7157],{"id":7156},"which-arrangement-you-are-in","Which arrangement you are in",[74,7159,7160,7176],{},[77,7161,7162],{},[80,7163,7164,7167,7170,7173],{},[83,7165,7166],{},"Car",[83,7168,7169],{},"Card pays for",[83,7171,7172],{},"What you owe or claim",[83,7174,7175],{},"Record needed",[92,7177,7178,7196,7208,7224],{},[80,7179,7180,7183,7186,7193],{},[97,7181,7182],{},"Yours",[97,7184,7185],{},"All fuel",[97,7187,7188,7189,7192],{},"Fuel provided is ",[23,7190,7191],{},"taxable","; you can claim relief on the approved amount for business miles",[97,7194,7195],{},"Business\u002Fprivate split",[80,7197,7198,7200,7203,7206],{},[97,7199,7182],{},[97,7201,7202],{},"Business fuel only",[97,7204,7205],{},"Same mechanics; the relief broadly covers the fuel and the rest of the approved amount",[97,7207,1319],{},[80,7209,7210,7213,7216,7221],{},[97,7211,7212],{},"Company",[97,7214,7215],{},"All fuel incl. private",[97,7217,7218,7220],{},[23,7219,4464],{},", fixed charge from CO2, unless all private fuel is repaid by 6 July",[97,7222,7223],{},"Split, to decide whether to repay",[80,7225,7226,7228,7231,7234],{},[97,7227,7212],{},[97,7229,7230],{},"Business fuel only, or all private fuel repaid",[97,7232,7233],{},"No fuel benefit",[97,7235,7236],{},"Split, to calculate the repayment",[11,7238,7239],{},"Every row needs the same underlying thing: how many of those miles were business.",[15,7241,7243],{"id":7242},"the-common-thread","The common thread",[11,7245,7246,7247,7250,7251,7254],{},"In every version of this, the fuel card removes the ",[246,7248,7249],{},"payment"," but not the ",[246,7252,7253],{},"question",". Somebody still has to know how many of those miles were business, and the only way to know is to have recorded them as they happened.",[11,7256,7257],{},"Milometry keeps each vehicle separate and records every journey with its own classification, so the business and private split is a number you can produce rather than an estimate you defend.",[15,7259,191],{"id":190},[193,7261,7262,7267,7272,7277,7282,7289,7296,7303,7308],{},[196,7263,7264],{},[199,7265,218],{"href":216,"rel":7266},[203],[196,7268,7269],{},[199,7270,225],{"href":223,"rel":7271},[203],[196,7273,7274],{},[199,7275,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":7276},[203],[196,7278,7279],{},[199,7280,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":7281},[203],[196,7283,7284],{},[199,7285,7288],{"href":7286,"rel":7287},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim31215",[203],"Employment Income Manual EIM31215: things which are not mileage allowance payments (HMRC)",[196,7290,7291],{},[199,7292,7295],{"href":7293,"rel":7294},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Ftaxable-fuel-provided-for-company-cars-and-vans-480-chapter-13",[203],"Taxable fuel provided for company cars and vans (480: Chapter 13) (HMRC)",[196,7297,7298],{},[199,7299,7302],{"href":7300,"rel":7301},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F151",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 151: car fuel, nil cash equivalent (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,7304,7305],{},[199,7306,204],{"href":201,"rel":7307},[203],[196,7309,7310],{},[199,7311,239],{"href":237,"rel":7312},[203],[241,7314],{},[11,7316,7317],{},[246,7318,7319],{},"General information, not tax advice. Fuel benefit rules are detailed and change: check current guidance before relying on this.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":7321},[7322,7323,7324,7325,7326,7327],{"id":7105,"depth":251,"text":7106},{"id":7125,"depth":251,"text":7126},{"id":7146,"depth":251,"text":7147},{"id":7156,"depth":251,"text":7157},{"id":7242,"depth":251,"text":7243},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2026-01-01","A fuel card does not remove the need for a mileage log. It usually makes it more important. Three common arrangements, and what each one asks of you.","\u002Fblog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage.jpg","A petrol station forecourt lit at dusk","Photo by crabchick","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F62327186@N00\u002F7416793318",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage",[277,278,279],{"title":7097,"description":7329},"blog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage",[7340,284,286],"fuel cards","6qPAAVx34YexzwX9rQTI15rtjt8VaE09iCnMyYsSths",{"id":7343,"title":7344,"author":6,"body":7345,"category":259,"date":7612,"description":7613,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":7614,"imageAlt":7615,"imageCredit":7616,"imageCreditUrl":7617,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":7618,"navigation":271,"path":7619,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":7620,"seo":7621,"seoTitle":281,"stem":7622,"tags":7623,"updated":275,"__hash__":7625},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011.md","45p held for fifteen years, then moved to 55p",{"type":8,"value":7346,"toc":7603},[7347,7354,7364,7367,7371,7374,7377,7381,7493,7496,7500,7503,7508,7513,7516,7520,7523,7526,7530,7533,7536,7540,7543,7549,7552,7554,7596,7598],[11,7348,7349,7350,7353],{},"The approved mileage rate for cars and vans went to ",[23,7351,7352],{},"45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles"," from 6 April 2011, up from 40p. The 25p rate above 10,000 miles has been unchanged for considerably longer.",[11,7355,7356,7357,7359,7360,7363],{},"It then did not move for fifteen years. In May 2026 the government announced a rise to ",[23,7358,623],{}," for journeys from ",[23,7361,7362],{},"6 April 2026",", the first change since 2011. The 25p rate above 10,000 miles stayed where it was, as did the 5p a mile an employer can pay tax free for each colleague carried on a business journey.",[11,7365,7366],{},"This is the story of why it held for so long, and what finally shifted.",[15,7368,7370],{"id":7369},"what-the-rate-is-meant-to-cover","What the rate is meant to cover",[11,7372,7373],{},"It is not a fuel reimbursement. The approved rate is intended to cover the whole cost of running your own car for business: fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, repairs and depreciation.",[11,7375,7376],{},"That is why it is so much higher than the Advisory Fuel Rates used for company cars, which cover fuel alone because the company already owns the asset.",[15,7378,7380],{"id":7379},"what-has-happened-since-2011","What has happened since 2011",[74,7382,7383,7398],{},[77,7384,7385],{},[80,7386,7387,7389,7392,7395],{},[83,7388],{},[83,7390,7391],{},"2011",[83,7393,7394],{},"Now",[83,7396,7397],{},"Direction",[92,7399,7400,7415,7429,7443,7456,7467,7480],{},[80,7401,7402,7405,7408,7410],{},[97,7403,7404],{},"Approved rate, first 10,000 miles",[97,7406,7407],{},"45p",[97,7409,623],{},[97,7411,7412],{},[23,7413,7414],{},"Up 22%, in 2026",[80,7416,7417,7420,7422,7424],{},[97,7418,7419],{},"Rate above 10,000 miles",[97,7421,320],{},[97,7423,320],{},[97,7425,7426],{},[23,7427,7428],{},"Unchanged",[80,7430,7431,7434,7437,7439],{},[97,7432,7433],{},"Threshold",[97,7435,7436],{},"10,000 mi",[97,7438,7436],{},[97,7440,7441],{},[23,7442,7428],{},[80,7444,7445,7448,7450,7453],{},[97,7446,7447],{},"Insurance, servicing, parts",[97,7449,116],{},[97,7451,7452],{},"Substantially higher",[97,7454,7455],{},"Against the rate",[80,7457,7458,7461,7463,7465],{},[97,7459,7460],{},"New car prices, so depreciation",[97,7462,116],{},[97,7464,7452],{},[97,7466,7455],{},[80,7468,7469,7472,7474,7477],{},[97,7470,7471],{},"Typical fuel economy",[97,7473,116],{},[97,7475,7476],{},"Better",[97,7478,7479],{},"For the rate",[80,7481,7482,7485,7488,7491],{},[97,7483,7484],{},"Electric running costs",[97,7486,7487],{},"Negligible uptake",[97,7489,7490],{},"Very low at home",[97,7492,7479],{},[11,7494,7495],{},"Which is why the same rate is generous for one driver and thin for another, on identical mileage.",[15,7497,7499],{"id":7498},"why-it-feels-less-generous-than-it-did","Why it feels less generous than it did",[11,7501,7502],{},"Two things pull in opposite directions.",[11,7504,7505,7507],{},[23,7506,7455],{},": everything except fuel has risen substantially since 2011. Insurance, parts, labour rates, and the purchase price of cars, which drives depreciation.",[11,7509,7510,7512],{},[23,7511,7479],{},": cars have become considerably more efficient. A 2011 family car doing 40 mpg has a 2026 equivalent doing rather better, and an electric one doing better still on running cost per mile.",[11,7514,7515],{},"For a driver with a modern, efficient, cheaply acquired car, the rate can more than cover what the mile costs. For someone running an older, thirstier or more expensive vehicle, it increasingly is not.",[15,7517,7519],{"id":7518},"the-10000-mile-cliff","The 10,000-mile cliff",[11,7521,7522],{},"The part that ages least well is the threshold. It has been 10,000 miles for a very long time, and it is not indexed to anything.",[11,7524,7525],{},"A driver doing 20,000 business miles a year is claiming 55p on half of them and 25p on the rest, giving a blended rate of 40p. The rules assume high mileage means lower marginal cost, which is true for fuel and largely untrue for tyres, servicing and depreciation.",[15,7527,7529],{"id":7528},"what-finally-changed-it","What finally changed it",[11,7531,7532],{},"The government announced on 21 May 2026 that the rate would rise to 55p, backdated to 6 April 2026, and legislated it in the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Act 2026.",[11,7534,7535],{},"Worth noting what did not change: the 10,000-mile threshold, the 25p rate above it, and the 5p passenger payment. The blended rate for a high-mileage driver therefore improved by less than the headline suggests, and the case for actual costs on a thirsty vehicle has narrowed rather than closed.",[15,7537,7539],{"id":7538},"what-you-can-do-about-it","What you can do about it",[11,7541,7542],{},"If you are an employee paid less than the approved rate, you can claim tax relief on the difference, worth the difference multiplied by your tax rate. That is Mileage Allowance Relief and it is claimed through Self Assessment or a P87.",[11,7544,7545,7546,7548],{},"If you are self-employed and the flat rate genuinely does not cover your costs (a thirsty van, high mileage, an expensive vehicle), ",[23,7547,2806],{}," may give a bigger deduction than simplified expenses. That decision is close to permanent per vehicle, so it is worth doing the arithmetic properly rather than defaulting.",[11,7550,7551],{},"Either way, the first requirement is knowing what your driving actually costs. Log fill-ups with the odometer and the figure stops being a guess.",[15,7553,191],{"id":190},[193,7555,7556,7561,7566,7571,7576,7581,7586,7591],{},[196,7557,7558],{},[199,7559,239],{"href":237,"rel":7560},[203],[196,7562,7563],{},[199,7564,2669],{"href":230,"rel":7565},[203],[196,7567,7568],{},[199,7569,5398],{"href":5396,"rel":7570},[203],[196,7572,7573],{},[199,7574,3220],{"href":518,"rel":7575},[203],[196,7577,7578],{},[199,7579,1698],{"href":530,"rel":7580},[203],[196,7582,7583],{},[199,7584,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":7585},[203],[196,7587,7588],{},[199,7589,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":7590},[203],[196,7592,7593],{},[199,7594,218],{"href":216,"rel":7595},[203],[241,7597],{},[11,7599,7600],{},[246,7601,7602],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Check the current rate table before claiming.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":7604},[7605,7606,7607,7608,7609,7610,7611],{"id":7369,"depth":251,"text":7370},{"id":7379,"depth":251,"text":7380},{"id":7498,"depth":251,"text":7499},{"id":7518,"depth":251,"text":7519},{"id":7528,"depth":251,"text":7529},{"id":7538,"depth":251,"text":7539},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-12-25","The rate was set when petrol was cheaper and cars were thirstier. It outlasted three prime ministers and a great deal of inflation before it finally gave.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011.jpg","A fan of fifty pound notes","Photo by Images_of_Money","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F59937401@N07\u002F5474155241",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011",[277,1746],{"title":7344,"description":7613},"blog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011",[284,1164,7624],"policy","QaNgge-farEVff3adHVoZTnrypk_xCEuj5WQjpCyQoM",{"id":7627,"title":7628,"author":6,"body":7629,"category":259,"date":7918,"description":7919,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":7920,"imageAlt":7921,"imageCredit":7922,"imageCreditUrl":7923,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":7924,"navigation":271,"path":7925,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":7926,"seo":7927,"seoTitle":281,"stem":7928,"tags":7929,"updated":275,"__hash__":7931},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers.md","Choosing a company car: the numbers that actually decide it",{"type":8,"value":7630,"toc":7910},[7631,7634,7638,7641,7668,7671,7674,7678,7735,7738,7797,7800,7804,7814,7817,7820,7824,7827,7830,7850,7854,7857,7860,7862,7903,7905],[11,7632,7633],{},"A company car is not a perk with a tax side-effect. It is a taxable benefit whose size you choose when you pick the car, and the difference between two similar cars can be hundreds of pounds a year of take-home.",[15,7635,7637],{"id":7636},"how-the-charge-is-built","How the charge is built",[11,7639,7640],{},"Three numbers multiply together:",[2033,7642,7643,7653,7663],{},[196,7644,7645,7648,7649,7652],{},[23,7646,7647],{},"List price"," (P11D value): the manufacturer's price including VAT and delivery, plus options. Note that it is the ",[246,7650,7651],{},"list"," price, not what your employer negotiated.",[196,7654,7655,7658,7659,7662],{},[23,7656,7657],{},"The appropriate percentage",", driven mainly by ",[23,7660,7661],{},"CO2 emissions",", with electric and low-emission cars at the bottom of the scale and high emitters at the top.",[196,7664,7665],{},[23,7666,7667],{},"Your marginal rate of tax.",[11,7669,7670],{},"The taxable benefit is list price × percentage. You then pay income tax on that at your rate, and the employer pays Class 1A NICs on it.",[11,7672,7673],{},"The practical consequence: a cheaper car with high emissions can cost more in tax than a pricier car with very low ones.",[15,7675,7677],{"id":7676},"how-the-benefit-is-built","How the benefit is built",[74,7679,7680,7689],{},[77,7681,7682],{},[80,7683,7684,7687],{},[83,7685,7686],{},"Step",[83,7688,442],{},[92,7690,7691,7699,7707,7715,7723],{},[80,7692,7693,7696],{},[97,7694,7695],{},"List price (P11D value), including options",[97,7697,7698],{},"£35,000",[80,7700,7701,7704],{},[97,7702,7703],{},"Appropriate percentage, driven by CO2",[97,7705,7706],{},"25%",[80,7708,7709,7712],{},[97,7710,7711],{},"Taxable benefit",[97,7713,7714],{},"£8,750",[80,7716,7717,7720],{},[97,7718,7719],{},"Your marginal tax rate",[97,7721,7722],{},"40%",[80,7724,7725,7730],{},[97,7726,7727],{},[23,7728,7729],{},"Income tax you pay per year",[97,7731,7732],{},[23,7733,7734],{},"£3,500",[11,7736,7737],{},"Change only the CO2 figure and the answer moves enormously:",[74,7739,7740,7753],{},[77,7741,7742],{},[80,7743,7744,7747,7750],{},[83,7745,7746],{},"Appropriate percentage",[83,7748,7749],{},"Taxable benefit on £35,000",[83,7751,7752],{},"Tax at 40%",[92,7754,7755,7767,7778,7786],{},[80,7756,7757,7760,7762],{},[97,7758,7759],{},"4% (electric, 2026-27)",[97,7761,4517],{},[97,7763,7764],{},[23,7765,7766],{},"£560",[80,7768,7769,7772,7775],{},[97,7770,7771],{},"12%",[97,7773,7774],{},"£4,200",[97,7776,7777],{},"£1,680",[80,7779,7780,7782,7784],{},[97,7781,7706],{},[97,7783,7714],{},[97,7785,7734],{},[80,7787,7788,7791,7794],{},[97,7789,7790],{},"37% (high emitter)",[97,7792,7793],{},"£12,950",[97,7795,7796],{},"£5,180",[11,7798,7799],{},"A cheaper car with high emissions can easily cost more tax than a pricier low-emission one.",[15,7801,7803],{"id":7802},"fuel-is-a-separate-decision","Fuel is a separate decision",[11,7805,7806,7807,7810,7811,7813],{},"If the employer also pays for ",[23,7808,7809],{},"private"," fuel, there is a ",[23,7812,7132],{}," on top, and it is calculated from a fixed multiplier and the same CO2 percentage, not from how much fuel you actually used.",[11,7815,7816],{},"That tends to make it poor value for anyone with modest private mileage. Repaying the employer the full cost of private fuel (Advisory Fuel Rates are the usual yardstick) removes the charge, and for low private mileage that can cost less than the tax.",[11,7818,7819],{},"You cannot work out which applies without knowing your private mileage. Which means you need the log before you can make the decision.",[15,7821,7823],{"id":7822},"company-car-or-your-own-car","Company car or your own car?",[11,7825,7826],{},"The alternative is running your own car, with your employer paying approved mileage rates: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p, tax free (for journeys from 6 April 2026). If the employer pays less, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall.",[11,7828,7829],{},"Very roughly:",[193,7831,7832,7838,7844],{},[196,7833,7834,7837],{},[23,7835,7836],{},"High business mileage, modest car",": your own car often comes out ahead, because 55p a mile can exceed a cheap vehicle's real running costs (though above 10,000 business miles the rate drops to 25p).",[196,7839,7840,7843],{},[23,7841,7842],{},"Low business mileage, expensive or low-emission car",": the company car often comes out ahead, because there is little mileage to claim and the benefit charge on an EV is small.",[196,7845,7846,7849],{},[23,7847,7848],{},"Anything in between",": do the arithmetic, and do it with real mileage figures rather than an estimate.",[15,7851,7853],{"id":7852},"the-thing-to-do-first","The thing to do first",[11,7855,7856],{},"Before comparing anything, get an accurate picture of how many business and private miles you actually drive. Estimates are easy to get wrong, in either direction.",[11,7858,7859],{},"Milometry keeps each vehicle separate and splits the miles as you go, so when the company car conversation comes round you are choosing on your own numbers.",[15,7861,191],{"id":190},[193,7863,7864,7869,7876,7881,7886,7891,7896],{},[196,7865,7866],{},[199,7867,204],{"href":201,"rel":7868},[203],[196,7870,7871],{},[199,7872,7875],{"href":7873,"rel":7874},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F139",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 139: the appropriate percentage (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,7877,7878],{},[199,7879,218],{"href":216,"rel":7880},[203],[196,7882,7883],{},[199,7884,232],{"href":230,"rel":7885},[203],[196,7887,7888],{},[199,7889,225],{"href":223,"rel":7890},[203],[196,7892,7893],{},[199,7894,239],{"href":237,"rel":7895},[203],[196,7897,7898],{},[199,7899,7902],{"href":7900,"rel":7901},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fvehicle-tax-rate-tables",[203],"Vehicle tax rate tables (DVLA)",[241,7904],{},[11,7906,7907],{},[246,7908,7909],{},"General information, not tax advice. Benefit-in-kind percentages are set years ahead and change: check the current tables for the tax year you are choosing in.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":7911},[7912,7913,7914,7915,7916,7917],{"id":7636,"depth":251,"text":7637},{"id":7676,"depth":251,"text":7677},{"id":7802,"depth":251,"text":7803},{"id":7822,"depth":251,"text":7823},{"id":7852,"depth":251,"text":7853},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-12-04","List price, CO2 and the benefit-in-kind percentage do more to your take-home than the car does to your commute.","\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers.jpg","A small red hatchback parked at the kerb","Photo by charles cars","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F92622665@N08\u002F14970419439",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers",[277,278,279],{"title":7628,"description":7919},"blog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers",[286,25,7930],"business cars","ECWLxr1ff0POYmZ3JNp1hjgxAQ5BYCODhfpGw_5rxQg",{"id":7933,"title":7934,"author":6,"body":7935,"category":259,"date":8139,"description":8140,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":8141,"imageAlt":8142,"imageCredit":8143,"imageCreditUrl":8144,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":8145,"navigation":271,"path":8146,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":8147,"seo":8148,"seoTitle":281,"stem":8149,"tags":8150,"updated":275,"__hash__":8153},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity.md","Driving for a charity: what volunteers can claim",{"type":8,"value":7936,"toc":8130},[7937,7940,7944,7951,7954,7958,7961,7964,7970,7974,8055,8058,8062,8065,8068,8072,8075,8078,8082,8085,8087,8123,8125],[11,7938,7939],{},"Community transport, hospital lifts, meals rounds, ferrying kit to fixtures. A great deal of charitable work happens in private cars, and much of it is quietly subsidised by the drivers.",[15,7941,7943],{"id":7942},"reimbursement-not-a-claim-against-tax","Reimbursement, not a claim against tax",[11,7945,7946,7947,7950],{},"The important distinction: as a volunteer you are not an employee, and you are generally not claiming tax relief. What you are doing is being ",[23,7948,7949],{},"reimbursed by the organisation"," for costs you incurred on its behalf.",[11,7952,7953],{},"That is a different mechanism with a simpler test. If the charity reimburses your actual motoring costs for volunteer journeys, and the payment does no more than cover them, it is not income and there is nothing to tax.",[15,7955,7957],{"id":7956},"where-the-approved-rates-come-in","Where the approved rates come in",[11,7959,7960],{},"Charities commonly reimburse at HMRC's approved mileage rates, because HMRC accepts payments up to those rates as covering a volunteer's costs. For journeys from 6 April 2026 that is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles in the tax year, then 25p (it was 45p until 5 April 2026). Paying at or below them keeps the arrangement clean.",[11,7962,7963],{},"The 10,000 miles count across every organisation you drive for. If you drive for a hospital lift scheme and a food bank, add the two together before working out which miles fall above the threshold.",[11,7965,7966,7967,7969],{},"If a volunteer is paid ",[23,7968,1302],{}," than the approved rates across the year, the excess is treated as a profit, and the volunteer may need to report it on a Self Assessment return and pay tax on it. Any passenger payments are left out of that profit test. Volunteer driving is not employment, so no National Insurance is due on such a profit.",[15,7971,7973],{"id":7972},"reimbursement-versus-a-claim","Reimbursement versus a claim",[74,7975,7976,7988],{},[77,7977,7978],{},[80,7979,7980,7982,7985],{},[83,7981],{},[83,7983,7984],{},"Volunteer",[83,7986,7987],{},"Employee",[92,7989,7990,8001,8012,8022,8033,8046],{},[80,7991,7992,7995,7998],{},[97,7993,7994],{},"Relationship",[97,7996,7997],{},"Reimbursed by the organisation",[97,7999,8000],{},"Employed",[80,8002,8003,8006,8009],{},[97,8004,8005],{},"Mechanism",[97,8007,8008],{},"Repayment of actual costs",[97,8010,8011],{},"Approved mileage payments",[80,8013,8014,8017,8020],{},[97,8015,8016],{},"Tax if paid at or below approved rates",[97,8018,8019],{},"Not taxable",[97,8021,8019],{},[80,8023,8024,8027,8030],{},[97,8025,8026],{},"Tax if paid above",[97,8028,8029],{},"Excess is a profit and may be taxable",[97,8031,8032],{},"Excess is taxable",[80,8034,8035,8038,8043],{},[97,8036,8037],{},"Tax relief if paid nothing",[97,8039,8040],{},[23,8041,8042],{},"Generally none",[97,8044,8045],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief available",[80,8047,8048,8050,8053],{},[97,8049,7175],{},[97,8051,8052],{},"Per-journey log",[97,8054,8052],{},[11,8056,8057],{},"The row that surprises people is the fifth: a volunteer paid nothing generally has no relief to\nclaim, unlike an employee.",[15,8059,8061],{"id":8060},"the-thing-that-trips-organisations-up","The thing that trips organisations up",[11,8063,8064],{},"Reimbursement needs to be for journeys actually made. A flat monthly payment to a volunteer driver, unconnected to any record of mileage, is not a reimbursement of costs. It is a payment, and it may be taxable.",[11,8066,8067],{},"The fix is unglamorous: a per-journey record showing the date, the route, the purpose and the distance. Exactly the same evidence a business claim needs, for exactly the same reason.",[15,8069,8071],{"id":8070},"if-you-are-the-volunteer","If you are the volunteer",[11,8073,8074],{},"Keep the record even if the charity currently pays nothing. Small organisations often do not realise volunteers are absorbing real money, and a year of logged journeys with a total attached is a far better conversation-starter than a feeling that you are out of pocket.",[11,8076,8077],{},"It also means that if a reimbursement policy does appear, you can claim from the date it starts rather than from the date you began writing things down.",[15,8079,8081],{"id":8080},"insurance-briefly","Insurance, briefly",[11,8083,8084],{},"Check that your policy covers voluntary work. Some insurers treat it as social, domestic and pleasure; others want it declaring, particularly if you are carrying members of the public. Most do not charge for it, but almost all want to be asked.",[15,8086,191],{"id":190},[193,8088,8089,8094,8099,8104,8111,8118],{},[196,8090,8091],{},[199,8092,239],{"href":237,"rel":8093},[203],[196,8095,8096],{},[199,8097,225],{"href":223,"rel":8098},[203],[196,8100,8101],{},[199,8102,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":8103},[203],[196,8105,8106],{},[199,8107,8110],{"href":8108,"rel":8109},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fcheck-if-you-need-to-pay-tax-on-mileage-payments-as-a-volunteer-driver",[203],"Check if you need to pay tax on mileage payments as a volunteer driver (HMRC)",[196,8112,8113],{},[199,8114,8117],{"href":8115,"rel":8116},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim71153",[203],"EIM71153: volunteer drivers, mileage payments (HMRC manual)",[196,8119,8120],{},[199,8121,2669],{"href":230,"rel":8122},[203],[241,8124],{},[11,8126,8127],{},[246,8128,8129],{},"General information, not tax advice. Charities should check their own reimbursement policy against current guidance.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":8131},[8132,8133,8134,8135,8136,8137,8138],{"id":7942,"depth":251,"text":7943},{"id":7956,"depth":251,"text":7957},{"id":7972,"depth":251,"text":7973},{"id":8060,"depth":251,"text":8061},{"id":8070,"depth":251,"text":8071},{"id":8080,"depth":251,"text":8081},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-11-20","Volunteer drivers are not employees, the rates are not quite the same conversation, and a lot of people are out of pocket unnecessarily.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity.jpg","A community charity event with stalls on a green","Photo by dorsetbays","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F82714141@N00\u002F52883525309",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity",[277],{"title":7934,"description":8140},"blog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity",[284,8151,8152],"volunteering","charity","tl5xdrL0uelV6MpEn_asay_ne9n6BQzv0mOHA43o3Zk",{"id":8155,"title":8156,"author":6,"body":8157,"category":259,"date":8526,"description":8527,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":8528,"imageAlt":8529,"imageCredit":8530,"imageCreditUrl":8531,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":8532,"imageLicenceUrl":8533,"meta":8534,"navigation":271,"path":8535,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":573,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":8536,"seo":8537,"seoTitle":8538,"stem":8539,"tags":8540,"updated":275,"__hash__":8542},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel.md","Contracting: the travel rules that cost the most to get wrong",{"type":8,"value":8158,"toc":8516},[8159,8162,8166,8169,8178,8181,8185,8188,8194,8213,8216,8219,8223,8226,8310,8314,8374,8378,8381,8394,8397,8399,8402,8406,8409,8415,8418,8420,8509,8511],[11,8160,8161],{},"Contracting produces exactly the pattern the temporary workplace rules were written for, and exactly the ambiguity that makes them expensive.",[15,8163,8165],{"id":8164},"the-basic-position","The basic position",[11,8167,8168],{},"Which rules apply depends first on how you are engaged. If you work through your own limited company, you are its employee, and the employee rules below decide whether the company can pay your travel tax free. If you work through an umbrella company or an agency, the employee rules apply too, with an extra restriction covered further down. If you are self-employed and contract directly, a different test applies, also covered below.",[11,8170,8171,8172,8174,8175,8177],{},"Under the employee rules, travel to a ",[23,8173,306],{}," is business travel. Travel to a ",[23,8176,1774],{}," is commuting and is not. Where the travel is business travel, the employer (your own company, if you have one) can pay you for it tax free up to the approved amount (for a car or van in 2026-27, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p), and if it pays less you can claim tax relief on the shortfall against your own Income Tax.",[11,8179,8180],{},"For a contractor working through their own company, outside IR35, and moving between client sites, most engagements start out looking temporary, which is why the travel is often tax free, and why it is worth understanding when that stops being true.",[15,8182,8184],{"id":8183},"the-24-month-rule-applied-to-a-contract","The 24-month rule, applied to a contract",[11,8186,8187],{},"A workplace ceases to be temporary once your work there runs, or can reasonably be expected to run, for more than 24 months, where attendance is for a significant part of your working time (HMRC treats 40% or more as significant).",[11,8189,8190,8191,545],{},"The word that matters is ",[246,8192,8193],{},"expected",[193,8195,8196,8199,8206],{},[196,8197,8198],{},"A twelve-month contract, expected to be twelve months: temporary. Travel claimable.",[196,8200,8201,8202,8205],{},"A three-year contract, known on day one: ",[23,8203,8204],{},"permanent from day one",". No claimable travel at all, not even for the first 24 months.",[196,8207,8208,8209,8212],{},"A twelve-month contract extended twice, where at month 20 it becomes clear it will run past two years: travel stops being claimable ",[23,8210,8211],{},"from the moment the expectation changed",", not at month 24.",[11,8214,8215],{},"That third case is the one that catches people, because nothing visible happens on the day the position changes.",[11,8217,8218],{},"A second rule matters for anyone taken on for a single project: a site is also permanent if you are expected to work there for all or almost all of the time you are likely to hold that job. For someone employed by their own company on an ongoing basis this rarely bites; for a fixed-term employee hired for one site, it usually does.",[15,8220,8222],{"id":8221},"how-the-engagement-shape-changes-the-answer","How the engagement shape changes the answer",[11,8224,8225],{},"These rows assume your own company, outside IR35, attending the client site for 40% or more of your working time unless stated.",[74,8227,8228,8242],{},[77,8229,8230],{},[80,8231,8232,8235,8238,8240],{},[83,8233,8234],{},"Engagement",[83,8236,8237],{},"Expected length",[83,8239,3361],{},[83,8241,3364],{},[92,8243,8244,8256,8268,8282,8298],{},[80,8245,8246,8249,8252,8254],{},[97,8247,8248],{},"6-month contract",[97,8250,8251],{},"6 months",[97,8253,107],{},[97,8255,3376],{},[80,8257,8258,8261,8264,8266],{},[97,8259,8260],{},"12-month, extended to 18",[97,8262,8263],{},"18 months",[97,8265,107],{},[97,8267,3376],{},[80,8269,8270,8273,8276,8279],{},[97,8271,8272],{},"12-month, extended to 30 at month 20",[97,8274,8275],{},"Over 24",[97,8277,8278],{},"Until month 20",[97,8280,8281],{},"Up to the extension only",[80,8283,8284,8287,8290,8294],{},[97,8285,8286],{},"36-month contract from the outset",[97,8288,8289],{},"36 months",[97,8291,8292],{},[23,8293,102],{},[97,8295,8296],{},[23,8297,6439],{},[80,8299,8300,8303,8306,8308],{},[97,8301,8302],{},"30 months, one day a fortnight",[97,8304,8305],{},"Over 24, low attendance",[97,8307,107],{},[97,8309,3376],{},[15,8311,8313],{"id":8312},"which-route-the-claim-takes","Which route the claim takes",[74,8315,8316,8328],{},[77,8317,8318],{},[80,8319,8320,8323,8325],{},[83,8321,8322],{},"Structure",[83,8324,8005],{},[83,8326,8327],{},"Typical restriction",[92,8329,8330,8341,8352,8363],{},[80,8331,8332,8335,8338],{},[97,8333,8334],{},"Own limited company, IR35 does not apply to the contract",[97,8336,8337],{},"Company reimburses at approved rates, tax free",[97,8339,8340],{},"The 24-month and fixed-term rules above",[80,8342,8343,8346,8349],{},[97,8344,8345],{},"Own limited company, IR35 applies to the contract",[97,8347,8348],{},"Each engagement treated as a separate job",[97,8350,8351],{},"Home to that client is normally commuting (section 339A)",[80,8353,8354,8357,8360],{},[97,8355,8356],{},"Umbrella or agency",[97,8358,8359],{},"Each engagement treated as a separate job, where you work under supervision, direction or control",[97,8361,8362],{},"Home to the client is normally commuting",[80,8364,8365,8368,8371],{},[97,8366,8367],{},"Self-employed, direct",[97,8369,8370],{},"Deduct from profits: flat rate or actual costs",[97,8372,8373],{},"Wholly and exclusively test; depends where the business is based",[15,8375,8377],{"id":8376},"umbrella-limited-company-or-agency-payroll","Umbrella, limited company, or agency payroll",[11,8379,8380],{},"Since April 2016, section 339A of ITEPA 2003 treats each engagement as a separate employment for travel purposes where you work through an intermediary. The client's site is then usually a permanent workplace for that engagement, so home to client is commuting. How that lands:",[193,8382,8383,8389],{},[196,8384,8385,8388],{},[23,8386,8387],{},"Own limited company",": the restriction applies to a contract where IR35 (the off-payroll working rules) applies. On a contract outside IR35, the ordinary employee rules above apply. Whether IR35 applies turns on whether you would be an employee of the client if you were engaged directly, judged on the contract and on how the work is actually done. For a medium or large client outside the public sector, and any public sector client, the client makes that decision; for a small private client, your company does. It is decided contract by contract, and it is the point in this post most likely to need a professional view.",[196,8390,8391,8393],{},[23,8392,8356],{},": the restriction applies unless it can be shown that nobody supervises, directs or controls how you do the work. HMRC's view is that many umbrella workers are in that position, so home-to-client travel is usually not relieved.",[11,8395,8396],{},"The underlying travel rules do not change. What changes is whether there is a route to claim through.",[15,8398,2797],{"id":2796},[11,8400,8401],{},"There is no 24-month rule for the self-employed. A journey is deductible from your profits if it is made wholly and exclusively for the business. Where your business is genuinely run from home and you move between client sites for temporary periods, travel from home to those sites is generally allowable. Where you travel regularly to the same place, so that it is in effect your place of business, the journey from home is treated like a commute. Keeping records or tools at home does not by itself make home the base. Which side of that line you are on is a question of fact.",[15,8403,8405],{"id":8404},"the-record-is-the-defence","The record is the defence",[11,8407,8408],{},"Contractor travel claims tend to attract questions, because the sums are larger and the temporary-workplace question is genuinely arguable. A contemporaneous journey log, recorded as you drive rather than reconstructed at year end, is the difference between a position and an assertion.",[11,8410,8411,8412,8414],{},"Record every journey, tag the client site as ",[23,8413,3506],{}," while it is genuinely temporary, and if a contract extends past the point where you expect to be there more than two years, change the tag from that date. The history stays, the claim adjusts, and the record shows exactly when your expectation changed and why.",[11,8416,8417],{},"That last part is worth more than it sounds. \"I stopped claiming in month 20 because the second extension was signed\" is a defensible story with a date attached.",[15,8419,191],{"id":190},[193,8421,8422,8427,8432,8437,8442,8449,8454,8461,8468,8475,8482,8489,8494,8499,8504],{},[196,8423,8424],{},[199,8425,506],{"href":504,"rel":8426},[203],[196,8428,8429],{},[199,8430,2153],{"href":2151,"rel":8431},[203],[196,8433,8434],{},[199,8435,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":8436},[203],[196,8438,8439],{},[199,8440,2202],{"href":2200,"rel":8441},[203],[196,8443,8444],{},[199,8445,8448],{"href":8446,"rel":8447},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F339A",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 339A: intermediaries and supervision, direction or control (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,8450,8451],{},[199,8452,2167],{"href":2165,"rel":8453},[203],[196,8455,8456],{},[199,8457,8460],{"href":8458,"rel":8459},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002Femployment-intermediaries-travel-expense-guidance\u002Ftravel-and-subsistence-expenses-for-workers-engaged-through-employment-intermediaries-from-6-april-2016",[203],"Travel and subsistence expenses for workers engaged through employment intermediaries from 6 April 2016 (HMRC)",[196,8462,8463],{},[199,8464,8467],{"href":8465,"rel":8466},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-status-manual\u002Fesm5600",[203],"Employment Status Manual ESM5600: workers using their own personal service company (HMRC)",[196,8469,8470],{},[199,8471,8474],{"href":8472,"rel":8473},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Funderstanding-off-payroll-working-ir35",[203],"Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) (HMRC)",[196,8476,8477],{},[199,8478,8481],{"href":8479,"rel":8480},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Fbusiness-income-manual\u002Fbim37605",[203],"Business Income Manual BIM37605: travel from home to work (HMRC)",[196,8483,8484],{},[199,8485,8488],{"href":8486,"rel":8487},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Fbusiness-income-manual\u002Fbim37620",[203],"Business Income Manual BIM37620: travel to and between sites (HMRC)",[196,8490,8491],{},[199,8492,1698],{"href":530,"rel":8493},[203],[196,8495,8496],{},[199,8497,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":8498},[203],[196,8500,8501],{},[199,8502,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":8503},[203],[196,8505,8506],{},[199,8507,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":8508},[203],[241,8510],{},[11,8512,8513],{},[246,8514,8515],{},"General information, not tax advice. Contractor travel is fact-sensitive and the umbrella position in particular has changed over time: take advice on your own arrangement.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":8517},[8518,8519,8520,8521,8522,8523,8524,8525],{"id":8164,"depth":251,"text":8165},{"id":8183,"depth":251,"text":8184},{"id":8221,"depth":251,"text":8222},{"id":8312,"depth":251,"text":8313},{"id":8376,"depth":251,"text":8377},{"id":2796,"depth":251,"text":2797},{"id":8404,"depth":251,"text":8405},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-11-13","Site-based work, the 24-month clock, and why the first day of a contract can decide whether any of the travel is claimable.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel.jpg","A modern glass office building","Photo by Kiran891, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=134351811","CC BY-SA 4.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby-sa\u002F4.0\u002F",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel",[277,1746,1747],{"title":8156,"description":8527},"Contractors: the travel rules that cost the most","blog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel",[8541,306,284],"contractors","Zyfbcr3MhHUhp5mh31iiYYhpNMhv0Vd4Zc08vNo2ZgQ",{"id":8544,"title":8545,"author":6,"body":8546,"category":259,"date":8744,"description":8745,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":8746,"imageAlt":8747,"imageCredit":8748,"imageCreditUrl":8749,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":8750,"navigation":271,"path":8751,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":8752,"seo":8753,"seoTitle":281,"stem":8754,"tags":8755,"updated":275,"__hash__":8757},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules.md","Pool cars: the rules that make one work",{"type":8,"value":8547,"toc":8736},[8548,8551,8553,8556,8581,8584,8588,8594,8600,8604,8665,8668,8672,8679,8682,8685,8689,8703,8706,8708,8729,8731],[11,8549,8550],{},"A pool car is a company vehicle available to several employees for business use, with no taxable benefit on anyone. It is a genuinely useful arrangement, and it often fails because the conditions are stricter than people assume.",[15,8552,3764],{"id":3763},[11,8554,8555],{},"To be a pool car, all of the following must hold for the tax year (section 167 ITEPA 2003):",[193,8557,8558,8564,8569,8576],{},[196,8559,8560,8561],{},"It is ",[23,8562,8563],{},"available to, and actually used by, more than one employee",[196,8565,8560,8566],{},[23,8567,8568],{},"not ordinarily used by one employee to the exclusion of others",[196,8570,8571,8572,8575],{},"Any ",[23,8573,8574],{},"private use is merely incidental"," to business use",[196,8577,8560,8578],{},[23,8579,8580],{},"not normally kept overnight at or near an employee's home",[11,8582,8583],{},"Miss one and it stops being a pool car, and a benefit-in-kind charge lands on whoever it was available to, which is usually a considerably worse outcome than the arrangement was trying to avoid.",[15,8585,8587],{"id":8586},"the-two-that-most-often-cause-problems","The two that most often cause problems",[11,8589,8590,8593],{},[23,8591,8592],{},"\"Merely incidental\" private use."," This is a high bar and it is not the same as \"a bit of private use\". The classic example that qualifies is taking the car home the night before an early start to a distant meeting. The private journey exists only because of the business one. Popping to the shops in it does not qualify, however small the detour.",[11,8595,8596,8599],{},[23,8597,8598],{},"The overnight test."," A car parked at an employee's house most nights is not a pool car, whatever the policy document says. HMRC looks at what actually happened, and a pattern is easy to see.",[15,8601,8603],{"id":8602},"the-conditions-and-what-fails-them","The conditions, and what fails them",[74,8605,8606,8619],{},[77,8607,8608],{},[80,8609,8610,8613,8616],{},[83,8611,8612],{},"Condition",[83,8614,8615],{},"Passes",[83,8617,8618],{},"Fails",[92,8620,8621,8632,8643,8654],{},[80,8622,8623,8626,8629],{},[97,8624,8625],{},"Used by more than one employee",[97,8627,8628],{},"Five staff share it",[97,8630,8631],{},"One person always takes it",[80,8633,8634,8637,8640],{},[97,8635,8636],{},"Not ordinarily used by one to the exclusion of others",[97,8638,8639],{},"Booked out by whoever needs it",[97,8641,8642],{},"Effectively assigned to the sales manager",[80,8644,8645,8648,8651],{},[97,8646,8647],{},"Private use merely incidental",[97,8649,8650],{},"Home the night before a 6am departure",[97,8652,8653],{},"Weekly supermarket run",[80,8655,8656,8659,8662],{},[97,8657,8658],{},"Not normally kept overnight at a home",[97,8660,8661],{},"Parked at the depot",[97,8663,8664],{},"On a drive four nights a week",[11,8666,8667],{},"Miss any one and the benefit-in-kind charge lands on whoever the car was available to, which is\nusually far worse than the arrangement was avoiding.",[15,8669,8671],{"id":8670},"proving-it","Proving it",[11,8673,8674,8675,8678],{},"It falls to the employer to show the conditions were met, and the clearest evidence is a ",[23,8676,8677],{},"log per journey",": date, driver, from, to, purpose and distance.",[11,8680,8681],{},"\"It is a pool car\" is a claim. A log showing six different drivers, all journeys business, and the car at the premises overnight is proof.",[11,8683,8684],{},"This is precisely the sort of record nobody keeps until they need it, and it cannot be reconstructed afterwards, which is why pool car arrangements without one can struggle at the first question.",[15,8686,8688],{"id":8687},"practical-setup","Practical setup",[193,8690,8691,8694,8697,8700],{},[196,8692,8693],{},"Keep the car at business premises overnight, and record where it was kept",[196,8695,8696],{},"Log every journey with the driver named",[196,8698,8699],{},"Have a written policy prohibiting private use, and be able to show it was followed rather than just written",[196,8701,8702],{},"Review the log periodically for the pattern of one person using it exclusively, which creeps in without anyone deciding it should",[11,8704,8705],{},"Milometry keeps each vehicle separate with its own journey history, so a pool vehicle's log is a complete record of who went where. The evidence the arrangement stands or falls on.",[15,8707,191],{"id":190},[193,8709,8710,8717,8724],{},[196,8711,8712],{},[199,8713,8716],{"href":8714,"rel":8715},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fukpga\u002F2003\u002F1\u002Fsection\u002F167",[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 167: pooled cars (legislation.gov.uk)",[196,8718,8719],{},[199,8720,8723],{"href":8721,"rel":8722},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim23455",[203],"EIM23455: pooled cars and vans, meaning of private use merely incidental (HMRC)",[196,8725,8726],{},[199,8727,204],{"href":201,"rel":8728},[203],[241,8730],{},[11,8732,8733],{},[246,8734,8735],{},"General information, not tax advice. Pool car status is tested on the facts: if you are relying on it, get the arrangement reviewed.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":8737},[8738,8739,8740,8741,8742,8743],{"id":3763,"depth":251,"text":3764},{"id":8586,"depth":251,"text":8587},{"id":8602,"depth":251,"text":8603},{"id":8670,"depth":251,"text":8671},{"id":8687,"depth":251,"text":8688},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-11-06","A genuine pool car carries no benefit-in-kind charge. Many cars businesses call pool cars do not meet the conditions.","\u002Fblog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules.jpg","A white company van parked beside a grass verge","Photo by JLaw45","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F27665395@N05\u002F4304889951",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules",[279],{"title":8545,"description":8745},"blog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules",[8756,7930,284],"pool cars","i3vQNuODQQwp6nR2xZYXS7kCFNE7y-Xe-nBpETPseyQ",{"id":8759,"title":8760,"author":6,"body":8761,"category":259,"date":8934,"description":8935,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":8936,"imageAlt":8937,"imageCredit":8938,"imageCreditUrl":8939,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":8940,"navigation":271,"path":8941,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":251,"reviewed":281,"reviewedAgainst":8942,"seo":8943,"seoTitle":281,"stem":8944,"tags":8945,"updated":281,"__hash__":8947},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city.md","Clean air zones: which cities charge, and who pays",{"type":8,"value":8762,"toc":8926},[8763,8770,8774,8800,8803,8806,8810,8813,8858,8861,8865,8868,8871,8875,8878,8884,8890,8894,8897,8900,8902,8919,8921],[11,8764,8765,8766,8769],{},"There is no national clean air scheme. Each zone is set up by its local authority, and the crucial variable is which ",[23,8767,8768],{},"class"," it is, because that decides which vehicles pay.",[15,8771,8773],{"id":8772},"the-classes","The classes",[193,8775,8776,8782,8788,8794],{},[196,8777,8778,8781],{},[23,8779,8780],{},"Class A",": buses, coaches, taxis and private hire only",[196,8783,8784,8787],{},[23,8785,8786],{},"Class B",": adds heavy goods vehicles",[196,8789,8790,8793],{},[23,8791,8792],{},"Class C",": adds vans and minibuses",[196,8795,8796,8799],{},[23,8797,8798],{},"Class D",": adds cars",[11,8801,8802],{},"The jump from C to D is the one that matters to most drivers. In a class C zone, a compliant van pays nothing and a non-compliant one pays; a private car pays nothing at all regardless. In a class D zone, cars are in scope.",[11,8804,8805],{},"London's arrangements are separate again: the congestion charge and ULEZ are distinct schemes with their own boundaries, hours and rules, and being compliant for one says nothing about the other.",[15,8807,8809],{"id":8808},"what-non-compliance-costs-over-a-year","What non-compliance costs over a year",[11,8811,8812],{},"A van making three trips a week into a class C zone charging £9 a day:",[74,8814,8815,8828],{},[77,8816,8817],{},[80,8818,8819,8822,8825],{},[83,8820,8821],{},"Trips per week",[83,8823,8824],{},"Weeks",[83,8826,8827],{},"Annual charge",[92,8829,8830,8840,8849],{},[80,8831,8832,8834,8837],{},[97,8833,3662],{},[97,8835,8836],{},"46",[97,8838,8839],{},"£414",[80,8841,8842,8844,8846],{},[97,8843,5032],{},[97,8845,8836],{},[97,8847,8848],{},"£1,242",[80,8850,8851,8853,8855],{},[97,8852,5060],{},[97,8854,8836],{},[97,8856,8857],{},"£2,070",[11,8859,8860],{},"Against that, the cost of replacing the van with a compliant one, which is why emissions standards\nrather than mileage have driven fleet replacement in charging cities.",[15,8862,8864],{"id":8863},"compliance-not-age","Compliance, not age",[11,8866,8867],{},"The test is emissions standard, not the year on the plate. Broadly, diesels need to meet Euro 6 and petrols Euro 4 to avoid charges in most zones. A well-kept 2016 diesel may be compliant; a 2014 one probably is not.",[11,8869,8870],{},"Check the specific vehicle rather than assuming from its age. A registration lookup takes seconds and the answer is binary.",[15,8872,8874],{"id":8873},"what-it-means-for-a-business","What it means for a business",[11,8876,8877],{},"Two practical consequences.",[11,8879,8880,8883],{},[23,8881,8882],{},"Route and vehicle choice become a cost decision."," If you run more than one vehicle, the same job can cost £0 or £12.50 depending on which one you take. Over a year of city work that is a real number, and it is one people discover retrospectively on a statement.",[11,8885,8886,8889],{},[23,8887,8888],{},"The charges are claimable, but only per journey."," A clean air charge on a business journey is a legitimate expense, claimed separately from mileage. The identical charge incurred commuting to your permanent workplace is not.",[15,8891,8893],{"id":8892},"keep-them-attached-to-the-journey","Keep them attached to the journey",[11,8895,8896],{},"Charges are usually paid online, often days after the drive, sometimes in a batch covering several trips. By the time it appears on a statement it is a reference number with no context, and working out which of six charges were business is guesswork.",[11,8898,8899],{},"Milometry takes charges as a cost on the trip they belong to, with a photo of the confirmation, and carries them into the monthly statement beside the mileage. The claimable ones stay identifiable because they never became a list of anonymous payments.",[15,8901,191],{"id":190},[193,8903,8904,8909,8914],{},[196,8905,8906],{},[199,8907,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":8908},[203],[196,8910,8911],{},[199,8912,225],{"href":223,"rel":8913},[203],[196,8915,8916],{},[199,8917,7902],{"href":7900,"rel":8918},[203],[241,8920],{},[11,8922,8923],{},[246,8924,8925],{},"General information, not tax advice. Zone boundaries, classes and charges are set locally and change: check the operating authority.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":8927},[8928,8929,8930,8931,8932,8933],{"id":8772,"depth":251,"text":8773},{"id":8808,"depth":251,"text":8809},{"id":8863,"depth":251,"text":8864},{"id":8873,"depth":251,"text":8874},{"id":8892,"depth":251,"text":8893},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-10-16","Not every zone charges every vehicle. The class of the zone decides whether your car, van or taxi pays anything at all.","\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city.jpg","Traffic crossing Westminster Bridge by the London Eye","Photo by srboisvert","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F35034346289@N01\u002F41393070",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city",[],{"title":8760,"description":8935},"blog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city",[6057,3046,8946],"business driving","Uqpd2Ldce-M1poKlnCSwLOkbQnpj0ghf2MrqcZ2T8Wc",{"id":8949,"title":8950,"author":6,"body":8951,"category":259,"date":9281,"description":9282,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":9283,"imageAlt":9284,"imageCredit":9285,"imageCreditUrl":9286,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":9287,"navigation":271,"path":9288,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":9289,"seo":9290,"seoTitle":9291,"stem":9292,"tags":9293,"updated":275,"__hash__":9295},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople.md","Mileage for trades: eleven drops a day and no time to write anything down",{"type":8,"value":8952,"toc":9272},[8953,8959,8962,8966,8977,8980,8984,9084,9087,9091,9097,9103,9109,9115,9119,9193,9200,9204,9210,9214,9217,9220,9222,9265,9267],[5215,8954,8955],{},[11,8956,8957,5222],{},[23,8958,5221],{},[11,8960,8961],{},"A plumber doing six calls in a day covers more claimable mileage than an office worker does in a fortnight. They are also the least likely to have recorded any of it, for the obvious reason: nobody stops between jobs to write down a four-mile hop.",[15,8963,8965],{"id":8964},"what-that-costs","What that costs",[11,8967,8968,8969,8972,8973,8976],{},"Six local calls averaging five miles between them is 30 miles a day. Over 230 working days that is roughly ",[23,8970,8971],{},"6,900 business miles",", about ",[23,8974,8975],{},"£3,800"," at the approved rates. For a sole trader that is a deduction from taxable profit, not cash; for an employee it is the most an employer can pay tax free.",[11,8978,8979],{},"The miles between jobs are the ones that go missing. The long run to the merchant gets remembered; eleven short hops do not.",[15,8981,8983],{"id":8982},"what-a-working-day-adds-up-to","What a working day adds up to",[74,8985,8986,9004],{},[77,8987,8988],{},[80,8989,8990,8993,8996,8999,9002],{},[83,8991,8992],{},"Calls per day",[83,8994,8995],{},"Miles between",[83,8997,8998],{},"Daily",[83,9000,9001],{},"Annual (230 days)",[83,9003,1328],{},[92,9005,9006,9021,9036,9052,9068],{},[80,9007,9008,9010,9012,9015,9018],{},[97,9009,5046],{},[97,9011,5074],{},[97,9013,9014],{},"24",[97,9016,9017],{},"5,520",[97,9019,9020],{},"£3,036",[80,9022,9023,9025,9027,9030,9033],{},[97,9024,5074],{},[97,9026,5060],{},[97,9028,9029],{},"30",[97,9031,9032],{},"6,900",[97,9034,9035],{},"£3,795",[80,9037,9038,9041,9043,9046,9049],{},[97,9039,9040],{},"8",[97,9042,5046],{},[97,9044,9045],{},"32",[97,9047,9048],{},"7,360",[97,9050,9051],{},"£4,048",[80,9053,9054,9057,9059,9062,9065],{},[97,9055,9056],{},"11",[97,9058,5046],{},[97,9060,9061],{},"44",[97,9063,9064],{},"10,120",[97,9066,9067],{},"£5,530",[80,9069,9070,9073,9075,9078,9081],{},[97,9071,9072],{},"14",[97,9074,5032],{},[97,9076,9077],{},"42",[97,9079,9080],{},"9,660",[97,9082,9083],{},"£5,313",[11,9085,9086],{},"Plus the merchant runs, which are business travel and rarely recorded.",[15,9088,9090],{"id":9089},"common-and-costly-mistakes","Common and costly mistakes",[11,9092,9093,9096],{},[23,9094,9095],{},"Recording the day, not the journeys."," \"Tuesday: 40 miles\" is an estimate. It cannot be checked against anything, and it is the kind of record that tends to draw questions.",[11,9098,9099,9102],{},[23,9100,9101],{},"Forgetting the merchant run."," A trip to the wholesaler mid-job is business travel. So is the trip to collect a part, and the one back.",[11,9104,9105,9108],{},[23,9106,9107],{},"Treating the first and last journeys as commuting by default."," If you have no permanent workplace and go from home directly to whichever site is next, the position is different from an employee driving to a fixed office. It is worth establishing which you are, because it changes the first and last journey of every working day, every day.",[11,9110,9111,9114],{},[23,9112,9113],{},"Not separating the van."," If you run a van and a car, they need to be separate records with separate economy. Mixed together, neither figure means anything.",[15,9116,9118],{"id":9117},"which-journeys-count-in-a-trade","Which journeys count in a trade",[74,9120,9121,9129],{},[77,9122,9123],{},[80,9124,9125,9127],{},[83,9126,719],{},[83,9128,1873],{},[92,9130,9131,9140,9149,9158,9168,9177,9186],{},[80,9132,9133,9136],{},[97,9134,9135],{},"Home → first job of the day (no fixed base)",[97,9137,9138],{},[23,9139,1935],{},[80,9141,9142,9145],{},[97,9143,9144],{},"Home → depot or workshop you attend daily",[97,9146,9147,4697],{},[23,9148,102],{},[80,9150,9151,9154],{},[97,9152,9153],{},"Job → job",[97,9155,9156],{},[23,9157,107],{},[80,9159,9160,9163],{},[97,9161,9162],{},"Job → merchant for parts → job",[97,9164,9165,9167],{},[23,9166,107],{},", both legs",[80,9169,9170,9173],{},[97,9171,9172],{},"Depot → job",[97,9174,9175],{},[23,9176,107],{},[80,9178,9179,9182],{},[97,9180,9181],{},"Last job → home (no fixed base)",[97,9183,9184],{},[23,9185,1935],{},[80,9187,9188,9191],{},[97,9189,9190],{},"Detour to collect lunch",[97,9192,2012],{},[11,9194,9195,9196,9199],{},"Whether you have a permanent workplace decides the first and last journey of ",[23,9197,9198],{},"every working day",",\nwhich over a year is the largest single item on the list.",[15,9201,9203],{"id":9202},"the-rate-question-for-a-van","The rate question for a van",[11,9205,9206,9207,9209],{},"Vans use the same 55p and 25p rates as cars, which suits an economical small van and can undercook a big one working hard. If you are self-employed and the vehicle is thirsty, high-mileage and expensive to maintain, ",[23,9208,2806],{}," may come out higher, but the choice is close to permanent per vehicle, so it is worth doing the arithmetic before defaulting to the simple option. Employees do not have this choice.",[15,9211,9213],{"id":9212},"recording-without-stopping","Recording without stopping",[11,9215,9216],{},"This is the case for automatic recording rather than a notebook. Milometry notices you leaving where you parked, records the drive, and stops when you have been still for a few minutes, so eleven drops arrive as eleven journeys, each with its own distance and route.",[11,9218,9219],{},"At the end of the week the whole lot sorts in a minute with a few swipes, and tagging your regular merchants and repeat customers means most of it sorts itself.",[15,9221,191],{"id":190},[193,9223,9224,9229,9234,9239,9244,9250,9255,9260],{},[196,9225,9226],{},[199,9227,239],{"href":237,"rel":9228},[203],[196,9230,9231],{},[199,9232,2656],{"href":2654,"rel":9233},[203],[196,9235,9236],{},[199,9237,532],{"href":530,"rel":9238},[203],[196,9240,9241],{},[199,9242,232],{"href":230,"rel":9243},[203],[196,9245,9246],{},[199,9247,9249],{"href":2179,"rel":9248},[203],"490 chapter 3: ordinary commuting and private travel (HMRC)",[196,9251,9252],{},[199,9253,506],{"href":504,"rel":9254},[203],[196,9256,9257],{},[199,9258,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":9259},[203],[196,9261,9262],{},[199,9263,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":9264},[203],[241,9266],{},[11,9268,9269],{},[246,9270,9271],{},"General information, not tax advice. Whether you have a permanent workplace is fact-specific and matters a lot here: take advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":9273},[9274,9275,9276,9277,9278,9279,9280],{"id":8964,"depth":251,"text":8965},{"id":8982,"depth":251,"text":8983},{"id":9089,"depth":251,"text":9090},{"id":9117,"depth":251,"text":9118},{"id":9202,"depth":251,"text":9203},{"id":9212,"depth":251,"text":9213},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-10-09","The people with the most business mileage are the least able to record it as it happens. That is a solvable problem.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople.jpg","Hand tools laid out on a workbench","Photo by The World is a Stage","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Fconstruction-tools-EJZBX7UMTV",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople",[277,1746,1747],{"title":8950,"description":9282},"Mileage for trades: eleven drops a day","blog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople",[9294,4337,5652],"trades","4lOJJxaErtEXn8QEEs9MaZc81b2W71LwwfiAb26X36U",{"id":9297,"title":9298,"author":6,"body":9299,"category":259,"date":9479,"description":9480,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":9481,"imageAlt":9482,"imageCredit":9483,"imageCreditUrl":9484,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":9485,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":9486,"navigation":271,"path":9487,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":9488,"seo":9490,"seoTitle":281,"stem":9491,"tags":9492,"updated":275,"__hash__":9494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-and-vat.md","VAT and mileage: the part that is easy to miss",{"type":8,"value":9300,"toc":9471},[9301,9308,9312,9315,9324,9327,9331,9334,9380,9383,9387,9394,9397,9400,9404,9407,9410,9414,9420,9423,9425,9464,9466],[11,9302,9303,9304,9307],{},"A VAT-registered business paying employees a mileage allowance for business journeys in their own cars can usually reclaim the VAT on the ",[23,9305,9306],{},"fuel element"," of those payments, subject to the normal rules if the business also makes exempt supplies. It is easy to miss, because the mechanism is not obvious and the paperwork requirement is easy to fail.",[15,9309,9311],{"id":9310},"what-you-can-reclaim","What you can reclaim",[11,9313,9314],{},"Not the VAT on 55p. The approved rate (55p for the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026, then 25p) covers the whole cost of running the car: insurance, servicing, depreciation. Most of that carries no reclaimable VAT.",[11,9316,9317,9318,9320,9321,9323],{},"What the business can reclaim is the VAT contained in the ",[23,9319,4370],{}," part of the mileage payment, and the allowance has to be based on miles actually driven. HMRC's ",[23,9322,1527],{}," are the usual way to work out the fuel part. VAT Notice 700\u002F64 also accepts rates set by recognised motoring organisations, such as the RAC and the AA.",[11,9325,9326],{},"So the calculation runs: business miles × the relevant advisory fuel rate = the fuel element; the VAT fraction of that is what you reclaim.",[15,9328,9330],{"id":9329},"the-calculation-worked","The calculation, worked",[11,9332,9333],{},"10,000 business miles, employees reimbursed at the approved 55p, with an advisory fuel rate of 14p\na mile (illustrative: the rate for a petrol car of 1,400cc or less from 1 September 2026; check the\ncurrent table):",[74,9335,9336,9344],{},[77,9337,9338],{},[80,9339,9340,9342],{},[83,9341,7686],{},[83,9343,5263],{},[92,9345,9346,9354,9362,9372],{},[80,9347,9348,9351],{},[97,9349,9350],{},"Mileage paid to employees",[97,9352,9353],{},"10,000 × 55p = £5,500",[80,9355,9356,9359],{},[97,9357,9358],{},"Fuel element (advisory rate)",[97,9360,9361],{},"10,000 × 14p = £1,400",[80,9363,9364,9367],{},[97,9365,9366],{},"VAT fraction of the fuel element (1\u002F6 at 20%)",[97,9368,9369],{},[23,9370,9371],{},"£233.33",[80,9373,9374,9377],{},[97,9375,9376],{},"Fuel receipts you must hold",[97,9378,9379],{},"At least £1,400 worth",[11,9381,9382],{},"The last row is the condition that is easiest to fail: the reclaim is only supportable if the\npurchases can be evidenced. The £233.33 is VAT the business recovers; it is not extra money for the\nemployee, whose mileage payment is unchanged.",[15,9384,9386],{"id":9385},"the-condition-that-catches-people","The condition that catches people",[11,9388,9389,9390,9393],{},"The business must hold ",[23,9391,9392],{},"VAT receipts for fuel"," to support the claim, and a record for each employee of the miles travelled, whether journeys were business or private, the car's engine size, the mileage rate paid and the VAT claimed.",[11,9395,9396],{},"That is where claims often fall down. The employee bought the fuel, kept no receipt, and the business has a mileage claim it cannot support with purchase evidence. The receipts need to cover the fuel element being reclaimed on. HMRC accepts they will not match the claim exactly in any one period and may straddle periods, but a receipt dated after the period a claim covers cannot support it.",[11,9398,9399],{},"That is why HMRC's own guidance suggests employers may want staff to keep all fuel receipts, even though they are paid mileage rather than fuel. It feels redundant to them and it is the difference between a supportable reclaim and not.",[15,9401,9403],{"id":9402},"the-rates-move-quarterly","The rates move quarterly",[11,9405,9406],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates are reviewed every three months, on 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December. HMRC lets the previous rates be used for up to a month after a change; beyond that, an old figure gives the wrong fuel element.",[11,9408,9409],{},"Whatever produces the claim needs the rate in force when the miles were driven.",[15,9411,9413],{"id":9412},"scale-charges-briefly","Scale charges, briefly",[11,9415,9416,9417,9419],{},"If the business pays for ",[23,9418,7809],{}," fuel in a car as well, there is a separate mechanism, the road fuel scale charge, which lets the business reclaim input tax on all the fuel and account for a flat fuel scale charge, set by the car's CO2 band, to cover private use. The alternatives are to use detailed mileage records and reclaim only the business share, or to reclaim no VAT on road fuel at all. Which comes out better depends on the ratio of business to private mileage: at very low mileage the scale charge can exceed the VAT reclaimed.",[11,9421,9422],{},"Either way, the number you need first is the split between business and private miles, which is a record-keeping question long before it is a VAT one.",[15,9424,191],{"id":190},[193,9426,9427,9434,9439,9444,9449,9454,9459],{},[196,9428,9429],{},[199,9430,9433],{"href":9431,"rel":9432},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fvat-on-motoring-expenses-notice-70064",[203],"VAT on motoring expenses (VAT Notice 700\u002F64) (HMRC)",[196,9435,9436],{},[199,9437,218],{"href":216,"rel":9438},[203],[196,9440,9441],{},[199,9442,232],{"href":230,"rel":9443},[203],[196,9445,9446],{},[199,9447,239],{"href":237,"rel":9448},[203],[196,9450,9451],{},[199,9452,225],{"href":223,"rel":9453},[203],[196,9455,9456],{},[199,9457,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":9458},[203],[196,9460,9461],{},[199,9462,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":9463},[203],[241,9465],{},[11,9467,9468],{},[246,9469,9470],{},"General information, not tax or VAT advice. VAT on motoring is detailed and the treatment depends on your business: take advice before reclaiming.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":9472},[9473,9474,9475,9476,9477,9478],{"id":9310,"depth":251,"text":9311},{"id":9329,"depth":251,"text":9330},{"id":9385,"depth":251,"text":9386},{"id":9402,"depth":251,"text":9403},{"id":9412,"depth":251,"text":9413},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-10-02","If you are VAT registered and paying mileage, there is input tax buried in the fuel element, but only if you keep the receipts.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-and-vat.jpg","A desk with paperwork, a pen and a cup of coffee","Photograph","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F5958827\u002Ffree-public-domain-cc0-photo","CC0 public domain",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-and-vat",[9489,278,277],"uk-vat",{"title":9298,"description":9480},"blog\u002Fmileage-and-vat",[9493,284,8946],"vat","qOu__EoBaVUiiYjLplIRIRwoteU4s1tP1rZEK7EuyCc",{"id":9496,"title":9497,"author":6,"body":9498,"category":259,"date":9707,"description":9708,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":9709,"imageAlt":9710,"imageCredit":9711,"imageCreditUrl":9712,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":9713,"navigation":271,"path":9714,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":9715,"seo":9716,"seoTitle":281,"stem":9717,"tags":9718,"updated":275,"__hash__":9720},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars.md","Salary sacrifice car schemes: what to check before you sign",{"type":8,"value":9499,"toc":9699},[9500,9503,9507,9510,9513,9516,9520,9597,9601,9607,9613,9619,9625,9629,9632,9635,9638,9642,9648,9651,9653,9692,9694],[11,9501,9502],{},"Salary sacrifice car schemes have become common, largely because the tax treatment of low-emission cars makes them work in a way they do not for petrol and diesel.",[15,9504,9506],{"id":9505},"why-electric-changes-the-arithmetic","Why electric changes the arithmetic",[11,9508,9509],{},"Under a sacrifice arrangement you give up salary in exchange for a car. Normally the tax advantage is largely neutralised. You are taxed on the higher of the salary given up or the benefit value.",[11,9511,9512],{},"Cars with CO2 emissions of no more than 75g\u002Fkm are treated differently: the comparison to salary given up does not apply, so the charge is based on the car's normal benefit value, which for an electric car is a small percentage of list price (4% for 2026-27).",[11,9514,9515],{},"The result is that you swap taxed salary for a car taxed at a low rate, and the saving can be substantial. How substantial depends on your tax rate, the car and the scheme's charges.",[15,9517,9519],{"id":9518},"the-questions-and-why-each-one-matters","The questions, and why each one matters",[74,9521,9522,9531],{},[77,9523,9524],{},[80,9525,9526,9529],{},[83,9527,9528],{},"Question",[83,9530,2073],{},[92,9532,9533,9541,9549,9557,9565,9573,9581,9589],{},[80,9534,9535,9538],{},[97,9536,9537],{},"How long is the term?",[97,9539,9540],{},"Two to four years, and hard to unwind",[80,9542,9543,9546],{},[97,9544,9545],{},"What happens if I leave?",[97,9547,9548],{},"Some schemes insure it, some pass the cost to you",[80,9550,9551,9554],{},[97,9552,9553],{},"What is the mileage limit?",[97,9555,9556],{},"Excess charges erode the saving",[80,9558,9559,9562],{},[97,9560,9561],{},"What does it do to my pension?",[97,9563,9564],{},"Contributions are often salary-linked",[80,9566,9567,9570],{},[97,9568,9569],{},"Will it affect a mortgage application?",[97,9571,9572],{},"Lenders assess on gross salary",[80,9574,9575,9578],{},[97,9576,9577],{},"Does it affect statutory pay?",[97,9579,9580],{},"Maternity and sick pay can be salary-linked",[80,9582,9583,9586],{},[97,9584,9585],{},"What is the benefit-in-kind percentage?",[97,9587,9588],{},"It is scheduled to rise over time",[80,9590,9591,9594],{},[97,9592,9593],{},"Which rate applies to business mileage?",[97,9595,9596],{},"Advisory rates, not 55p",[15,9598,9600],{"id":9599},"what-to-check-before-signing","What to check before signing",[11,9602,9603,9606],{},[23,9604,9605],{},"The term."," Typically two to four years. Sacrifice arrangements are much harder to unwind than a subscription. Leaving the employer, going on extended leave, or a change in circumstances can trigger early termination charges that are real money.",[11,9608,9609,9612],{},[23,9610,9611],{},"What happens if you leave."," This is an easy question to forget. Some schemes have insurance covering it, some pass the cost to you.",[11,9614,9615,9618],{},[23,9616,9617],{},"The effect on everything salary-linked."," Reducing gross pay can affect pension contributions, mortgage affordability assessments, statutory maternity pay, and anything else calculated from salary. The car saving is visible; these are not.",[11,9620,9621,9624],{},[23,9622,9623],{},"The mileage allowance."," The lease has a mileage limit and excess charges. If your driving is heavier than you think, that erodes the saving.",[15,9626,9628],{"id":9627},"the-bit-that-connects-to-your-mileage-log","The bit that connects to your mileage log",[11,9630,9631],{},"That last point is worth dwelling on, because it is the one you can actually answer with data rather than guesswork.",[11,9633,9634],{},"Before you commit to a mileage band for three years, look at what you genuinely drove last year. Estimates are easy to get wrong in either direction, and finding out after signing costs pence per mile for the length of the term.",[11,9636,9637],{},"If you have been recording journeys, that number already exists. If you have not, a year of records before the next scheme window is worth more than any amount of estimating.",[15,9639,9641],{"id":9640},"business-mileage-on-a-sacrifice-car","Business mileage on a sacrifice car",[11,9643,9644,9645,9647],{},"The car is a company car for tax purposes, so approved mileage rates do not apply. Business mileage can be reimbursed tax free at ",[23,9646,1527],{},", or for a fully electric car at the advisory electricity rates (two figures, one for home charging and one for public charging), not at 55p.",[11,9649,9650],{},"Being paid 55p a mile for a sacrifice car is a common and costly mistake: the amount above the advisory rate is normally taxable.",[15,9652,191],{"id":190},[193,9654,9655,9662,9667,9672,9677,9682,9687],{},[196,9656,9657],{},[199,9658,9661],{"href":9659,"rel":9660},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-the-effects-on-paye",[203],"Salary sacrifice and the effects on PAYE (HMRC)",[196,9663,9664],{},[199,9665,204],{"href":201,"rel":9666},[203],[196,9668,9669],{},[199,9670,7875],{"href":7873,"rel":9671},[203],[196,9673,9674],{},[199,9675,218],{"href":216,"rel":9676},[203],[196,9678,9679],{},[199,9680,225],{"href":223,"rel":9681},[203],[196,9683,9684],{},[199,9685,239],{"href":237,"rel":9686},[203],[196,9688,9689],{},[199,9690,7902],{"href":7900,"rel":9691},[203],[241,9693],{},[11,9695,9696],{},[246,9697,9698],{},"General information, not tax or financial advice. Salary sacrifice affects more than your car: take advice on the whole picture before committing.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":9700},[9701,9702,9703,9704,9705,9706],{"id":9505,"depth":251,"text":9506},{"id":9518,"depth":251,"text":9519},{"id":9599,"depth":251,"text":9600},{"id":9627,"depth":251,"text":9628},{"id":9640,"depth":251,"text":9641},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-09-18","The tax treatment makes electric cars unusually attractive through sacrifice. The commitment is longer than many people focus on.","\u002Fblog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars.jpg","An electric car plugged into a street charging point","Photo by Alan Trotter","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F87065732@N00\u002F2492684025",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars",[277,278,279],{"title":9497,"description":9708},"blog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars",[9719,5431,7930],"salary sacrifice","cRZeeAK31TK0blcjf6Owu6976oGYotdHm-BU6fWGdY0",{"id":9722,"title":9723,"author":6,"body":9724,"category":259,"date":10068,"description":10069,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":10070,"imageAlt":10071,"imageCredit":10072,"imageCreditUrl":10073,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":10074,"navigation":271,"path":10075,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":10076,"seo":10078,"seoTitle":281,"stem":10079,"tags":10080,"updated":275,"__hash__":10082},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates.md","55p or 76 cents: how the UK and US pay for business miles",{"type":8,"value":9725,"toc":10058},[9726,9729,9733,9744,9762,9765,9769,9774,9777,9780,9783,9787,9797,9803,9811,9820,9824,9930,9934,9983,9986,9990,9993,9996,9999,10003,10006,10008,10051,10053],[11,9727,9728],{},"Both countries have a flat rate per mile for driving your own car for work. The mechanisms differ more than the numbers do.",[15,9730,9732],{"id":9731},"the-headline-rates","The headline rates",[11,9734,9735,9738,9739,317,9741,9743],{},[23,9736,9737],{},"UK."," The approved mileage rate for cars and vans is ",[23,9740,316],{},[23,9742,320],{},", for journeys from 6 April 2026. It had been 45p and 25p from 2011-12 to 2025-26. The rise was announced on 21 May 2026 and backdated to 6 April 2026.",[11,9745,9746,9749,9750,9753,9754,9757,9758,9761],{},[23,9747,9748],{},"US."," The IRS publishes a ",[23,9751,9752],{},"standard mileage rate"," for business use, normally once a year and occasionally mid-year when fuel prices move sharply. For 2026 it is ",[23,9755,9756],{},"72.5 cents a mile"," from 1 January to 30 June and ",[23,9759,9760],{},"76 cents"," from 1 July. It was 70 cents for 2025.",[11,9763,9764],{},"At a rough exchange rate the two are close on the first 10,000 miles. After that, the UK rate drops to 25p and the US rate does not drop at all.",[15,9766,9768],{"id":9767},"the-structural-difference-that-matters","The structural difference that matters",[11,9770,9771],{},[23,9772,9773],{},"The UK bands. The US does not.",[11,9775,9776],{},"HMRC's 10,000-mile threshold assumes that beyond a certain point your cost per mile falls. That is true of some costs and not others. Fuel scales with distance, and so do tyres and servicing.",[11,9778,9779],{},"The IRS rate applies to every business mile at the same rate, all year. On 30,000 business miles, the US rate applies in full to every one of them. In the UK the first 10,000 are at 55p and the other 20,000 at 25p, which averages 35p a mile.",[11,9781,9782],{},"For high-mileage drivers this is the single biggest difference between the two systems.",[15,9784,9786],{"id":9785},"who-benefits-and-how","Who benefits, and how",[11,9788,9789,9792,9793,9796],{},[23,9790,9791],{},"UK employees."," If your employer pays up to the approved rate, the payment is tax free and there is nothing to declare. Anything above it is taxable. If they pay less, you can claim ",[23,9794,9795],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief",": tax relief on the gap, through Self Assessment or a P87. The relief is worth the gap multiplied by your tax rate, not the gap itself.",[11,9798,9799,9802],{},[23,9800,9801],{},"UK self-employed."," Sole traders can use the same rates as simplified expenses, a deduction from profit, instead of claiming actual vehicle costs.",[11,9804,9805,9807,9808,9810],{},[23,9806,9748],{}," Most employees cannot deduct an unreimbursed business mile at all. Unreimbursed employee expenses stopped being deductible for most employees from 2018, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 made that permanent. The standard mileage rate mainly benefits the ",[23,9809,4337],{},", and employees whose employers reimburse them under an accountable plan.",[11,9812,9813,9814,9817,9818,545],{},"So the UK system is more generous to ",[246,9815,9816],{},"employees",", and the US rate is more generous per mile to the ",[246,9819,4337],{},[15,9821,9823],{"id":9822},"the-two-systems-side-by-side","The two systems side by side",[74,9825,9826,9838],{},[77,9827,9828],{},[80,9829,9830,9832,9835],{},[83,9831],{},[83,9833,9834],{},"UK (HMRC)",[83,9836,9837],{},"US (IRS)",[92,9839,9840,9851,9865,9876,9891,9901,9911,9920],{},[80,9841,9842,9845,9848],{},[97,9843,9844],{},"Car rate",[97,9846,9847],{},"55p, then 25p (from 6 April 2026)",[97,9849,9850],{},"72.5 cents to 30 June 2026, 76 cents from 1 July 2026",[80,9852,9853,9856,9861],{},[97,9854,9855],{},"Banded by annual mileage",[97,9857,9858,9860],{},[23,9859,107],{},", at 10,000",[97,9862,9863],{},[23,9864,102],{},[80,9866,9867,9870,9873],{},[97,9868,9869],{},"Last change",[97,9871,9872],{},"6 April 2026 (from 45p)",[97,9874,9875],{},"1 July 2026",[80,9877,9878,9881,9886],{},[97,9879,9880],{},"Employee relief on a shortfall",[97,9882,9883,9885],{},[23,9884,107],{},", Mileage Allowance Relief",[97,9887,9888],{},[23,9889,9890],{},"Largely no",[80,9892,9893,9895,9898],{},[97,9894,2322],{},[97,9896,9897],{},"Yes, simplified expenses",[97,9899,9900],{},"Yes, standard mileage rate",[80,9902,9903,9906,9909],{},[97,9904,9905],{},"Passenger payments",[97,9907,9908],{},"Up to 5p per passenger mile, only if the employer pays it",[97,9910,6439],{},[80,9912,9913,9916,9918],{},[97,9914,9915],{},"Commuting deductible",[97,9917,102],{},[97,9919,102],{},[80,9921,9922,9925,9927],{},[97,9923,9924],{},"Contemporaneous record expected",[97,9926,107],{},[97,9928,9929],{},"Yes, explicitly",[15,9931,9933],{"id":9932},"at-30000-business-miles","At 30,000 business miles",[74,9935,9936,9948],{},[77,9937,9938],{},[80,9939,9940,9942,9945],{},[83,9941],{},[83,9943,9944],{},"UK",[83,9946,9947],{},"US",[92,9949,9950,9960,9969],{},[80,9951,9952,9955,9957],{},[97,9953,9954],{},"First 10,000",[97,9956,1374],{},[97,9958,9959],{},"Full rate on every mile",[80,9961,9962,9965,9967],{},[97,9963,9964],{},"Remaining 20,000",[97,9966,1428],{},[97,9968,9959],{},[80,9970,9971,9976,9980],{},[97,9972,9973],{},[23,9974,9975],{},"Average rate",[97,9977,9978],{},[23,9979,1436],{},[97,9981,9982],{},"Unchanged from the headline rate",[11,9984,9985],{},"The high-mileage self-employed driver does materially better in the US. The employee reimbursed below the approved rate does materially better in the UK.",[15,9987,9989],{"id":9988},"both-demand-the-same-evidence","Both demand the same evidence",[11,9991,9992],{},"This is where the two systems agree completely.",[11,9994,9995],{},"Both expect a contemporaneous log: date, destination, business purpose and distance. Both treat commuting as non-deductible. Both are sceptical of round numbers and reconstructions.",[11,9997,9998],{},"The IRS is, if anything, more explicit about wanting records made at or near the time of the journey. HMRC's expectation is the same in substance.",[15,10000,10002],{"id":10001},"the-practical-lesson","The practical lesson",[11,10004,10005],{},"Whichever side of the Atlantic you are on, the constraint is not the rate. It is whether you can evidence the miles. A generous rate applied to journeys you never recorded is worth nothing.",[15,10007,191],{"id":190},[193,10009,10010,10015,10020,10025,10030,10037,10044],{},[196,10011,10012],{},[199,10013,239],{"href":237,"rel":10014},[203],[196,10016,10017],{},[199,10018,232],{"href":230,"rel":10019},[203],[196,10021,10022],{},[199,10023,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":10024},[203],[196,10026,10027],{},[199,10028,1698],{"href":530,"rel":10029},[203],[196,10031,10032],{},[199,10033,10036],{"href":10034,"rel":10035},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Ftax-professionals\u002Fstandard-mileage-rates",[203],"Standard mileage rates (IRS)",[196,10038,10039],{},[199,10040,10043],{"href":10041,"rel":10042},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Ftaxtopics\u002Ftc510",[203],"Topic no. 510, Business use of car (IRS)",[196,10045,10046],{},[199,10047,10050],{"href":10048,"rel":10049},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fpublications\u002Fp529",[203],"Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions (IRS)",[241,10052],{},[11,10054,10055],{},[246,10056,10057],{},"General information for UK and US drivers, not tax advice. Rates change: check the current figure in the jurisdiction you are filing in.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":10059},[10060,10061,10062,10063,10064,10065,10066,10067],{"id":9731,"depth":251,"text":9732},{"id":9767,"depth":251,"text":9768},{"id":9785,"depth":251,"text":9786},{"id":9822,"depth":251,"text":9823},{"id":9932,"depth":251,"text":9933},{"id":9988,"depth":251,"text":9989},{"id":10001,"depth":251,"text":10002},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-07-24","Two countries, two systems, and a gap that is smaller than the exchange rate makes it look. The rates side by side, and the difference that matters.","\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates.jpg","Vehicles queuing at a border and toll plaza","Photo by 5of7, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=19089114",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates",[277,1746,10077],"us",{"title":9723,"description":10069},"blog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates",[284,10081,1163],"irs","od1G2zX_FhubHHdvhhIb_HZXkvKe0uvE41Jb3KfoWp4",{"id":10084,"title":10085,"author":6,"body":10086,"category":259,"date":10383,"description":10384,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":10385,"imageAlt":10386,"imageCredit":10387,"imageCreditUrl":10388,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":10389,"navigation":271,"path":10390,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":10391,"seo":10392,"seoTitle":281,"stem":10393,"tags":10394,"updated":275,"__hash__":10397},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses.md","Community care: forty short visits and nobody counting",{"type":8,"value":10087,"toc":10375},[10088,10094,10097,10101,10108,10115,10119,10203,10206,10210,10213,10291,10294,10298,10304,10307,10313,10320,10326,10330,10333,10336,10339,10341,10368,10370],[5215,10089,10090],{},[11,10091,10092,5222],{},[23,10093,5221],{},[11,10095,10096],{},"Domiciliary care and community nursing produce a driving pattern almost no other job does: dozens of very short journeys, tight schedules, and no natural pause in which to write anything down.",[15,10098,10100],{"id":10099},"the-mileage-is-larger-than-it-feels","The mileage is larger than it feels",[11,10102,10103,10104,10107],{},"Twelve visits a day averaging three miles between them is 36 miles. Over 220 working days that is roughly ",[23,10105,10106],{},"7,900 miles a year",". Comparable to a sales rep, accumulated three miles at a time.",[11,10109,10110,10111,10114],{},"At the approved rates (55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, 25p after) that is an approved amount of around ",[23,10112,10113],{},"£4,300",". Recorded as \"about 30 miles a day\", it becomes a round number that is both hard to defend and almost certainly wrong.",[15,10116,10118],{"id":10117},"what-a-typical-round-adds-up-to","What a typical round adds up to",[74,10120,10121,10139],{},[77,10122,10123],{},[80,10124,10125,10128,10131,10134,10137],{},[83,10126,10127],{},"Visits per day",[83,10129,10130],{},"Miles between visits",[83,10132,10133],{},"Daily miles",[83,10135,10136],{},"Annual (220 days)",[83,10138,1328],{},[92,10140,10141,10156,10172,10187],{},[80,10142,10143,10145,10147,10150,10153],{},[97,10144,9040],{},[97,10146,3675],{},[97,10148,10149],{},"16",[97,10151,10152],{},"3,520",[97,10154,10155],{},"£1,936",[80,10157,10158,10161,10163,10166,10169],{},[97,10159,10160],{},"12",[97,10162,5032],{},[97,10164,10165],{},"36",[97,10167,10168],{},"7,920",[97,10170,10171],{},"£4,356",[80,10173,10174,10177,10179,10181,10184],{},[97,10175,10176],{},"15",[97,10178,5046],{},[97,10180,3445],{},[97,10182,10183],{},"13,200",[97,10185,10186],{},"£6,300",[80,10188,10189,10192,10194,10197,10200],{},[97,10190,10191],{},"18",[97,10193,5060],{},[97,10195,10196],{},"90",[97,10198,10199],{},"19,800",[97,10201,10202],{},"£7,950",[11,10204,10205],{},"The last two rows cross the 10,000-mile threshold, so the totals are banded (55p up to 10,000, 25p after) rather than a flat 55p.",[15,10207,10209],{"id":10208},"what-an-underpaying-employer-costs-you","What an underpaying employer costs you",[11,10211,10212],{},"On 7,920 business miles, where the approved amount is £4,356 (figures are estimates for an employee):",[74,10214,10215,10227],{},[77,10216,10217],{},[80,10218,10219,10221,10223,10225],{},[83,10220,1544],{},[83,10222,1547],{},[83,10224,1550],{},[83,10226,1553],{},[92,10228,10229,10242,10256,10269,10280],{},[80,10230,10231,10233,10236,10239],{},[97,10232,7407],{},[97,10234,10235],{},"£3,564",[97,10237,10238],{},"£792",[97,10240,10241],{},"£158",[80,10243,10244,10247,10250,10253],{},[97,10245,10246],{},"35p",[97,10248,10249],{},"£2,772",[97,10251,10252],{},"£1,584",[97,10254,10255],{},"£317",[80,10257,10258,10260,10263,10266],{},[97,10259,1594],{},[97,10261,10262],{},"£2,376",[97,10264,10265],{},"£1,980",[97,10267,10268],{},"£396",[80,10270,10271,10273,10275,10277],{},[97,10272,320],{},[97,10274,10265],{},[97,10276,10262],{},[97,10278,10279],{},"£475",[80,10281,10282,10284,10286,10288],{},[97,10283,1624],{},[97,10285,1569],{},[97,10287,10171],{},[97,10289,10290],{},"£871",[11,10292,10293],{},"Relief at 40% is double the last column. It can be claimed for the current tax year plus the previous four, through Self Assessment or a P87.",[15,10295,10297],{"id":10296},"where-the-rules-bite","Where the rules bite",[11,10299,10300,10303],{},[23,10301,10302],{},"The first and last journeys."," If you have a base you attend (an office, a depot, a clinic), travel from home to it is ordinary commuting. If you go from home directly to your first client and home from your last, the position is different and often more favourable.",[11,10305,10306],{},"Which of those you are in is a question about your contract and working pattern, not about how it feels. It is worth establishing once, properly, because it affects two journeys every working day.",[11,10308,10309,10312],{},[23,10310,10311],{},"Reimbursement below the approved rate."," Many employers in the sector pay a per-mile rate lower than HMRC's approved figure. Where that happens, the employee can claim tax relief on the difference through Self Assessment or a P87, and not everyone does.",[11,10314,10315,10316,10319],{},"On 7,900 miles, an employer paying 30p against an approved 55p leaves relief due on roughly ",[23,10317,10318],{},"£1,975"," of shortfall. For a basic-rate taxpayer that is around £395 of tax back, for filling in a form.",[11,10321,10322,10325],{},[23,10323,10324],{},"Passenger payments."," If you carry a colleague on a work journey, your employer can pay you up to 5p a mile for each one, tax free. Paying it is optional, and if they do not pay it there is no tax relief to claim for it.",[15,10327,10329],{"id":10328},"the-recording-problem-honestly","The recording problem, honestly",[11,10331,10332],{},"Nobody is going to stop between a medication round and a personal care visit to log three miles. Any system that depends on that will fail, and the resulting log will be a reconstruction.",[11,10334,10335],{},"Automatic recording is the only realistic answer here. Milometry notices you setting off, records the drive, and stops when you have been still for a few minutes, so forty visits arrive as forty journeys with real distances, and the whole day sorts in seconds afterwards.",[11,10337,10338],{},"Tagging the regular addresses means most of it classifies itself.",[15,10340,191],{"id":190},[193,10342,10343,10348,10353,10358,10363],{},[196,10344,10345],{},[199,10346,239],{"href":237,"rel":10347},[203],[196,10349,10350],{},[199,10351,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":10352},[203],[196,10354,10355],{},[199,10356,506],{"href":504,"rel":10357},[203],[196,10359,10360],{},[199,10361,3231],{"href":2179,"rel":10362},[203],[196,10364,10365],{},[199,10366,2669],{"href":230,"rel":10367},[203],[241,10369],{},[11,10371,10372],{},[246,10373,10374],{},"General information, not tax advice. Whether you have a permanent workplace is fact-specific and matters here: take advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":10376},[10377,10378,10379,10380,10381,10382],{"id":10099,"depth":251,"text":10100},{"id":10117,"depth":251,"text":10118},{"id":10208,"depth":251,"text":10209},{"id":10296,"depth":251,"text":10297},{"id":10328,"depth":251,"text":10329},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-05-01","Care workers and community nurses cover serious mileage in five-minute hops, and a lot of it never gets recorded properly.","\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses.jpg","A liveried care service car in a car park","Photo by Mike Mozart from Funny YouTube, USA, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=88331695",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses",[277,1748],{"title":10085,"description":10384},"blog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses",[10395,10396,8946],"care work","nhs","EGB9sdf0KshFS33WrnB5SVh_j-VU3irRySMQOaJwgjE",{"id":10399,"title":10400,"author":6,"body":10401,"category":259,"date":10675,"description":10676,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":10677,"imageAlt":10678,"imageCredit":10679,"imageCreditUrl":10680,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":10681,"navigation":271,"path":10682,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":10683,"seo":10684,"seoTitle":10685,"stem":10686,"tags":10687,"updated":275,"__hash__":10690},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less.md","Your employer pays 25p. Here is how tax relief on the gap works",{"type":8,"value":10402,"toc":10665},[10403,10406,10409,10411,10414,10417,10420,10432,10438,10442,10449,10546,10549,10552,10555,10559,10562,10565,10569,10575,10585,10591,10595,10598,10601,10605,10611,10617,10621,10624,10626,10658,10660],[11,10404,10405],{},"Plenty of employers reimburse business mileage below HMRC's approved rate. Some pay 30p, some 25p, some a fixed amount per journey, some nothing at all.",[11,10407,10408],{},"In every one of those cases the employee can claim tax relief on the difference. Many do not, often because nobody has told them it exists.",[15,10410,3624],{"id":3623},[11,10412,10413],{},"For journeys from 6 April 2026 the approved rate for a car or van is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25p. (It was 45p before that.) If your employer pays less, you can claim relief on the gap against your own income tax.",[11,10415,10416],{},"The 55p rate was announced on 21 May 2026 and backdated to 6 April, so if your employer paid 45p for some of those miles you may be able to claim tax relief on the difference too.",[11,10418,10419],{},"Worked example. You drove 4,000 business miles and were paid 25p:",[193,10421,10422,10426,10428],{},[196,10423,1281,10424],{},[23,10425,1284],{},[196,10427,1287],{},[196,10429,1290,10430],{},[23,10431,1293],{},[11,10433,10434,10435,10437],{},"You do not receive £1,200. You receive tax relief on it, so a basic-rate taxpayer gets around ",[23,10436,1487],{},", a higher-rate taxpayer around £480.",[15,10439,10441],{"id":10440},"the-four-year-backdating-table","The four-year backdating table",[11,10443,10444,10445,10448],{},"Relief can generally be claimed for the current tax year and the ",[23,10446,10447],{},"previous four",". Each year uses its own approved rate: 55p for 2026-27, 45p for the four years before. For someone\npaid 25p who has never claimed:",[74,10450,10451,10472],{},[77,10452,10453],{},[80,10454,10455,10458,10461,10464,10466,10469],{},[83,10456,10457],{},"Business miles per year",[83,10459,10460],{},"Approved amount (2026-27)",[83,10462,10463],{},"Paid at 25p",[83,10465,1550],{},[83,10467,10468],{},"Relief at 20% (2026-27)",[83,10470,10471],{},"Over five years",[92,10473,10474,10495,10512,10529],{},[80,10475,10476,10479,10482,10485,10488,10491],{},[97,10477,10478],{},"3,000",[97,10480,10481],{},"£1,650",[97,10483,10484],{},"£750",[97,10486,10487],{},"£900",[97,10489,10490],{},"£180",[97,10492,10493],{},[23,10494,1631],{},[80,10496,10497,10500,10502,10504,10506,10508],{},[97,10498,10499],{},"6,000",[97,10501,1566],{},[97,10503,1600],{},[97,10505,1597],{},[97,10507,1616],{},[97,10509,10510],{},[23,10511,1634],{},[80,10513,10514,10516,10518,10520,10523,10525],{},[97,10515,1371],{},[97,10517,1374],{},[97,10519,1410],{},[97,10521,10522],{},"£3,000",[97,10524,1584],{},[97,10526,10527],{},[23,10528,1284],{},[80,10530,10531,10533,10535,10538,10540,10542],{},[97,10532,1387],{},[97,10534,1397],{},[97,10536,10537],{},"£3,750",[97,10539,10522],{},[97,10541,1584],{},[97,10543,10544],{},[23,10545,1284],{},[11,10547,10548],{},"The five-year figure is 2026-27 plus four earlier years at 45p.",[11,10550,10551],{},"Higher-rate taxpayers double every figure in the last two columns.",[11,10553,10554],{},"The catch is the same as always: you can only claim what you can evidence, and a five-year-old\nclaim needs five-year-old records.",[15,10556,10558],{"id":10557},"what-if-they-pay-nothing-at-all","What if they pay nothing at all",[11,10560,10561],{},"Then the relief is on the whole approved amount. On 4,000 miles that is relief on £2,200, worth about £440 at basic rate.",[11,10563,10564],{},"This is the case where the sums get genuinely worth having, and it is common in sectors where mileage is treated as part of the job rather than as a reimbursable cost.",[15,10566,10568],{"id":10567},"how-to-claim","How to claim",[11,10570,10571,10574],{},[23,10572,10573],{},"If you file Self Assessment",", it goes in the employment expenses section.",[11,10576,10577,10580,10581,10584],{},[23,10578,10579],{},"If you do not",", use form ",[23,10582,10583],{},"P87"," (Claim Income Tax relief for employment expenses), which can be done online.",[11,10586,1637,10587,10590],{},[23,10588,10589],{},"previous four tax years"," as well as the current one, which for someone who has never claimed can mean a meaningful lump sum.",[15,10592,10594],{"id":10593},"what-hmrc-will-want","What HMRC will want",[11,10596,10597],{},"The amounts, and the ability to evidence them: business miles by tax year, what your employer paid you, and a record of the journeys behind the figures.",[11,10599,10600],{},"That last part is where claims fall over. \"About 4,000 miles\" is not evidence. A journey-level log with dates, destinations, purposes and distances is.",[15,10602,10604],{"id":10603},"the-bit-that-catches-people","The bit that catches people",[11,10606,10607,10610],{},[23,10608,10609],{},"Passenger payments cannot be claimed this way."," If your employer does not pay the 5p per passenger mile, there is nothing to claim relief on. The relief covers the vehicle rate only. Ask the employer instead.",[11,10612,10613,10616],{},[23,10614,10615],{},"Commuting never counts",", regardless of what the employer pays for.",[15,10618,10620],{"id":10619},"getting-the-number","Getting the number",[11,10622,10623],{},"If you have been recording journeys, the figure already exists. If you have not, this is the argument for starting now rather than in April: four years of relief is worth claiming, and you can only claim what you can evidence.",[15,10625,191],{"id":190},[193,10627,10628,10633,10638,10643,10648,10653],{},[196,10629,10630],{},[199,10631,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":10632},[203],[196,10634,10635],{},[199,10636,239],{"href":237,"rel":10637},[203],[196,10639,10640],{},[199,10641,1678],{"href":230,"rel":10642},[203],[196,10644,10645],{},[199,10646,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":10647},[203],[196,10649,10650],{},[199,10651,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":10652},[203],[196,10654,10655],{},[199,10656,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":10657},[203],[241,10659],{},[11,10661,10662],{},[246,10663,10664],{},"General information, not tax advice.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":10666},[10667,10668,10669,10670,10671,10672,10673,10674],{"id":3623,"depth":251,"text":3624},{"id":10440,"depth":251,"text":10441},{"id":10557,"depth":251,"text":10558},{"id":10567,"depth":251,"text":10568},{"id":10593,"depth":251,"text":10594},{"id":10603,"depth":251,"text":10604},{"id":10619,"depth":251,"text":10620},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-04-24","If your employer pays less than the approved mileage rate, Mileage Allowance Relief gives you tax relief on the gap. It is often left unclaimed.","\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less.jpg","A calculator resting on a printed expenses claim form","Photo by GoSimpleTax","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flickr.com\u002Fphotos\u002F143133125@N02\u002F47971062581",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less",[277,1747,1748],{"title":10400,"description":10676},"Tax relief when your employer pays under the rate","blog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less",[10688,10689,284],"mileage allowance relief","p87","eUnvBJpLGZnjsp9wv0BTdLQeyinqkPf0NiFsFGd1LuI",{"id":10692,"title":10693,"author":6,"body":10694,"category":259,"date":10922,"description":10923,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":10924,"imageAlt":10925,"imageCredit":10926,"imageCreditUrl":10927,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":10928,"navigation":271,"path":10929,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":10930,"seo":10931,"seoTitle":281,"stem":10932,"tags":10933,"updated":275,"__hash__":10936},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving.md","Territory driving: when 25,000 miles a year is the job",{"type":8,"value":10695,"toc":10914},[10696,10702,10705,10709,10712,10719,10722,10726,10815,10818,10822,10828,10834,10840,10844,10850,10856,10862,10866,10869,10871,10908,10910],[5215,10697,10698],{},[11,10699,10700,5222],{},[23,10701,5221],{},[11,10703,10704],{},"Field sales, area management, regional service engineering. Jobs where the driving is not incidental to the work, it substantially is the work. The tax treatment was not designed with them in mind.",[15,10706,10708],{"id":10707},"the-threshold-arrives-early","The threshold arrives early",[11,10710,10711],{},"The approved rate for cars and vans is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after. For an employee the 10,000 is counted per tax year, per employment, across all the cars and vans used for that job. At 25,000 business miles a year you pass 10,000 in about the fifth month of the tax year. Everything after that is at 25p.",[11,10713,10714,10715,10718],{},"The blended rate works out at ",[23,10716,10717],{},"37p"," a mile. Someone doing 8,000 miles gets the full 55p on all of it. The higher-mileage driver, whose costs are demonstrably greater, is paid a lower average rate per mile.",[11,10720,10721],{},"That is the structural quirk of the system, and it is why high-mileage drivers should be the most diligent about claiming everything they are entitled to. There is less margin in it than the headline rate suggests.",[15,10723,10725],{"id":10724},"when-the-threshold-arrives","When the threshold arrives",[74,10727,10728,10742],{},[77,10729,10730],{},[80,10731,10732,10735,10738,10740],{},[83,10733,10734],{},"Annual business miles",[83,10736,10737],{},"10,000 reached",[83,10739,1331],{},[83,10741,1328],{},[92,10743,10744,10754,10765,10776,10790,10801],{},[80,10745,10746,10748,10750,10752],{},[97,10747,1371],{},[97,10749,4910],{},[97,10751,1350],{},[97,10753,1374],{},[80,10755,10756,10758,10761,10763],{},[97,10757,1387],{},[97,10759,10760],{},"early December",[97,10762,1400],{},[97,10764,1397],{},[80,10766,10767,10769,10772,10774],{},[97,10768,1405],{},[97,10770,10771],{},"early October",[97,10773,1418],{},[97,10775,1415],{},[80,10777,10778,10781,10784,10787],{},[97,10779,10780],{},"25,000",[97,10782,10783],{},"end of August",[97,10785,10786],{},"37.0p",[97,10788,10789],{},"£9,250",[80,10791,10792,10794,10797,10799],{},[97,10793,1423],{},[97,10795,10796],{},"early August",[97,10798,1436],{},[97,10800,1433],{},[80,10802,10803,10806,10809,10812],{},[97,10804,10805],{},"40,000",[97,10807,10808],{},"early July",[97,10810,10811],{},"32.5p",[97,10813,10814],{},"£13,000",[11,10816,10817],{},"Assuming even mileage through the year. The point of the table is the middle column: the driver\ndoing 40,000 miles is paid an average of 32.5p for driving that costs them considerably more than\nthe driver doing 8,000.",[15,10819,10821],{"id":10820},"three-things-worth-knowing-if-this-is-you","Three things worth knowing if this is you",[11,10823,10824,10827],{},[23,10825,10826],{},"Know where you stand against the threshold."," Check where you are against 10,000 so each trip is banded correctly. The count restarts on 6 April. That needs a running total through the year, not a single figure worked out at the end.",[11,10829,10830,10833],{},[23,10831,10832],{},"Your car is a consumable."," At 25,000 miles a year a car does 75,000 in three years, and depreciates accordingly. If you are choosing between a company car and your own, run the numbers on your actual mileage rather than a typical one. The answer for a high-mileage driver often differs from the office default.",[11,10835,10836,10839],{},[23,10837,10838],{},"Real MPG matters more."," At 25,000 miles, a 5 mpg difference between the brochure figure and reality is hundreds of pounds a year. It also changes whether 55p is generous or thin.",[15,10841,10843],{"id":10842},"where-high-mileage-claims-go-wrong","Where high-mileage claims go wrong",[11,10845,10846,10849],{},[23,10847,10848],{},"Reconstructing at year end."," Nobody remembers 800 journeys. A reconstruction produces round numbers and impossible days, which is a pattern that tends to invite questions, and the sums here are large enough for one.",[11,10851,10852,10855],{},[23,10853,10854],{},"Missing the short hops."," The long runs get remembered. Three miles between two customers in the same town, twelve times a week, does not, and over a year it is thousands of miles.",[11,10857,10858,10861],{},[23,10859,10860],{},"Commuting mixed in."," With no fixed office the position may be favourable, but if there is a base you attend, those journeys are not claimable and a large claim containing them is conspicuous.",[15,10863,10865],{"id":10864},"the-practical-answer","The practical answer",[11,10867,10868],{},"Automatic recording, sorted weekly, with regular customers tagged so most of it classifies itself. At this mileage the difference between a log that keeps itself and one that depends on you is not convenience. It is whether the claim is defensible at all.",[15,10870,191],{"id":190},[193,10872,10873,10878,10883,10888,10893,10898,10903],{},[196,10874,10875],{},[199,10876,239],{"href":237,"rel":10877},[203],[196,10879,10880],{},[199,10881,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":10882},[203],[196,10884,10885],{},[199,10886,3220],{"href":518,"rel":10887},[203],[196,10889,10890],{},[199,10891,2669],{"href":230,"rel":10892},[203],[196,10894,10895],{},[199,10896,506],{"href":504,"rel":10897},[203],[196,10899,10900],{},[199,10901,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":10902},[203],[196,10904,10905],{},[199,10906,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":10907},[203],[241,10909],{},[11,10911,10912],{},[246,10913,10664],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":10915},[10916,10917,10918,10919,10920,10921],{"id":10707,"depth":251,"text":10708},{"id":10724,"depth":251,"text":10725},{"id":10820,"depth":251,"text":10821},{"id":10842,"depth":251,"text":10843},{"id":10864,"depth":251,"text":10865},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2025-04-03","The 10,000-mile threshold arrives by late summer, the car wears out in three years, and the arithmetic is different from everyone else's.","\u002Fblog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving.jpg","A motorway seen through a windscreen, following a lorry","Photo by Markus Spiske","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F432832\u002Ffree-photo-image-truck-motorway-container",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving",[277],{"title":10693,"description":10923},"blog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving",[10934,10935,284],"sales","high mileage","_8aH_fq6x1ocL25oFaZ8GeEOjmnMztwAPXf0VXNlTdg",{"id":10938,"title":10939,"author":6,"body":10940,"category":259,"date":11140,"description":11141,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":11142,"imageAlt":11143,"imageCredit":11144,"imageCreditUrl":11145,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":11146,"navigation":271,"path":11147,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":11149,"seo":11151,"seoTitle":11152,"stem":11153,"tags":11154,"updated":275,"__hash__":11156},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdutch-untaxed-kilometre-allowance.md","The Dutch allowance is 25 cents a kilometre, and what untaxed actually means",{"type":8,"value":10941,"toc":11133},[10942,10949,10953,10956,10959,10962,10966,10969,10972,10975,10979,10982,10985,10988,10991,11078,11082,11085,11088,11091,11093,11126,11128],[11,10943,10944,10945,10948],{},"The Dutch untaxed travel allowance is ",[23,10946,10947],{},"25 cents a kilometre"," for 2026. It was 23 cents in 2024 and 2025. The Belastingdienst set out the rise to 25 cents on 25 June 2026, backdated to 1 January 2026, so employers who paid 23 cents earlier in the year can pay the extra 2 cents a kilometre untaxed after the event.",[15,10950,10952],{"id":10951},"what-untaxed-means-here","What untaxed means here",[11,10954,10955],{},"The Dutch mechanism for employees is a payroll one. Your employer may pay you up to the figure per kilometre without deducting tax or social contributions. Pay above it and the excess is treated as salary. It covers the commute as well as business journeys, which is a difference from Britain, where ordinary commuting is outside the system.",[11,10957,10958],{},"So the number is a ceiling on tax free reimbursement, not an entitlement. An employer who pays less is not breaking any rule, and an employer who pays nothing is not either. What the figure governs is the tax treatment of whatever they do pay.",[11,10960,10961],{},"The same figure serves as the per kilometre deduction for the self-employed using a privately owned vehicle for business, and nothing else, not fuel, insurance, tolls or parking, is deducted on top. That is a tidiness other systems do not manage. In Britain the employee and the sole trader arrive at 55p by two different routes with different names.",[15,10963,10965],{"id":10964},"no-threshold-no-banding","No threshold, no banding",[11,10967,10968],{},"There is no Dutch equivalent of the 10,000 mile line. Every kilometre is worth the same, all year.",[11,10970,10971],{},"This makes the Dutch log about as simple as any system covered here. You never need to know your running total to value a journey, the rate does not depend on your car, and the year boundary only decides which year's figure applies.",[11,10973,10974],{},"The trade is that a flat rate cannot be generous to everybody. It is set around an average, and a driver whose real costs are above average absorbs the difference with no mechanism to recover it.",[15,10976,10978],{"id":10977},"the-narrow-safety-net","The narrow safety net",[11,10980,10981],{},"This is the difference that matters most for anyone arriving from Britain.",[11,10983,10984],{},"If a British employer reimburses below the approved rate, the employee can claim tax relief on the shortfall, called Mileage Allowance Relief, through Self Assessment or a P87. The relief is worth the shortfall multiplied by the employee's tax rate. It is a genuine backstop, and it is why the British system is more generous to employees than the headline rate suggests.",[11,10986,10987],{},"The Netherlands has no direct equivalent. If your employer pays 15 cents against a ceiling of 25, the 10 cent gap is simply a cost you carry. The ceiling protects the tax treatment of what you are paid; it does not oblige anyone to pay it, and it does not give you relief on the difference.",[11,10989,10990],{},"At about 85p to the euro, 25 cents a kilometre is roughly 34p a mile. Britain's approved rate is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after that, for journeys from 6 April 2026.",[74,10992,10993,11004],{},[77,10994,10995],{},[80,10996,10997,10999,11002],{},[83,10998],{},[83,11000,11001],{},"Netherlands",[83,11003,9944],{},[92,11005,11006,11016,11024,11035,11046,11057,11068],{},[80,11007,11008,11010,11013],{},[97,11009,611],{},[97,11011,11012],{},"25 cents per km, flat (from 1 January 2026)",[97,11014,11015],{},"55p per mile, then 25p (from 6 April 2026)",[80,11017,11018,11020,11022],{},[97,11019,7433],{},[97,11021,6439],{},[97,11023,4495],{},[80,11025,11026,11029,11032],{},[97,11027,11028],{},"Year",[97,11030,11031],{},"Calendar",[97,11033,11034],{},"From 6 April",[80,11036,11037,11040,11043],{},[97,11038,11039],{},"Commute",[97,11041,11042],{},"Covered by the same untaxed allowance",[97,11044,11045],{},"Not claimable",[80,11047,11048,11051,11054],{},[97,11049,11050],{},"Employed and self-employed",[97,11052,11053],{},"Same figure",[97,11055,11056],{},"Same rates, reached by different routes",[80,11058,11059,11061,11065],{},[97,11060,9880],{},[97,11062,11063],{},[23,11064,102],{},[97,11066,11067],{},"Yes, Mileage Allowance Relief",[80,11069,11070,11073,11075],{},[97,11071,11072],{},"Passenger supplement",[97,11074,6439],{},[97,11076,11077],{},"Up to 5p per passenger mile, if the employer pays it",[15,11079,11081],{"id":11080},"why-the-gap-is-worth-logging-anyway","Why the gap is worth logging anyway",[11,11083,11084],{},"Since there is no relief on the shortfall, it is tempting to conclude there is no point measuring it. The opposite is true.",[11,11086,11087],{},"The gap between what a kilometre costs you and what you are reimbursed is the number that tells you whether a job, a route or a car is covering its costs. It is invisible unless something is recording both halves, and it is the number to take into a conversation about pay or a change of vehicle.",[11,11089,11090],{},"Milometry has a Dutch scheme built in at 25 cents a kilometre, so a driver on it sees kilometres, euros and the untaxed figure, and can record what their employer actually pays alongside it.",[15,11092,191],{"id":190},[193,11094,11095,11102,11109,11116,11121],{},[196,11096,11097],{},[199,11098,11101],{"href":11099,"rel":11100},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.belastingdienst.nl\u002Fwps\u002Fwcm\u002Fconnect\u002Fbldcontentnl\u002Fberichten\u002Fnieuws\u002Fverhoging-onbelaste-kilometervergoeding-hoe-verwerkt-u-dit-in-de-loonaangifte",[203],"Verhoging onbelaste kilometervergoeding: hoe verwerkt u dit in de loonaangifte? (Belastingdienst, 25 June 2026)",[196,11103,11104],{},[199,11105,11108],{"href":11106,"rel":11107},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.belastingdienst.nl\u002Fwps\u002Fwcm\u002Fconnect\u002Fbldcontentnl\u002Fbelastingdienst\u002Fzakelijk\u002Fwinst\u002Finkomstenbelasting\u002Fveranderingen-inkomstenbelasting-2026\u002Fzakelijk-gebruik-privevervoermiddel-2026",[203],"Zakelijk gebruik privévervoermiddel 2026 (Belastingdienst)",[196,11110,11111],{},[199,11112,11115],{"href":11113,"rel":11114},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rijksoverheid.nl\u002Fvraag-en-antwoord\u002Finkomstenbelasting\u002Fwat-is-de-maximale-kilometervergoeding-die-ik-van-mijn-werkgever-kan-ontvangen",[203],"Maximale kilometervergoeding van uw werkgever (Rijksoverheid)",[196,11117,11118],{},[199,11119,1120],{"href":230,"rel":11120},[203],[196,11122,11123],{},[199,11124,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":11125},[203],[241,11127],{},[11,11129,11130],{},[246,11131,11132],{},"General information for drivers in the Netherlands and the UK, not tax advice. The untaxed figure is revised: check the current amount with the Belastingdienst.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":11134},[11135,11136,11137,11138,11139],{"id":10951,"depth":251,"text":10952},{"id":10964,"depth":251,"text":10965},{"id":10977,"depth":251,"text":10978},{"id":11080,"depth":251,"text":11081},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2024-01-04","One flat figure, no threshold, and the same number whether you are employed or self-employed. The simplest system in Europe, and the narrowest safety net.","\u002Fblog\u002Fdutch-untaxed-kilometre-allowance.jpg","A tree lined avenue beside water in the Netherlands","Photo by Kleon3, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=25930429",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdutch-untaxed-kilometre-allowance","2026",[11150,277],"nl",{"title":10939,"description":11141},"The Dutch untaxed kilometre allowance","blog\u002Fdutch-untaxed-kilometre-allowance",[11155,1163,1164],"netherlands","6verlT11GreeLfYYMU4gy70OrIIlZHz6RGCMj4Ok9Ok",{"id":11158,"title":11159,"author":6,"body":11160,"category":259,"date":11382,"description":11383,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":11384,"imageAlt":11385,"imageCredit":11386,"imageCreditUrl":11387,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":11388,"navigation":271,"path":11389,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":11390,"seo":11391,"seoTitle":281,"stem":11392,"tags":11393,"updated":275,"__hash__":11395},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fper-diems-the-other-half.md","Per diems: the other half of a business trip",{"type":8,"value":11161,"toc":11373},[11162,11165,11169,11175,11181,11184,11188,11191,11201,11204,11208,11215,11218,11221,11225,11232,11239,11243,11292,11296,11299,11302,11305,11307,11366,11368],[11,11163,11164],{},"A day out to a client site can generate two claims, and it is easy to make only one of them. This post covers the rules for employees; the self-employed deduct travel and subsistence under different rules.",[15,11166,11168],{"id":11167},"the-two-halves","The two halves",[11,11170,11171,11174],{},[23,11172,11173],{},"Travel"," is the mileage. Business miles at the approved rate (for cars and vans, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after, for journeys from 6 April 2026), plus tolls and parking on the journey.",[11,11176,11177,11180],{},[23,11178,11179],{},"Subsistence"," is what the trip cost you to be away: food, drink, and an overnight stay if there was one. It is a separate head of claim with separate rules, and it is where the money quietly leaks.",[11,11182,11183],{},"The reason it leaks is structural. The mileage is a calculation from a number you can look up. Subsistence is a pile of receipts, each individually too small to feel worth keeping, which collectively are not.",[15,11185,11187],{"id":11186},"what-actually-qualifies","What actually qualifies",[11,11189,11190],{},"The test is that the cost was incurred because of a journey that is itself business travel. That does a lot of work.",[11,11192,11193,11196,11197,11200],{},[23,11194,11195],{},"A meal on a genuine business trip"," to a temporary workplace is claimable. ",[23,11198,11199],{},"Lunch at your normal place of work"," is not, however far you drove to get there, because the journey was not business travel in the first place.",[11,11202,11203],{},"So subsistence inherits the travel rules entirely. If the journey does not qualify, nothing that happened at the other end does either. This is why the commute and the 24 month rule matter twice over: they decide the mileage and they decide the meals.",[15,11205,11207],{"id":11206},"benchmark-rates-and-why-they-are-convenient","Benchmark rates, and why they are convenient",[11,11209,11210,11211,11214],{},"HMRC sets ",[23,11212,11213],{},"benchmark scale rates"," that an employer may pay for meals on qualifying business travel free of tax and National Insurance: up to £5 after 5 hours away, £10 after 10 hours, and £25 after 15 hours if the journey is still going at 8pm. The travel must be business travel that is not substantially ordinary commuting, the employee must be away for the qualifying period, and the employee must have bought a meal after the journey started. Since 6 April 2019 the employer no longer has to check receipts, but it must have a system for checking that the employee was on qualifying travel. Anything paid above the rates, without a bespoke rate agreed with HMRC, is taxable.",[11,11216,11217],{},"The attraction is obvious: a fixed amount per qualifying absence and no reconciliation. One condition matters most: the employee must actually have bought a meal. The rate is a simplification of reimbursement, not an allowance you collect for having been out.",[11,11219,11220],{},"For travel outside the UK there is a separate published set of country by country rates, which is worth knowing about before anyone tries to convert a British figure into euros.",[15,11222,11224],{"id":11223},"overnight-stays-and-the-incidental-allowance","Overnight stays and the incidental allowance",[11,11226,11227,11228,11231],{},"An overnight stay on business brings the accommodation itself, plus a small tax free ",[23,11229,11230],{},"incidental overnight expenses"," amount an employer can pay for the things a hotel stay generates: a phone call home, a newspaper, laundry. The limit is £5 a night in the UK and £10 a night abroad.",[11,11233,11234,11235,11238],{},"It is deliberately modest, and it has a sharp edge. Exceed the limit and the ",[23,11236,11237],{},"whole"," amount becomes taxable, not just the excess. That is unusual in the tax system and it can catch employers who round the figure up to something tidier.",[15,11240,11242],{"id":11241},"what-to-keep","What to keep",[74,11244,11245,11256],{},[77,11246,11247],{},[80,11248,11249,11251,11254],{},[83,11250],{},[83,11252,11253],{},"Mileage",[83,11255,11179],{},[92,11257,11258,11269,11280],{},[80,11259,11260,11263,11266],{},[97,11261,11262],{},"Evidence",[97,11264,11265],{},"A contemporaneous log",[97,11267,11268],{},"Receipts, or a benchmark rate",[80,11270,11271,11274,11277],{},[97,11272,11273],{},"Rate published",[97,11275,11276],{},"Yes, approved mileage rates",[97,11278,11279],{},"Yes, benchmark scale rates",[80,11281,11282,11285,11287],{},[97,11283,11284],{},"Depends on the journey qualifying",[97,11286,107],{},[97,11288,11289],{},[23,11290,11291],{},"Yes, entirely",[15,11293,11295],{"id":11294},"the-practical-fix","The practical fix",[11,11297,11298],{},"The reason subsistence goes unclaimed is that the receipt and the journey get separated. The journey is in an app or a spreadsheet; the receipt is in a coat pocket, then a bin.",[11,11300,11301],{},"Attaching the cost to the trip it belongs to, at the time, is the whole solution. Milometry lets you add parking, tolls and other charges to the journey they came from with a photograph of the receipt, which is not a clever feature so much as the only arrangement that survives contact with a real week.",[11,11303,11304],{},"If your employer does not reimburse meals on genuine business trips, you may be able to claim tax relief on what you actually spent, provided you kept the receipts.",[15,11306,191],{"id":190},[193,11308,11309,11316,11323,11328,11335,11342,11349,11356,11361],{},[196,11310,11311],{},[199,11312,11315],{"href":11313,"rel":11314},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-travel",[203],"Expenses and benefits: travel and subsistence (HMRC)",[196,11317,11318],{},[199,11319,11322],{"href":11320,"rel":11321},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-travel\u002Fwhat-to-report-and-pay",[203],"Expenses and benefits: travel, what to report and pay (HMRC)",[196,11324,11325],{},[199,11326,7060],{"href":7058,"rel":11327},[203],[196,11329,11330],{},[199,11331,11334],{"href":11332,"rel":11333},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim30240",[203],"EIM30240: payments at a benchmark rate (HMRC manual)",[196,11336,11337],{},[199,11338,11341],{"href":11339,"rel":11340},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim30225",[203],"EIM30225: removal of the checking requirement from 6 April 2019 (HMRC manual)",[196,11343,11344],{},[199,11345,11348],{"href":11346,"rel":11347},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim05231",[203],"EIM05231: the earlier benchmark scale rates, to 2015-16 (HMRC manual)",[196,11350,11351],{},[199,11352,11355],{"href":11353,"rel":11354},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim02730",[203],"EIM02730: incidental overnight expenses, the permitted amount (HMRC manual)",[196,11357,11358],{},[199,11359,239],{"href":237,"rel":11360},[203],[196,11362,11363],{},[199,11364,2181],{"href":2179,"rel":11365},[203],[241,11367],{},[11,11369,11370],{},[246,11371,11372],{},"General information, not tax advice. Benchmark and overseas rates change: check the current figures with HMRC or your accountant.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":11374},[11375,11376,11377,11378,11379,11380,11381],{"id":11167,"depth":251,"text":11168},{"id":11186,"depth":251,"text":11187},{"id":11206,"depth":251,"text":11207},{"id":11223,"depth":251,"text":11224},{"id":11241,"depth":251,"text":11242},{"id":11294,"depth":251,"text":11295},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-05-04","The mileage is the part everyone remembers. The meals, the overnight stay and the incidentals are easy to forget, and they have their own rules.","\u002Fblog\u002Fper-diems-the-other-half.jpg","A printed receipt and a phone on a wooden table","Photo by Naha Mama Pavilionz","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=158453414",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fper-diems-the-other-half",[277],{"title":11159,"description":11383},"blog\u002Fper-diems-the-other-half",[284,3046,11394],"subsistence","aRxIv3i6wlFIh_OALrtZS4vA_U2hH4aM0RKT4yT7HkM",{"id":11397,"title":11398,"author":6,"body":11399,"category":259,"date":11586,"description":11587,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":11588,"imageAlt":11589,"imageCredit":11590,"imageCreditUrl":11591,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":1153,"imageLicenceUrl":1154,"meta":11592,"navigation":271,"path":11593,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":274,"reviewed":281,"reviewedAgainst":11594,"seo":11595,"seoTitle":11596,"stem":11597,"tags":11598,"updated":281,"__hash__":11600},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-one-percent-rule.md","Germany taxes a company car at 1% of its list price, every month",{"type":8,"value":11400,"toc":11579},[11401,11404,11408,11418,11421,11424,11428,11431,11434,11437,11441,11444,11455,11458,11526,11530,11537,11540,11543,11545,11572,11574],[11,11402,11403],{},"Britain taxes a company car through a table of emissions percentages applied to list price. Germany applies one number to one number, and the result is a system that is far easier to explain and much harder to game.",[15,11405,11407],{"id":11406},"one-percent-monthly","One percent, monthly",[11,11409,11410,11411,11414,11415,545],{},"Where a company car is available for private use, German tax law adds ",[23,11412,11413],{},"1% of the domestic list price"," to the employee's taxable income ",[23,11416,11417],{},"every month",[11,11419,11420],{},"The list price is the price when the car was first registered, including options and VAT. Not what the employer paid, not what it is worth now. A discount negotiated by the fleet department does not reduce the charge, and neither does the car ageing.",[11,11422,11423],{},"That last point is worth sitting with. A five year old company car is taxed on exactly the same monthly figure as it was when new. In Britain the benefit charge also uses list price rather than current value, but the emissions percentage has moved so much over the last decade that an older car and a newer one can be taxed very differently. In Germany the number simply does not move.",[15,11425,11427],{"id":11426},"plus-a-charge-for-the-commute","Plus a charge for the commute",[11,11429,11430],{},"There is a second component, and it is the one British drivers do not expect.",[11,11432,11433],{},"If the car is also used to get to work, a further monthly amount is added, calculated from the distance between home and the workplace. The further you live from the office, the more your company car costs you in tax.",[11,11435,11436],{},"This sits oddly beside the commuting allowance, which pays you something for the same journey. Germany both recognises the commute as a cost and treats a company car used for it as a larger benefit. Those are consistent positions but they pull in opposite directions on the payslip.",[15,11438,11440],{"id":11439},"electric-cars-get-a-fraction-of-it","Electric cars get a fraction of it",[11,11442,11443],{},"The policy lever Germany uses is not a table of bands. It is a fraction of the 1%.",[11,11445,11446,11447,11450,11451,11454],{},"A zero emission car below a list price cap is taxed at a ",[23,11448,11449],{},"quarter"," of the normal figure. Plug in hybrids meeting an emissions or electric range condition are taxed at a ",[23,11452,11453],{},"half",". Everything else pays the full 1%.",[11,11456,11457],{},"This is a blunter instrument than Britain's graduated emissions percentages, and it produces sharper cliffs: a car a few hundred euros over the list price cap jumps from a quarter to a half of the charge with nothing in between. It is also much easier to understand.",[74,11459,11460,11471],{},[77,11461,11462],{},[80,11463,11464,11466,11469],{},[83,11465],{},[83,11467,11468],{},"Germany",[83,11470,9944],{},[92,11472,11473,11484,11495,11504,11515],{},[80,11474,11475,11478,11481],{},[97,11476,11477],{},"Basis",[97,11479,11480],{},"1% of list price, monthly",[97,11482,11483],{},"Percentage of list price, by emissions",[80,11485,11486,11489,11492],{},[97,11487,11488],{},"Percentage varies with",[97,11490,11491],{},"Fuel type only, in three steps",[97,11493,11494],{},"Emissions, many bands",[80,11496,11497,11500,11502],{},[97,11498,11499],{},"Falls as the car ages",[97,11501,102],{},[97,11503,102],{},[80,11505,11506,11509,11513],{},[97,11507,11508],{},"Extra charge for commuting",[97,11510,11511],{},[23,11512,107],{},[97,11514,102],{},[80,11516,11517,11520,11523],{},[97,11518,11519],{},"Electric cars",[97,11521,11522],{},"Quarter of the charge, under a price cap",[97,11524,11525],{},"Very low emissions band",[15,11527,11529],{"id":11528},"the-alternative-nobody-uses","The alternative nobody uses",[11,11531,11532,11533,11536],{},"German law does offer an escape: keep a ",[23,11534,11535],{},"complete and contemporaneous logbook"," of every journey, business and private, and be taxed on the actual proportion of private use instead of the flat 1%.",[11,11538,11539],{},"For a driver with very little private use it can be worth far more than the flat charge. In practice it is rare, because the standard the logbook has to meet is exacting. It must be complete, kept as you go, and closed against alteration. A gap, a reconstruction or a spreadsheet edited after the fact and the whole thing is rejected, and you are back on the 1% for the entire year.",[11,11541,11542],{},"That is a genuine use case for something that records automatically and keeps a record you did not have to remember to write. The threshold is not effort, it is completeness, and completeness is exactly what manual logging fails at.",[15,11544,191],{"id":190},[193,11546,11547,11554,11561,11567],{},[196,11548,11549],{},[199,11550,11553],{"href":11551,"rel":11552},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gesetze-im-internet.de\u002Festg\u002F__6.html",[203],"§ 6 Einkommensteuergesetz, the 1% rule at Absatz 1 Nummer 4",[196,11555,11556],{},[199,11557,11560],{"href":11558,"rel":11559},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gesetze-im-internet.de\u002Fbrkg_2005\u002F__5.html",[203],"§ 5 Bundesreisekostengesetz, the separate business travel rate",[196,11562,11563],{},[199,11564,11566],{"href":201,"rel":11565},[203],"Tax on company cars (HMRC), for the British comparison",[196,11568,11569],{},[199,11570,211],{"href":209,"rel":11571},[203],[241,11573],{},[11,11575,11576],{},[246,11577,11578],{},"General information for drivers in Germany and the UK, not tax advice. The list price cap for the reduced electric rate has been raised more than once: check the current figure before relying on it.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":11580},[11581,11582,11583,11584,11585],{"id":11406,"depth":251,"text":11407},{"id":11426,"depth":251,"text":11427},{"id":11439,"depth":251,"text":11440},{"id":11528,"depth":251,"text":11529},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-04-27","No emissions bands, no benefit tables. One percent of what the car cost new, every month, plus a charge for the commute. Brutally simple, occasionally brutal.","\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-one-percent-rule.jpg","Cars on a German motorway between wooded banks","Photo by Björn Láczay, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=22567296",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-one-percent-rule",[],{"title":11398,"description":11587},"Germany's 1% company car rule","blog\u002Fgermany-one-percent-rule",[11599,1163,286,285],"germany","SreljXDzO5tJJjl415AT2k2ps3PkW2850KM-6QUjsvI",{"id":11602,"title":11603,"author":6,"body":11604,"category":259,"date":11857,"description":11858,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":11859,"imageAlt":11860,"imageCredit":11861,"imageCreditUrl":11862,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":11863,"navigation":271,"path":11864,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":11865,"seo":11866,"seoTitle":281,"stem":11867,"tags":11868,"updated":275,"__hash__":11869},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fself-employed-simplified-expenses.md","Self-employed: the same 55p, by a completely different route",{"type":8,"value":11605,"toc":11850},[11606,11612,11615,11619,11629,11639,11642,11646,11649,11652,11656,11659,11665,11668,11671,11677,11683,11686,11776,11780,11783,11786,11789,11791,11843,11845],[5215,11607,11608],{},[11,11609,11610,5222],{},[23,11611,5221],{},[11,11613,11614],{},"The number is the same, which is why people assume the mechanism is. It is not, and the differences decide what you can actually deduct or get relief on.",[15,11616,11618],{"id":11617},"two-different-things-called-a-mileage-claim","Two different things called a mileage claim",[11,11620,11621,11624,11625,11628],{},[23,11622,11623],{},"An employee"," is reimbursed by an employer. If that reimbursement is below the approved rate, the employee can claim tax relief (Mileage Allowance Relief) on the gap, through Self Assessment or a P87. The claim is for ",[23,11626,11627],{},"relief on a shortfall",": it is worth the shortfall times the employee's tax rate, and its size depends on what the employer paid.",[11,11630,11631,11634,11635,11638],{},[23,11632,11633],{},"A sole trader"," has no employer and no reimbursement. They deduct a ",[23,11636,11637],{},"simplified expense"," from business profit: business miles multiplied by the flat rate, taken off the profit the tax is calculated on. There is no shortfall, because there was never a payment.",[11,11640,11641],{},"So an employee's claim gets smaller the more their employer pays. A sole trader's claim depends only on how far they drove.",[15,11643,11645],{"id":11644},"the-rate-is-the-same-the-bands-are-the-same","The rate is the same, the bands are the same",[11,11647,11648],{},"Both use 55p for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after (the rates for journeys from 6 April 2026; 45p before that). How the 10,000 is counted differs, though. Employees count per tax year across all the cars and vans used for one job. The self-employed count per accounting period across all the business's cars and vans.",[11,11650,11651],{},"The shared rates are why the two get conflated, and they are close to the only part that is shared.",[15,11653,11655],{"id":11654},"the-choice-a-sole-trader-has-and-an-employee-does-not","The choice a sole trader has, and an employee does not",[11,11657,11658],{},"This is the real divergence.",[11,11660,11661,11662,11664],{},"A sole trader can use the flat rate, or they can claim ",[23,11663,2806],{},": the business proportion of fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs, and capital allowances on the vehicle itself.",[11,11666,11667],{},"An employee has no such choice. The approved rate is the approved rate.",[11,11669,11670],{},"Two things make the choice consequential.",[11,11672,11673,11676],{},[23,11674,11675],{},"It can be worth substantially more or less."," An expensive vehicle doing modest business mileage often comes out ahead on actual costs, because the capital allowances and the insurance are large and the mileage is not. A cheap, economical car doing high mileage tends to come out ahead on the flat rate.",[11,11678,11679,11682],{},[23,11680,11681],{},"It is sticky."," Once you use the flat rate for a particular vehicle, you must keep using it for that vehicle for as long as you have it. You cannot alternate year by year to whichever suits, and the decision is effectively made the first time you claim for that car.",[11,11684,11685],{},"That last point can catch new traders out. The first year's choice, often made without thinking, binds every year after it.",[74,11687,11688,11698],{},[77,11689,11690],{},[80,11691,11692,11694,11696],{},[83,11693],{},[83,11695,7987],{},[83,11697,5798],{},[92,11699,11700,11711,11720,11731,11744,11756,11766],{},[80,11701,11702,11705,11708],{},[97,11703,11704],{},"Claims against",[97,11706,11707],{},"A shortfall in reimbursement",[97,11709,11710],{},"Business profit",[80,11712,11713,11716,11718],{},[97,11714,11715],{},"Rate (2026-27)",[97,11717,138],{},[97,11719,138],{},[80,11721,11722,11725,11728],{},[97,11723,11724],{},"10,000 miles counted",[97,11726,11727],{},"Per tax year, per job, across its cars and vans",[97,11729,11730],{},"Per accounting period, across the business's cars and vans",[80,11732,11733,11736,11740],{},[97,11734,11735],{},"Can claim actual costs instead",[97,11737,11738],{},[23,11739,102],{},[97,11741,11742],{},[23,11743,107],{},[80,11745,11746,11749,11751],{},[97,11747,11748],{},"Choice is reversible",[97,11750,116],{},[97,11752,11753,11755],{},[23,11754,102],{},", per vehicle",[80,11757,11758,11760,11763],{},[97,11759,2487],{},[97,11761,11762],{},"Self Assessment or P87",[97,11764,11765],{},"Self Assessment",[80,11767,11768,11770,11773],{},[97,11769,3646],{},[97,11771,11772],{},"Up to 5p per passenger mile tax free, only if the employer pays it; no relief if unpaid",[97,11774,11775],{},"No effect on the rate",[15,11777,11779],{"id":11778},"what-both-need-to-evidence","What both need to evidence",[11,11781,11782],{},"Identical, and unremarkable: date, destination, business purpose, distance, recorded at the time.",[11,11784,11785],{},"The sole trader carries one extra burden. Because the flat rate is a deduction against profit rather than a reimbursement someone else calculated, nobody is checking the arithmetic on the way through. An employee's claim passes across an employer's desk. A sole trader's does not pass across anyone's until it is questioned.",[11,11787,11788],{},"That makes the log the entire evidence base, and it makes the 10,000 mile boundary something you have to know your position against all year rather than discover in January.",[15,11790,191],{"id":190},[193,11792,11793,11799,11806,11811,11818,11823,11828,11833,11838],{},[196,11794,11795],{},[199,11796,11798],{"href":530,"rel":11797},[203],"Simplified expenses if you are self-employed: vehicles (HMRC)",[196,11800,11801],{},[199,11802,11805],{"href":11803,"rel":11804},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fsimpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses",[203],"Simplified expenses if you are self-employed (HMRC)",[196,11807,11808],{},[199,11809,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":11810},[203],[196,11812,11813],{},[199,11814,11817],{"href":11815,"rel":11816},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fself-assessment-tax-returns",[203],"Self Assessment tax returns (GOV.UK)",[196,11819,11820],{},[199,11821,4254],{"href":844,"rel":11822},[203],[196,11824,11825],{},[199,11826,4260],{"href":863,"rel":11827},[203],[196,11829,11830],{},[199,11831,5614],{"href":518,"rel":11832},[203],[196,11834,11835],{},[199,11836,232],{"href":230,"rel":11837},[203],[196,11839,11840],{},[199,11841,239],{"href":237,"rel":11842},[203],[241,11844],{},[11,11846,11847],{},[246,11848,11849],{},"General information, not tax advice. The flat rate against actual costs decision is hard to reverse: check with your accountant before making it.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":11851},[11852,11853,11854,11855,11856],{"id":11617,"depth":251,"text":11618},{"id":11644,"depth":251,"text":11645},{"id":11654,"depth":251,"text":11655},{"id":11778,"depth":251,"text":11779},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-04-20","Employees claim relief on a shortfall. Sole traders deduct simplified expenses from profit. The rate is identical and almost nothing else is.","\u002Fblog\u002Fself-employed-simplified-expenses.jpg","A workbench in a small workshop, lit by task lamps","Photo by James Frid","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Fcarpenter-workshop-YPM6VH3FCW",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fself-employed-simplified-expenses",[277,1746],{"title":11603,"description":11858},"blog\u002Fself-employed-simplified-expenses",[284,4337,1753],"j9TNRu3TJVSv0H1K3I9itXFpAH-4OGg9PBaUHzkfbJo",{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":11871,"category":259,"date":260,"description":261,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":264,"imageAlt":265,"imageCredit":266,"imageCreditUrl":267,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":12035,"navigation":271,"path":272,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":12036,"seo":12037,"seoTitle":281,"stem":282,"tags":12038,"updated":275,"__hash__":287},{"type":8,"value":11872,"toc":12027},[11873,11875,11877,11881,11883,11885,11887,11891,11893,11895,11897,11901,11907,11909,11965,11967,11969,11973,11977,11981,11983,11985,11987,11989,12021,12023],[11,11874,13],{},[15,11876,18],{"id":17},[11,11878,21,11879,26],{},[23,11880,25],{},[11,11882,29],{},[11,11884,32],{},[15,11886,36],{"id":35},[11,11888,39,11889,43],{},[23,11890,42],{},[11,11892,46],{},[15,11894,50],{"id":49},[11,11896,53],{},[11,11898,11899,59],{},[23,11900,58],{},[11,11902,11903,65,11905,69],{},[23,11904,64],{},[23,11906,68],{},[11,11908,72],{},[74,11910,11911,11921],{},[77,11912,11913],{},[80,11914,11915,11917,11919],{},[83,11916],{},[83,11918,87],{},[83,11920,90],{},[92,11922,11923,11933,11941,11949,11957],{},[80,11924,11925,11927,11929],{},[97,11926,99],{},[97,11928,102],{},[97,11930,11931,108],{},[23,11932,107],{},[80,11934,11935,11937,11939],{},[97,11936,113],{},[97,11938,116],{},[97,11940,119],{},[80,11942,11943,11945,11947],{},[97,11944,124],{},[97,11946,127],{},[97,11948,130],{},[80,11950,11951,11953,11955],{},[97,11952,135],{},[97,11954,138],{},[97,11956,141],{},[80,11958,11959,11961,11963],{},[97,11960,146],{},[97,11962,149],{},[97,11964,152],{},[15,11966,156],{"id":155},[11,11968,159],{},[11,11970,11971,165],{},[23,11972,164],{},[11,11974,11975,171],{},[23,11976,170],{},[11,11978,11979,177],{},[23,11980,176],{},[15,11982,181],{"id":180},[11,11984,184],{},[11,11986,187],{},[15,11988,191],{"id":190},[193,11990,11991,11996,12001,12006,12011,12016],{},[196,11992,11993],{},[199,11994,204],{"href":201,"rel":11995},[203],[196,11997,11998],{},[199,11999,211],{"href":209,"rel":12000},[203],[196,12002,12003],{},[199,12004,218],{"href":216,"rel":12005},[203],[196,12007,12008],{},[199,12009,225],{"href":223,"rel":12010},[203],[196,12012,12013],{},[199,12014,232],{"href":230,"rel":12015},[203],[196,12017,12018],{},[199,12019,239],{"href":237,"rel":12020},[203],[241,12022],{},[11,12024,12025],{},[246,12026,248],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":12028},[12029,12030,12031,12032,12033,12034],{"id":17,"depth":251,"text":18},{"id":35,"depth":251,"text":36},{"id":49,"depth":251,"text":50},{"id":155,"depth":251,"text":156},{"id":180,"depth":251,"text":181},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},{},[277,278,279],{"title":5,"description":261},[284,285,286],{"id":12040,"title":12041,"author":6,"body":12042,"category":259,"date":12244,"description":12245,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":12246,"imageAlt":12247,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":12248,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":12249,"navigation":271,"path":12250,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":12251,"seo":12252,"seoTitle":12253,"stem":12254,"tags":12255,"updated":275,"__hash__":12256},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcar-allowance-is-not-mileage.md","A car allowance is not mileage, and confusing them costs money",{"type":8,"value":12043,"toc":12236},[12044,12047,12051,12061,12071,12074,12078,12084,12087,12090,12093,12097,12100,12107,12110,12179,12183,12186,12193,12197,12200,12203,12205,12229,12231],[11,12045,12046],{},"A monthly car allowance and a mileage payment are different mechanisms that happen to arrive in the same bank account. Treating them as one thing is a reliable way to lose a claim. This post is about employees.",[15,12048,12050],{"id":12049},"what-each-one-is","What each one is",[11,12052,12053,12056,12057,12060],{},[23,12054,12055],{},"A car allowance"," is a fixed sum, usually monthly, paid because your job requires you to have a car available. It is paid whether you drive 200 miles or 20,000. It goes through payroll, and it is ",[23,12058,12059],{},"taxed as ordinary pay",", with income tax and National Insurance deducted like salary.",[11,12062,12063,12066,12067,12070],{},[23,12064,12065],{},"A mileage payment"," is per mile actually driven on business. Paid at or below the approved rate, it is ",[23,12068,12069],{},"not taxable at all",", because it is reimbursing a cost rather than paying you for anything.",[11,12072,12073],{},"The tax treatment is the tell. Money taxed as salary is salary, whatever it is called on the payslip.",[15,12075,12077],{"id":12076},"a-common-and-costly-mistake","A common and costly mistake",[11,12079,12080,12081],{},"Here is the belief worth dismantling: ",[246,12082,12083],{},"\"I get a car allowance, so I cannot claim mileage.\"",[11,12085,12086],{},"Receiving a car allowance does not stop you claiming for business miles. The allowance covers having the car. The mileage covers using it for work. They answer different questions.",[11,12088,12089],{},"In many car allowance arrangements the employer pays a lower pence per mile alongside the allowance, often well below the approved rate. And where an employer reimburses below the approved rate, the employee can claim tax relief on the difference through Mileage Allowance Relief.",[11,12091,12092],{},"So the driver on an allowance plus a low per mile figure can have a sizeable unclaimed relief, and is often the one who thinks there is nothing to claim.",[15,12094,12096],{"id":12095},"working-the-gap-out","Working the gap out",[11,12098,12099],{},"The arithmetic is not complicated, but it needs the mileage to exist as a number.",[11,12101,12102,12103,12106],{},"Take your business miles for the tax year. Multiply by the approved rate (for a car or van in 2026-27, 55p for the first 10,000 miles and 25p after). That is the approved amount. Subtract everything your employer actually paid you ",[23,12104,12105],{},"per mile",". The remainder is what you can claim tax relief on, against your own income tax.",[11,12108,12109],{},"The car allowance itself does not enter this calculation at all. It is salary, it has already been taxed, and it is not a mileage payment. Deducting it from the approved amount, which people do, produces a much smaller number and often a nil claim.",[74,12111,12112,12124],{},[77,12113,12114],{},[80,12115,12116,12118,12121],{},[83,12117],{},[83,12119,12120],{},"Car allowance",[83,12122,12123],{},"Mileage payment",[92,12125,12126,12137,12146,12159,12170],{},[80,12127,12128,12131,12134],{},[97,12129,12130],{},"Paid because",[97,12132,12133],{},"You must have a car",[97,12135,12136],{},"You drove on business",[80,12138,12139,12142,12144],{},[97,12140,12141],{},"Varies with miles",[97,12143,102],{},[97,12145,107],{},[80,12147,12148,12151,12156],{},[97,12149,12150],{},"Taxed",[97,12152,12153,12155],{},[23,12154,107],{},", as pay",[97,12157,12158],{},"No, at or below the approved rate",[80,12160,12161,12164,12168],{},[97,12162,12163],{},"Counts against your approved amount",[97,12165,12166],{},[23,12167,102],{},[97,12169,107],{},[80,12171,12172,12175,12177],{},[97,12173,12174],{},"Employer must provide",[97,12176,102],{},[97,12178,102],{},[15,12180,12182],{"id":12181},"the-other-half-of-the-trap","The other half of the trap",[11,12184,12185],{},"The reverse error exists too, and it is worse.",[11,12187,12188,12189,12192],{},"If your employer pays ",[23,12190,12191],{},"above"," the approved rate per mile, the excess is taxable and should be reported. An employer paying 60p a mile is paying you 5p a mile of taxable income on your first 10,000 business miles (60p against the approved 55p), and 35p a mile after that, when the approved rate drops to 25p. That is a smaller group of people, but the ones affected tend not to know, and the second figure is the one that surprises high-mileage drivers.",[15,12194,12196],{"id":12195},"why-this-needs-a-log-rather-than-an-estimate","Why this needs a log rather than an estimate",[11,12198,12199],{},"Everything above turns on one number: business miles actually driven, in the tax year, with the 10,000 threshold in the right place.",[11,12201,12202],{},"A car allowance arrives whether or not you record anything, which is precisely why people on allowances tend to keep the worst records. There is no monthly claim form forcing the issue, so the miles go unrecorded, and by April there is nothing to build a relief claim from except a guess. A guess is not a claim.",[15,12204,191],{"id":190},[193,12206,12207,12212,12217,12224],{},[196,12208,12209],{},[199,12210,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":12211},[203],[196,12213,12214],{},[199,12215,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":12216},[203],[196,12218,12219],{},[199,12220,12223],{"href":12221,"rel":12222},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-business-travel-mileage\u002Frules-for-tax",[203],"Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage, rules for tax (HMRC)",[196,12225,12226],{},[199,12227,239],{"href":237,"rel":12228},[203],[241,12230],{},[11,12232,12233],{},[246,12234,12235],{},"General information, not tax advice. Check anything that matters with HMRC or your accountant.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":12237},[12238,12239,12240,12241,12242,12243],{"id":12049,"depth":251,"text":12050},{"id":12076,"depth":251,"text":12077},{"id":12095,"depth":251,"text":12096},{"id":12181,"depth":251,"text":12182},{"id":12195,"depth":251,"text":12196},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-03-23","One is taxed as pay, the other is not. Plenty of people receive both, and a surprising number believe the allowance means they cannot claim anything else.","\u002Fblog\u002Fcar-allowance-is-not-mileage.jpg","A calculator keypad in close up","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F5946427\u002Ffree-public-domain-cc0-photo",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcar-allowance-is-not-mileage",[277],{"title":12041,"description":12245},"A car allowance is not mileage","blog\u002Fcar-allowance-is-not-mileage",[284,285,1753],"5uR7InnRcy1I9-t7gZim_yWemeSk7pcygvH3nky3Jvs",{"id":12258,"title":12259,"author":6,"body":12260,"category":259,"date":12463,"description":12464,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":12465,"imageAlt":12466,"imageCredit":12467,"imageCreditUrl":12468,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":569,"imageLicenceUrl":570,"meta":12469,"navigation":271,"path":12470,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":12471,"seo":12474,"seoTitle":12475,"stem":12476,"tags":12477,"updated":275,"__hash__":12480},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-three-countries.md","Electric cars and the mileage rate: three countries, three answers",{"type":8,"value":12261,"toc":12454},[12262,12265,12269,12272,12275,12281,12285,12288,12291,12295,12298,12301,12304,12308,12380,12384,12387,12390,12393,12395,12398,12401,12403,12447,12449],[11,12263,12264],{},"An approved mileage rate is meant to approximate the cost of running a car. Electric cars broke that approximation, and three countries have patched it three different ways.",[15,12266,12268],{"id":12267},"britain-the-same-rate-and-no-questions","Britain: the same rate, and no questions",[11,12270,12271],{},"For a car you own, HMRC applies the approved mileage rates regardless of what is under the bonnet. An electric car gets 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after (for journeys from 6 April 2026), exactly as a petrol one does.",[11,12273,12274],{},"An electric car charged at home costs a fraction of a petrol car per mile in energy, so the approved amount goes much further on the energy part of the bill. That is not profit. The rate also has to cover insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation, which an electric car still has.",[11,12276,12277,12278,12280],{},"The important caveat is that this applies to ",[23,12279,42],{}," car. For a company electric car, the employer can reimburse business mileage tax free at HMRC's advisory electricity rate, which covers electricity alone because the company is already carrying the rest of the cost. HMRC now publishes two figures: from 1 September 2026, 7p a mile for home charging and 15p a mile for public charging, revised quarterly. Using the approved rate for a company EV is a common and costly mistake.",[15,12282,12284],{"id":12283},"ireland-file-it-under-a-petrol-engine","Ireland: file it under a petrol engine",[11,12286,12287],{},"Ireland's civil service rates band by engine capacity, which an electric car does not have. Rather than build a new band, Ireland tells employers to reimburse fully electric vehicles at the rates for the 1,201cc to 1,500cc band, the middle one.",[11,12289,12290],{},"It is a workaround and it is honest about being one. The effect is that an Irish EV driver is paid as though running a mid-sized petrol car, arrived at by administrative convenience rather than measurement.",[15,12292,12294],{"id":12293},"france-an-uplift-on-purpose","France: an uplift, on purpose",[11,12296,12297],{},"France publishes a separate barème kilométrique for fully electric vehicles, with higher figures than the scale for other cars.",[11,12299,12300],{},"This is the only one of the three that is explicitly not a costing exercise. An electric car costs less per kilometre in energy, so a cost based approach would pay it less. France pays it more, deliberately, as an incentive.",[11,12302,12303],{},"It is worth being clear about that, because it is the opposite of what the rate is nominally for. France has decided the barème can carry a policy goal as well as a cost estimate.",[15,12305,12307],{"id":12306},"the-three-side-by-side","The three, side by side",[74,12309,12310,12324],{},[77,12311,12312],{},[80,12313,12314,12316,12318,12321],{},[83,12315],{},[83,12317,9944],{},[83,12319,12320],{},"Ireland",[83,12322,12323],{},"France",[92,12325,12326,12340,12354,12367],{},[80,12327,12328,12331,12334,12337],{},[97,12329,12330],{},"Own EV, business miles",[97,12332,12333],{},"Same rate as petrol",[97,12335,12336],{},"1,201cc to 1,500cc rates",[97,12338,12339],{},"Separate, higher electric scale",[80,12341,12342,12345,12348,12351],{},[97,12343,12344],{},"Rationale",[97,12346,12347],{},"No distinction drawn",[97,12349,12350],{},"Administrative convenience",[97,12352,12353],{},"Deliberate incentive",[80,12355,12356,12359,12362,12365],{},[97,12357,12358],{},"Company EV",[97,12360,12361],{},"Advisory electricity rate: two figures, home and public charging",[97,12363,12364],{},"Employer scheme",[97,12366,12364],{},[80,12368,12369,12371,12374,12377],{},[97,12370,982],{},[97,12372,12373],{},"All running costs, not only energy",[97,12375,12376],{},"All running costs",[97,12378,12379],{},"All running costs except tolls and parking",[15,12381,12383],{"id":12382},"the-bit-that-catches-everyone","The bit that catches everyone",[11,12385,12386],{},"In all three, the trap is the same and it is not the rate. It is the distinction between a car you own and a car your employer provides.",[11,12388,12389],{},"The approved rate, the civil service rate and the barème are all about a vehicle you own and run. A car provided by your employer is a different animal in every one of these systems, because the employer is already paying for the vehicle. In Britain the tax-free figure for a company EV is the much lower, energy-only advisory electricity rate.",[11,12391,12392],{},"People who move from their own car to a company car, or the reverse, can easily carry the old rate with them without noticing. On an EV the gap between the two figures is unusually wide, so the error is unusually expensive.",[15,12394,427],{"id":426},[11,12396,12397],{},"Nothing changes. Date, destination, purpose, distance, at the time.",[11,12399,12400],{},"What does change is that your real cost per mile is now genuinely knowable, because charging is metered in a way petrol at a pump is not. If you log what you actually pay to charge, you can see what the energy for each mile really costs. On a home charged EV in Britain that energy cost sits well below the approved rate, but remember the rate is also meant to cover everything else the car costs you.",[15,12402,191],{"id":190},[193,12404,12405,12410,12415,12421,12426,12433,12440],{},[196,12406,12407],{},[199,12408,239],{"href":237,"rel":12409},[203],[196,12411,12412],{},[199,12413,12223],{"href":12221,"rel":12414},[203],[196,12416,12417],{},[199,12418,12420],{"href":216,"rel":12419},[203],"Advisory fuel rates, including the advisory electricity rates (HMRC)",[196,12422,12423],{},[199,12424,232],{"href":230,"rel":12425},[203],[196,12427,12428],{},[199,12429,12432],{"href":12430,"rel":12431},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.revenue.ie\u002Fen\u002Femploying-people\u002Femployee-expenses\u002Ftravel-and-subsistence\u002Fcivil-service-rates.aspx",[203],"Civil service rates (Revenue)",[196,12434,12435],{},[199,12436,12439],{"href":12437,"rel":12438},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.impots.gouv.fr\u002Fparticulier\u002Ffrais-de-transport",[203],"Frais de transport (impots.gouv.fr)",[196,12441,12442],{},[199,12443,12446],{"href":12444,"rel":12445},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.impots.gouv.fr\u002Fsimulateur-bareme-kilometrique",[203],"Simulateur du barème kilométrique (impots.gouv.fr)",[241,12448],{},[11,12450,12451],{},[246,12452,12453],{},"General information for drivers in the UK, Ireland and France, not tax advice. Rates and uplifts change: check the current figures with the authority you file under.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":12455},[12456,12457,12458,12459,12460,12461,12462],{"id":12267,"depth":251,"text":12268},{"id":12283,"depth":251,"text":12284},{"id":12293,"depth":251,"text":12294},{"id":12306,"depth":251,"text":12307},{"id":12382,"depth":251,"text":12383},{"id":426,"depth":251,"text":427},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-03-16","Britain pays an EV the same as a diesel, Ireland files it under an engine size, and France gives it its own higher scale. None of them is pure costing.","\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-three-countries.jpg","An electric car plugged in at a public charging point","Photo by Oast House Archive, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=132168324",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-three-countries",[277,278,12472,12473],"ie","fr",{"title":12259,"description":12464},"Electric cars and the mileage rate in three countries","blog\u002Felectric-cars-three-countries",[1163,5431,12478,12479],"ireland","france","RvA5o4O3kv44jOlpQ4Lsh-ZLbUOEgSV3soE2r_PX_RE",{"id":12482,"title":12483,"author":6,"body":12484,"category":259,"date":12753,"description":12754,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":12755,"imageAlt":12756,"imageCredit":12757,"imageCreditUrl":12758,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":12759,"navigation":271,"path":12760,"ratesFor":281,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":12761,"seo":12763,"seoTitle":281,"stem":12764,"tags":12765,"updated":275,"__hash__":12766},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-mileage-log-must-prove.md","What a mileage log has to prove, wherever you file it",{"type":8,"value":12485,"toc":12744},[12486,12489,12493,12496,12519,12522,12526,12529,12532,12535,12539,12542,12548,12554,12560,12566,12570,12573,12579,12585,12589,12691,12695,12698,12701,12703,12737,12739],[11,12487,12488],{},"The interesting thing about comparing mileage systems is how much they disagree about the money and how little they disagree about the paperwork.",[15,12490,12492],{"id":12491},"the-four-facts-everywhere","The four facts, everywhere",[11,12494,12495],{},"Britain, America, Germany and France ask for the same four things about a business journey:",[193,12497,12498,12502,12508,12513],{},[196,12499,12500,2280],{},[23,12501,813],{},[196,12503,12504,12507],{},[23,12505,12506],{},"Where you went",", specifically enough to identify it",[196,12509,12510,12512],{},[23,12511,1876],{},", in business terms",[196,12514,12515,12518],{},[23,12516,12517],{},"How far"," it was",[11,12520,12521],{},"The four facts are the core everywhere, and there is no jurisdiction where a bare monthly total is sufficient. Some systems ask for more: Germany's logbook (Fahrtenbuch) wants odometer readings, and the IRS also wants the total miles the car drove in the year.",[15,12523,12525],{"id":12524},"contemporaneous-and-they-mean-it","Contemporaneous, and they mean it",[11,12527,12528],{},"The word that does the work is contemporaneous: written at the time, or close to it.",[11,12530,12531],{},"The IRS is the most explicit about this, asking for records made at or near the time of the journey, on the reasoning that a record made later is a reconstruction and a reconstruction is an estimate. HMRC's wording is softer but the expectation is the same in substance, and the practical test is identical: could you produce, journey by journey, something you did not invent in April?",[11,12533,12534],{},"This is a common and costly mistake. Not fraud, not exaggeration, just a year of driving reconstructed from a diary and a rough sense of the route, which produces round numbers, plausible distances and nothing that survives being questioned.",[15,12536,12538],{"id":12537},"what-makes-a-claim-look-wrong","What makes a claim look wrong",[11,12540,12541],{},"In our view, the patterns that tend to invite questions are also broadly shared.",[11,12543,12544,12547],{},[23,12545,12546],{},"Round numbers."," Real journeys are 11.2 miles and 33.8 miles. A log of 10s, 20s and 50s is a log of estimates.",[11,12549,12550,12553],{},[23,12551,12552],{},"Totals that do not reconcile with the odometer."," If your log says 8,000 miles and the car did 20,000, the gap is not itself a problem, but it should be explicable. If the log says 22,000 and the car did 20,000, that is a problem.",[11,12555,12556,12559],{},[23,12557,12558],{},"Commuting inside the claim."," Every one of these systems excludes the ordinary commute in one way or another, and a claim that quietly includes it is easy to spot.",[11,12561,12562,12565],{},[23,12563,12564],{},"A claim that ends exactly at a threshold."," Ending the year at 9,998 business miles is not evidence of anything, but it is the kind of coincidence that invites a second look.",[15,12567,12569],{"id":12568},"what-differs","What differs",[11,12571,12572],{},"Only two things, really.",[11,12574,12575,12578],{},[23,12576,12577],{},"Who keeps the record."," In Britain and America the driver keeps it and produces it if asked. In systems built around employer reimbursement, such as Spain and Ireland, the employer's payroll records carry more of the weight, though the driver still needs to be able to justify the underlying journeys.",[11,12580,12581,12584],{},[23,12582,12583],{},"How long to keep it."," The retention periods differ by jurisdiction, and the safe answer everywhere is longer than the year the claim relates to. In the UK, employees who file a tax return should keep records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year, and the self-employed for at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline. If you might backdate a claim, keep the records for every year you claim.",[15,12586,12588],{"id":12587},"the-practical-version","The practical version",[74,12590,12591,12606],{},[77,12592,12593],{},[80,12594,12595,12598,12600,12602,12604],{},[83,12596,12597],{},"The record must",[83,12599,9944],{},[83,12601,9947],{},[83,12603,11468],{},[83,12605,12323],{},[92,12607,12608,12621,12634,12647,12660,12677],{},[80,12609,12610,12613,12615,12617,12619],{},[97,12611,12612],{},"Date each journey",[97,12614,107],{},[97,12616,107],{},[97,12618,107],{},[97,12620,107],{},[80,12622,12623,12626,12628,12630,12632],{},[97,12624,12625],{},"Name the destination",[97,12627,107],{},[97,12629,107],{},[97,12631,107],{},[97,12633,107],{},[80,12635,12636,12639,12641,12643,12645],{},[97,12637,12638],{},"State the business purpose",[97,12640,107],{},[97,12642,107],{},[97,12644,107],{},[97,12646,107],{},[80,12648,12649,12652,12654,12656,12658],{},[97,12650,12651],{},"Give the distance",[97,12653,107],{},[97,12655,107],{},[97,12657,107],{},[97,12659,107],{},[80,12661,12662,12665,12668,12673,12675],{},[97,12663,12664],{},"Be made at the time",[97,12666,12667],{},"Expected",[97,12669,12670],{},[23,12671,12672],{},"Explicitly",[97,12674,12667],{},[97,12676,12667],{},[80,12678,12679,12682,12684,12686,12689],{},[97,12680,12681],{},"Exclude commuting",[97,12683,107],{},[97,12685,107],{},[97,12687,12688],{},"Separate allowance",[97,12690,107],{},[15,12692,12694],{"id":12693},"why-this-is-an-argument-for-automation","Why this is an argument for automation",[11,12696,12697],{},"The four facts are easy to know and easy to lose. Three of them, the date, the destination and the distance, are things a phone in a moving car already knows. Only the reason is genuinely yours to supply.",[11,12699,12700],{},"That is the whole design argument for recording a drive as it happens rather than writing it up later: it moves three of the four facts from memory into evidence, and leaves you with one thing to add while you still remember it.",[15,12702,191],{"id":190},[193,12704,12705,12712,12717,12722,12727,12732],{},[196,12706,12707],{},[199,12708,12711],{"href":12709,"rel":12710},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Fpublications\u002Fp463",[203],"Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)",[196,12713,12714],{},[199,12715,10043],{"href":10041,"rel":12716},[203],[196,12718,12719],{},[199,12720,2181],{"href":2179,"rel":12721},[203],[196,12723,12724],{},[199,12725,1711],{"href":1709,"rel":12726},[203],[196,12728,12729],{},[199,12730,1718],{"href":1716,"rel":12731},[203],[196,12733,12734],{},[199,12735,1672],{"href":1670,"rel":12736},[203],[241,12738],{},[11,12740,12741],{},[246,12742,12743],{},"General information, not tax advice. Retention periods and evidence rules vary: check with the authority you file under.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":12745},[12746,12747,12748,12749,12750,12751,12752],{"id":12491,"depth":251,"text":12492},{"id":12524,"depth":251,"text":12525},{"id":12537,"depth":251,"text":12538},{"id":12568,"depth":251,"text":12569},{"id":12587,"depth":251,"text":12588},{"id":12693,"depth":251,"text":12694},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-03-09","Four tax authorities, four rate structures, and near-identical expectations about evidence. The rate varies. What counts as a record barely does.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-mileage-log-must-prove.jpg","A hand writing notes at a desk beside a mug of coffee","Photo by Green Chameleon","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Fwriting-drawing-8Y0EDX4VP9",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-a-mileage-log-must-prove",[1747,10077,12762],"de",{"title":12483,"description":12754},"blog\u002Fwhat-a-mileage-log-must-prove",[1163,2700,284,10081],"GKEAirmFfl-jKf2vLq3Ny6vtJe8ddsZN7JxChQ9r3_o",{"id":12768,"title":12769,"author":6,"body":12770,"category":259,"date":12987,"description":12988,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":12989,"imageAlt":12990,"imageCredit":12991,"imageCreditUrl":12992,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":12993,"navigation":271,"path":12994,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":12995,"seo":12997,"seoTitle":12998,"stem":12999,"tags":13000,"updated":275,"__hash__":13001},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-years-that-do-not-start-in-january.md","Tax years that do not start in January, and what they do to a claim",{"type":8,"value":12771,"toc":12978},[12772,12775,12779,12782,12785,12788,12792,12795,12798,12805,12809,12812,12815,12819,12822,12825,12829,12905,12909,12912,12918,12924,12927,12929,12971,12973],[11,12773,12774],{},"Most of the arithmetic in a mileage claim is obvious. The date the counter goes back to zero is not, and it is the one that quietly ruins totals.",[15,12776,12778],{"id":12777},"britain-resets-on-6-april","Britain resets on 6 April",[11,12780,12781],{},"The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. For an employee, that is the date the 10,000 mile threshold for cars and vans resets (the self-employed count over their accounting period instead). It is the reason a journey on 4 April can fall in the 25p band and the identical journey on 7 April in the 55p band. The 55p rate applies to journeys from 6 April 2026; it was 45p before that.",[11,12783,12784],{},"The 6 April date is a historical accident, a leftover of the old Lady Day quarter day and the calendar reform of 1752, and it survives because moving it would be more trouble than living with it.",[11,12786,12787],{},"For a driver, the consequence is concrete. Check where you are against 10,000 so each trip is banded correctly. The count restarts on 6 April.",[15,12789,12791],{"id":12790},"most-of-europe-resets-on-1-january","Most of Europe resets on 1 January",[11,12793,12794],{},"Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Ireland all work on the calendar year.",[11,12796,12797],{},"For Germany and the Netherlands this is simple, because their rates are flat: there is no threshold to reset, so the year boundary only matters for which year's figure applies.",[11,12799,12800,12801,12804],{},"For France and Ireland it matters much more, because both taper the rate as annual distance rises. A French driver's rate depends on how far they have already driven ",[23,12802,12803],{},"this calendar year",", so the reset on 1 January genuinely changes what the next kilometre is worth.",[15,12806,12808],{"id":12807},"japan-taxes-the-calendar-year-and-changes-rules-in-april","Japan taxes the calendar year, and changes rules in April",[11,12810,12811],{},"Japan taxes individuals on the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December. Its government fiscal year runs April to March, which is when rules such as the commuting ceilings tend to change.",[11,12813,12814],{},"Because Japan has no national per kilometre business rate, the year boundary does not reset a threshold. It matters for the monthly commuting allowance ceilings and for when an employer's own scheme rolls over, which is a payroll question rather than a mileage one.",[15,12816,12818],{"id":12817},"america-runs-the-calendar-year-with-mid-year-rates","America runs the calendar year, with mid-year rates",[11,12820,12821],{},"The US tax year is the calendar year, but the IRS reserves the right to change the standard mileage rate part way through when fuel moves sharply. It did so in 2022, applying one rate to January to June and another to July to December, and again in 2026: 72.5 cents a mile to 30 June, 76 cents from 1 July.",[11,12823,12824],{},"That produces a different kind of boundary problem: not a threshold resetting, but two rates inside a single year. A US log has to know which side of 30 June a journey fell on, which is a date that appears nowhere in the tax year itself.",[15,12826,12828],{"id":12827},"the-boundaries-side-by-side","The boundaries side by side",[74,12830,12831,12846],{},[77,12832,12833],{},[80,12834,12835,12837,12840,12843],{},[83,12836],{},[83,12838,12839],{},"Year starts",[83,12841,12842],{},"Threshold to reset",[83,12844,12845],{},"Mid-year rate changes",[92,12847,12848,12859,12871,12882,12894],{},[80,12849,12850,12852,12854,12857],{},[97,12851,9944],{},[97,12853,5111],{},[97,12855,12856],{},"Yes, 10,000 miles",[97,12858,102],{},[80,12860,12861,12863,12866,12869],{},[97,12862,11468],{},[97,12864,12865],{},"1 January",[97,12867,12868],{},"No, flat rate",[97,12870,102],{},[80,12872,12873,12875,12877,12880],{},[97,12874,12323],{},[97,12876,12865],{},[97,12878,12879],{},"Yes, several bands",[97,12881,102],{},[80,12883,12884,12887,12889,12892],{},[97,12885,12886],{},"Japan",[97,12888,12865],{},[97,12890,12891],{},"No national rate",[97,12893,116],{},[80,12895,12896,12898,12900,12902],{},[97,12897,9947],{},[97,12899,12865],{},[97,12901,102],{},[97,12903,12904],{},"Occasionally",[15,12906,12908],{"id":12907},"why-this-catches-people-out","Why this catches people out",[11,12910,12911],{},"Two failure modes, both common.",[11,12913,12914,12917],{},[23,12915,12916],{},"The spreadsheet that runs January to December in a country that does not."," A British driver totalling by calendar year gets a threshold in the wrong place and a claim that does not match what HMRC expects. It usually looks close enough to go unnoticed.",[11,12919,12920,12923],{},[23,12921,12922],{},"The move."," Someone who has driven for work in one country and starts in another carries the old boundary in their head. The rate is the thing people check when they move. The year start is not.",[11,12925,12926],{},"Milometry holds the year start as part of the scheme rather than as a global setting, so switching schemes moves the boundary with it. The UK scheme resets on 6 April, the calendar year schemes on 1 January, and the running total that decides which band a journey falls into follows the same boundary.",[15,12928,191],{"id":190},[193,12930,12931,12936,12942,12947,12952,12959,12966],{},[196,12932,12933],{},[199,12934,239],{"href":237,"rel":12935},[203],[196,12937,12938],{},[199,12939,12941],{"href":223,"rel":12940},[203],"Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage (HMRC)",[196,12943,12944],{},[199,12945,12439],{"href":12437,"rel":12946},[203],[196,12948,12949],{},[199,12950,10036],{"href":10034,"rel":12951},[203],[196,12953,12954],{},[199,12955,12958],{"href":12956,"rel":12957},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nta.go.jp\u002Ftaxes\u002Fshiraberu\u002Ftaxanswer\u002Fgensen\u002F2585.htm",[203],"No.2585 マイカー・自転車通勤者の通勤手当 (National Tax Agency)",[196,12960,12961],{},[199,12962,12965],{"href":12963,"rel":12964},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nta.go.jp\u002Ftaxes\u002Fshiraberu\u002Ftaxanswer\u002Fshotoku\u002F2020.htm",[203],"No.2020 確定申告: income tax covers 1 January to 31 December (National Tax Agency)",[196,12967,12968],{},[199,12969,2669],{"href":230,"rel":12970},[203],[241,12972],{},[11,12974,12975],{},[246,12976,12977],{},"General information, not tax advice. Check the year boundary and the current rate with the authority you file under.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":12979},[12980,12981,12982,12983,12984,12985,12986],{"id":12777,"depth":251,"text":12778},{"id":12790,"depth":251,"text":12791},{"id":12807,"depth":251,"text":12808},{"id":12817,"depth":251,"text":12818},{"id":12827,"depth":251,"text":12828},{"id":12907,"depth":251,"text":12908},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-03-02","Britain resets on 6 April, most of Europe and Japan on 1 January. If your mileage threshold resets on a date you have not noticed, your claim is wrong.","\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-years-that-do-not-start-in-january.jpg","A mug, a pen and paper clips on a white desk","Photo by Bench Accounting","https:\u002F\u002Fstocksnap.io\u002Fphoto\u002Foffice-desk-0NML1Q2CFH",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-years-that-do-not-start-in-january",[277,12762,11150,12473,12472,12996,10077],"jp",{"title":12769,"description":12988},"Tax years that do not start in January","blog\u002Ftax-years-that-do-not-start-in-january",[1163,284,5207],"6XGFdWIF4Jyb9Vih3F3h4_hJQropXA7nM31BIWnPT-A",{"id":13003,"title":13004,"author":6,"body":13005,"category":259,"date":13194,"description":13195,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":13196,"imageAlt":13197,"imageCredit":13198,"imageCreditUrl":13199,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":13200,"navigation":271,"path":13201,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":13202,"seo":13204,"seoTitle":281,"stem":13205,"tags":13206,"updated":275,"__hash__":13207},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-rate-british-peculiarity.md","The 5p passenger rate is a British peculiarity",{"type":8,"value":13006,"toc":13187},[13007,13010,13014,13020,13023,13026,13030,13033,13036,13039,13043,13046,13049,13052,13055,13127,13129,13132,13135,13138,13140,13180,13182],[11,13008,13009],{},"In Britain it exists only if your employer chooses to pay it. In most other countries it does not exist at all.",[15,13011,13013],{"id":13012},"what-britain-offers","What Britain offers",[11,13015,13016,13017,13019],{},"If you are an employee and carry a colleague on a journey that is business travel for both of you, your employer can pay you up to an extra ",[23,13018,3619],{},", tax free, on top of the approved mileage rate. It works in your own car or van or a company one. There is no passenger rate for the self-employed.",[11,13021,13022],{},"Two conditions do most of the work. The passenger has to be a fellow employee, so clients and family do not count. And the journey has to be business travel for them as well as for you, so a colleague you are dropping at home on the way does not qualify.",[11,13024,13025],{},"It is small money per journey and unremarkable per year unless you routinely travel in pairs. Four people in one car (the driver and three colleagues) on a 200-mile round trip is £30 of passenger payments, on a journey already worth £110 at the 55p approved car rate.",[15,13027,13029],{"id":13028},"the-catch-that-makes-it-rare","The catch that makes it rare",[11,13031,13032],{},"Unlike the main rate, there is no relief mechanism behind it.",[11,13034,13035],{},"If your employer pays below the approved mileage rate, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall through Mileage Allowance Relief. If your employer does not pay the passenger supplement, that is the end of it. You cannot claim relief for it on a return.",[11,13037,13038],{},"So the 5p only exists if your employer has chosen to operate it. Many have never been asked.",[15,13040,13042],{"id":13041},"few-other-countries-have-one","Few other countries have one",[11,13044,13045],{},"Austria does: its official Kilometergeld adds 15 cents a kilometre for each passenger, which an employer can pay tax free on top of the 50-cent rate.",[11,13047,13048],{},"Germany used to. The Mitnahmeentschädigung paid a supplement per passenger per kilometre, and the 2014 reform of the travel expense rules removed it. Current German rules carry no passenger supplement.",[11,13050,13051],{},"France, Spain, Ireland, Japan and the United States do not offer one either. The rate is the rate, whoever is in the other seats.",[11,13053,13054],{},"This matters if you drive for work in more than one country, or if you have moved. Assuming the 5p exists because it exists at home is a reliable way to overstate a foreign claim, and it is the kind of error that is invisible until somebody checks.",[74,13056,13057,13065],{},[77,13058,13059],{},[80,13060,13061,13063],{},[83,13062],{},[83,13064,11072],{},[92,13066,13067,13077,13084,13095,13101,13108,13114,13120],{},[80,13068,13069,13071],{},[97,13070,9944],{},[97,13072,13073,13076],{},[23,13074,13075],{},"5p per passenger mile",", employer's option",[80,13078,13079,13081],{},[97,13080,11468],{},[97,13082,13083],{},"None since 2014",[80,13085,13086,13089],{},[97,13087,13088],{},"Austria",[97,13090,13091,13094],{},[23,13092,13093],{},"15 cents per passenger km",", on top of the Kilometergeld",[80,13096,13097,13099],{},[97,13098,12323],{},[97,13100,6439],{},[80,13102,13103,13106],{},[97,13104,13105],{},"Spain",[97,13107,6439],{},[80,13109,13110,13112],{},[97,13111,12320],{},[97,13113,6439],{},[80,13115,13116,13118],{},[97,13117,9947],{},[97,13119,6439],{},[80,13121,13122,13124],{},[97,13123,12886],{},[97,13125,13126],{},"Whatever the employer's policy says",[15,13128,3792],{"id":3791},[11,13130,13131],{},"Where an employer does pay the 5p, the usual problem is that nobody wrote down who was in the car.",[11,13133,13134],{},"The mileage is captured automatically by anything competent. The passengers are not, and cannot be: it is a fact about the journey that only the driver knows. If your employer pays it, the passengers have to be recorded on the trip at the time, with the same discipline as the destination and the purpose.",[11,13136,13137],{},"Milometry has a passengers field on the trip for exactly this, and shows the supplement as a separate figure where the scheme has one, ready if your employer pays it. On a scheme that does not, it stays out, because adding 5p to a German claim would be inventing money.",[15,13139,191],{"id":190},[193,13141,13142,13147,13152,13157,13162,13167,13173],{},[196,13143,13144],{},[199,13145,239],{"href":237,"rel":13146},[203],[196,13148,13149],{},[199,13150,12223],{"href":12221,"rel":13151},[203],[196,13153,13154],{},[199,13155,1692],{"href":1690,"rel":13156},[203],[196,13158,13159],{},[199,13160,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":13161},[203],[196,13163,13164],{},[199,13165,3833],{"href":844,"rel":13166},[203],[196,13168,13169],{},[199,13170,13172],{"href":11558,"rel":13171},[203],"§ 5 Bundesreisekostengesetz: Wegstreckenentschädigung",[196,13174,13175],{},[199,13176,13179],{"href":13177,"rel":13178},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bmf.gv.at\u002Fthemen\u002Fsteuern\u002Fkraftfahrzeuge\u002Fkilometergeld.html",[203],"Kilometergeld (Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Austria)",[241,13181],{},[11,13183,13184],{},[246,13185,13186],{},"General information, not tax advice. Check with HMRC or your accountant before relying on the passenger supplement.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":13188},[13189,13190,13191,13192,13193],{"id":13012,"depth":251,"text":13013},{"id":13028,"depth":251,"text":13029},{"id":13041,"depth":251,"text":13042},{"id":3791,"depth":251,"text":3792},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-02-23","Carry a colleague on a business trip in Britain and your employer can pay an extra 5p a mile, tax free. Germany dropped its equivalent in 2014.","\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-rate-british-peculiarity.jpg","Several people crowded into an open topped car in an old photograph","Photo by Michel Achiel Renatus Declercq (1906-1963)","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=61307053",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-rate-british-peculiarity",[277,1746,12762,13203],"at",{"title":13004,"description":13195},"blog\u002Fpassenger-rate-british-peculiarity",[284,1163,3861],"swXurOEEE2w93TpGWjPHHyXfA2t1fnhAs4aV7YD3EDY",{"id":13209,"title":13210,"author":6,"body":13211,"category":259,"date":13427,"description":13428,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":13429,"imageAlt":13430,"imageCredit":13431,"imageCreditUrl":13432,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":8532,"imageLicenceUrl":8533,"meta":13433,"navigation":271,"path":13434,"ratesFor":273,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":13435,"seo":13436,"seoTitle":281,"stem":13437,"tags":13438,"updated":275,"__hash__":13440},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwho-pays-for-the-commute.md","Who pays for the commute: four countries, four answers",{"type":8,"value":13212,"toc":13418},[13213,13216,13220,13223,13226,13230,13233,13240,13243,13247,13250,13257,13260,13264,13267,13270,13274,13372,13376,13379,13382,13384,13411,13413],[11,13214,13215],{},"The drive from your house to your usual place of work is the most common business-adjacent journey there is, and no two countries have decided the same thing about it.",[15,13217,13219],{"id":13218},"britain-it-does-not-exist","Britain: it does not exist",[11,13221,13222],{},"HMRC's position for employees is clean and unforgiving. Ordinary commuting, travel between your home and a permanent workplace, is private travel. It is not claimable, your employer cannot reimburse it tax free, and no amount of it counts towards the 10,000 mile threshold.",[11,13224,13225],{},"The interesting part is the exceptions, which is where the 24-month rule and the definition of a temporary workplace do the real work. Travel to a site you attend for a task of limited duration or a temporary purpose is generally business travel. A site stops being temporary if you spend, or expect to spend, 40% or more of your working time there over a period of more than 24 months. Travel to the office you go to every day is not business travel.",[15,13227,13229],{"id":13228},"germany-it-has-its-own-allowance","Germany: it has its own allowance",[11,13231,13232],{},"Germany reaches the opposite conclusion and builds a separate mechanism for it.",[11,13234,13235,13236,13239],{},"The Entfernungspauschale is a commuting allowance, deducted against income, and it works on arithmetic of its own: it counts the ",[23,13237,13238],{},"one way"," distance, not the round trip, and it applies whatever the mode of transport. Walk, cycle, drive or take the train, the allowance is the same, because it is compensating the distance rather than the vehicle.",[11,13241,13242],{},"That is a genuinely different philosophy. Britain says the commute is a private choice about where to live. Germany says it is a cost of being employed.",[15,13244,13246],{"id":13245},"japan-a-monthly-ceiling-banded-by-distance","Japan: a monthly ceiling, banded by distance",[11,13248,13249],{},"Japan recognises the commute too, but through payroll rather than a deduction.",[11,13251,13252,13253,13256],{},"The National Tax Agency publishes a ",[23,13254,13255],{},"monthly ceiling"," on how much an employer can pay an employee, tax free, towards commuting. The ceiling is banded by the one way distance between home and work: further away, larger tax free allowance.",[11,13258,13259],{},"Two features surprise outsiders. It is a ceiling on the employer's payment rather than an entitlement, so an employer who pays nothing is doing nothing wrong. And there is a floor: very short commutes are taxable in full, on the reasoning that you could have walked.",[15,13261,13263],{"id":13262},"america-personal-with-unusual-firmness","America: personal, with unusual firmness",[11,13265,13266],{},"The IRS treats commuting as a personal expense, and says so more explicitly than most. Travel between home and a regular place of business is not deductible, and the guidance goes out of its way to close the obvious workarounds, such as carrying tools or making a business call on the way.",[11,13268,13269],{},"The American exceptions are similar in spirit to the British ones and turn on whether the workplace is temporary, and on whether you have a qualifying home office that makes the first journey of the day a business one.",[15,13271,13273],{"id":13272},"the-four-side-by-side","The four, side by side",[74,13275,13276,13290],{},[77,13277,13278],{},[80,13279,13280,13282,13284,13286,13288],{},[83,13281],{},[83,13283,9944],{},[83,13285,11468],{},[83,13287,12886],{},[83,13289,9947],{},[92,13291,13292,13315,13329,13344,13359],{},[80,13293,13294,13297,13301,13306,13311],{},[97,13295,13296],{},"Commute recognised",[97,13298,13299],{},[23,13300,102],{},[97,13302,13303,13305],{},[23,13304,107],{},", own allowance",[97,13307,13308,13310],{},[23,13309,107],{},", monthly ceiling",[97,13312,13313],{},[23,13314,102],{},[80,13316,13317,13319,13321,13324,13327],{},[97,13318,8005],{},[97,13320,116],{},[97,13322,13323],{},"Deduction against income",[97,13325,13326],{},"Tax free employer payment",[97,13328,116],{},[80,13330,13331,13334,13336,13339,13342],{},[97,13332,13333],{},"Distance counted",[97,13335,116],{},[97,13337,13338],{},"One way",[97,13340,13341],{},"One way, banded",[97,13343,116],{},[80,13345,13346,13349,13351,13354,13357],{},[97,13347,13348],{},"Short journeys",[97,13350,116],{},[97,13352,13353],{},"Allowed",[97,13355,13356],{},"Taxable in full below a floor",[97,13358,116],{},[80,13360,13361,13364,13366,13368,13370],{},[97,13362,13363],{},"Depends on transport used",[97,13365,116],{},[97,13367,102],{},[97,13369,102],{},[97,13371,116],{},[15,13373,13375],{"id":13374},"why-this-matters-to-a-log","Why this matters to a log",[11,13377,13378],{},"If you drive in a country that recognises the commute, your record has to be able to tell a commute from a business journey, and to state the one way distance. If you drive in one that does not, it has to keep commuting out of the claim entirely.",[11,13380,13381],{},"Either way the requirement is the same: the log has to know which journeys were which, at the time, rather than have you decide in April. Milometry handles this by letting you tag the places you go regularly, so home and your usual workplace are recognised and the drives between them are treated the way your scheme expects.",[15,13383,191],{"id":190},[193,13385,13386,13391,13396,13401,13406],{},[196,13387,13388],{},[199,13389,2181],{"href":2179,"rel":13390},[203],[196,13392,13393],{},[199,13394,2160],{"href":2158,"rel":13395},[203],[196,13397,13398],{},[199,13399,13172],{"href":11558,"rel":13400},[203],[196,13402,13403],{},[199,13404,12958],{"href":12956,"rel":13405},[203],[196,13407,13408],{},[199,13409,12711],{"href":12709,"rel":13410},[203],[241,13412],{},[11,13414,13415],{},[246,13416,13417],{},"General information for drivers in the UK, Germany, Japan and the US, not tax advice. Check anything that matters with the authority you file under.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":13419},[13420,13421,13422,13423,13424,13425,13426],{"id":13218,"depth":251,"text":13219},{"id":13228,"depth":251,"text":13229},{"id":13245,"depth":251,"text":13246},{"id":13262,"depth":251,"text":13263},{"id":13272,"depth":251,"text":13273},{"id":13374,"depth":251,"text":13375},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-02-16","Britain refuses to recognise it, Germany gives it an allowance, Japan caps it by distance, and America treats it as personal. One journey, four verdicts.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwho-pays-for-the-commute.jpg","Heavy queuing traffic on a multi lane urban motorway","Photo by B137, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=48998674",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwho-pays-for-the-commute",[277,12762,12996,10077],{"title":13210,"description":13428},"blog\u002Fwho-pays-for-the-commute",[1163,2257,11599,13439],"japan","wKTDpwn1IHj0DmFyWY4iC2-m-hQ6vzXhseUunhiIDCo",{"id":13442,"title":13443,"author":6,"body":13444,"category":259,"date":13643,"description":13644,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":13645,"imageAlt":13646,"imageCredit":13647,"imageCreditUrl":13648,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":13649,"navigation":271,"path":13650,"ratesFor":13651,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":13652,"seo":13653,"seoTitle":13654,"stem":13655,"tags":13656,"updated":275,"__hash__":13657},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Firs-rate-2023-65-5-cents.md","The IRS moves to 65.5 cents, and Britain does not move at all",{"type":8,"value":13445,"toc":13635},[13446,13453,13460,13463,13467,13470,13473,13476,13480,13483,13486,13489,13493,13496,13499,13502,13568,13572,13578,13581,13584,13588,13591,13594,13596,13629,13631],[5215,13447,13448],{},[11,13449,13450,13452],{},[23,13451,5221],{}," this post was written in February 2023 and its figures are 2023 figures. Since then the IRS business rate has been 67 cents (2024), 70 cents (2025), 72.5 cents (1 January to 30 June 2026) and 76 cents (from 1 July 2026). The UK car and van rate rose from 45p to 55p for journeys from 6 April 2026 (announced 21 May 2026), its first change since 2011.",[11,13454,13455,13456,13459],{},"The IRS standard mileage rate for business use is ",[23,13457,13458],{},"65.5 cents a mile for 2023",", up from 62.5 cents in the second half of 2022. Britain's approved rate is 45p, where it has been since April 2011.",[11,13461,13462],{},"The gap in the numbers is smaller than it looks. The gap in how the two are maintained is enormous.",[15,13464,13466],{"id":13465},"america-revises-britain-declares","America revises, Britain declares",[11,13468,13469],{},"The IRS sets its rate annually, based on a study of the fixed and variable costs of running a car. When fuel moves sharply enough, it will revise mid-year rather than wait: it did exactly that in 2022, lifting the rate on 1 July because petrol had run away from the figure set in January.",[11,13471,13472],{},"That is a rate that is maintained. It can be too low for a given driver in a given year, but the mechanism is pointed at the actual cost of motoring and is checked against it.",[11,13474,13475],{},"Britain, at the time of writing, sets a figure and leaves it. 45p was set in 2011 and has survived a decade in which fuel, insurance, tyres and servicing have all risen substantially. There is no annual review that produces a number, and no trigger that forces one.",[15,13477,13479],{"id":13478},"what-that-does-to-a-driver","What that does to a driver",[11,13481,13482],{},"For an American, the rate broadly tracks costs, so the claim broadly covers them.",[11,13484,13485],{},"For a British driver, the rate has been slowly detaching from reality. The consequence is not that claims get refused. It is that the approved amount covers less of the cost each year, and the shortfall is absorbed by the driver rather than by anyone who decided anything.",[11,13487,13488],{},"The drivers who feel it first are the ones running older, thirstier or more heavily used vehicles, where the real cost per mile was already above average.",[15,13490,13492],{"id":13491},"the-banding-difference","The banding difference",[11,13494,13495],{},"The other structural difference is the threshold.",[11,13497,13498],{},"The IRS rate applies to every business mile at the same rate, all year. There is no equivalent of Britain's drop to 25p after 10,000 miles.",[11,13500,13501],{},"For a high mileage driver this dwarfs the headline gap. A British driver covering 30,000 business miles gets 45p on the first third and 25p on the rest, blending to a little under 32p. An American gets the full rate on all 30,000.",[74,13503,13504,13516],{},[77,13505,13506],{},[80,13507,13508,13510,13513],{},[83,13509],{},[83,13511,13512],{},"US, 2023",[83,13514,13515],{},"UK, 2023",[92,13517,13518,13529,13539,13550,13558],{},[80,13519,13520,13523,13526],{},[97,13521,13522],{},"Business rate",[97,13524,13525],{},"65.5 cents per mile",[97,13527,13528],{},"45p per mile, then 25p",[80,13530,13531,13534,13536],{},[97,13532,13533],{},"Banded by annual distance",[97,13535,102],{},[97,13537,13538],{},"Yes, at 10,000 miles",[80,13540,13541,13544,13547],{},[97,13542,13543],{},"How it is set",[97,13545,13546],{},"Annual cost study, revised mid-year if needed",[97,13548,13549],{},"Set in 2011, unchanged",[80,13551,13552,13554,13556],{},[97,13553,11072],{},[97,13555,6439],{},[97,13557,9908],{},[80,13559,13560,13563,13566],{},[97,13561,13562],{},"Commuting",[97,13564,13565],{},"Not deductible",[97,13567,11045],{},[15,13569,13571],{"id":13570},"who-can-actually-use-it","Who can actually use it",[11,13573,13574,13575,13577],{},"One caveat that catches British readers admiring the American rate: most US ",[23,13576,9816],{}," cannot deduct an unreimbursed business mile at all, because unreimbursed employee expenses were suspended as an itemised deduction from 2018. (That suspension was due to end after 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 made it permanent.) The standard mileage rate mainly serves the self employed, and employees whose employers run an accountable reimbursement plan.",[11,13579,13580],{},"Britain is the more generous of the two to an ordinary employee, because Mileage Allowance Relief gives you tax relief on the gap when your employer pays below the approved rate. There is no American equivalent for most people.",[11,13582,13583],{},"So: the US rate is better maintained and better for the self employed. The UK system is better for employees. Neither is simply more generous.",[15,13585,13587],{"id":13586},"the-bit-both-agree-on","The bit both agree on",[11,13589,13590],{},"Both tax authorities expect a contemporaneous record, and both are unimpressed by reconstructions. The IRS is unusually explicit that a log should be made at or near the time of the journey. HMRC's expectation is the same in substance even where the wording is softer.",[11,13592,13593],{},"A well maintained rate applied to journeys you never wrote down is worth exactly as much as a badly maintained one.",[15,13595,191],{"id":190},[193,13597,13598,13603,13608,13613,13618,13623],{},[196,13599,13600],{},[199,13601,10036],{"href":10034,"rel":13602},[203],[196,13604,13605],{},[199,13606,10043],{"href":10041,"rel":13607},[203],[196,13609,13610],{},[199,13611,12711],{"href":12709,"rel":13612},[203],[196,13614,13615],{},[199,13616,10050],{"href":10048,"rel":13617},[203],[196,13619,13620],{},[199,13621,239],{"href":237,"rel":13622},[203],[196,13624,13625],{},[199,13626,13628],{"href":230,"rel":13627},[203],"Increasing mileage rates (HMRC policy paper), the 2026 rise to 55p",[241,13630],{},[11,13632,13633],{},[246,13634,10057],{},{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":13636},[13637,13638,13639,13640,13641,13642],{"id":13465,"depth":251,"text":13466},{"id":13478,"depth":251,"text":13479},{"id":13491,"depth":251,"text":13492},{"id":13570,"depth":251,"text":13571},{"id":13586,"depth":251,"text":13587},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-02-09","America revises its mileage rate every year, sometimes mid-year. Britain held 45p from 2011 to 2026. The difference in method matters more than the number.","\u002Fblog\u002Firs-rate-2023-65-5-cents.jpg","An American interstate with a green sign giving the distance in miles to Washington and Baltimore","Photo by MPD01605, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=6377290",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Firs-rate-2023-65-5-cents","2023",[10077,277],{"title":13443,"description":13644},"The IRS rate moves, and Britain's does not","blog\u002Firs-rate-2023-65-5-cents",[10081,1163,1164],"3YRXnl_AKVNS1Yed1loofgPWMorJVzIBsBs2EipMrLw",{"id":13659,"title":13660,"author":6,"body":13661,"category":259,"date":13852,"description":13853,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":13854,"imageAlt":13855,"imageCredit":13856,"imageCreditUrl":13857,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":13858,"navigation":271,"path":13859,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":13860,"seo":13861,"seoTitle":13862,"stem":13863,"tags":13864,"updated":275,"__hash__":13865},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fireland-civil-service-rates.md","Ireland pays by engine size, and by how far you have already gone",{"type":8,"value":13662,"toc":13844},[13663,13666,13670,13677,13680,13686,13692,13695,13699,13702,13705,13709,13712,13718,13724,13730,13734,13807,13809,13812,13815,13817,13837,13839],[11,13664,13665],{},"Ireland sits closer to France than to Britain, which surprises people who assume a shared border and a shared language imply a shared system.",[15,13667,13669],{"id":13668},"the-civil-service-rates","The civil service rates",[11,13671,13672,13673,13676],{},"Irish business mileage is reimbursed by reference to the ",[23,13674,13675],{},"civil service motor travel rates",". They were designed for public sector travel and have become the benchmark the private sector uses, because Revenue accepts reimbursement at those rates as tax free.",[11,13678,13679],{},"The table has two axes, like the French one.",[11,13681,13682,13685],{},[23,13683,13684],{},"Engine capacity."," Three bands by cubic centimetres: up to 1,200cc, 1,201cc to 1,500cc, and 1,501cc and over. A bigger engine attracts a higher rate per kilometre.",[11,13687,13688,13691],{},[23,13689,13690],{},"Distance already travelled this year."," Four bands of annual business kilometres, counted over the calendar year, rather than Britain's single step at 10,000 miles. The rate does not simply fall as you go: the second band (1,501 to 5,500 km) pays considerably more per kilometre than the first, and the rate then drops sharply above 5,500 km and again above 25,000 km.",[11,13693,13694],{},"So the rate applying to a given journey depends on the car you drove it in and on how much you had already driven that year. The same route in January and in November can be worth different amounts.",[15,13696,13698],{"id":13697},"electric-cars-borrow-a-petrol-row","Electric cars borrow a petrol row",[11,13700,13701],{},"Ireland's handling of electric vehicles is pragmatic rather than principled: a fully electric car is claimed at the rates for the 1,201cc to 1,500cc band, the middle one. Hybrids are claimed at the rates for their equivalent engine capacity.",[11,13703,13704],{},"It is a workaround, and it is at least explicit. Britain, by contrast, simply applies the same approved rate (55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026, then 25p) to an electric car as to a diesel, which is less defensible as a costing exercise.",[15,13706,13708],{"id":13707},"why-this-is-not-the-british-system","Why this is not the British system",[11,13710,13711],{},"The differences that bite:",[11,13713,13714,13717],{},[23,13715,13716],{},"Reimbursement, not relief."," Like Spain, the Irish mechanism is about what an employer can pay tax free. There is no direct Irish equivalent of claiming the shortfall yourself when an employer underpays.",[11,13719,13720,13723],{},[23,13721,13722],{},"No single number."," You cannot quote \"the Irish rate\" any more than you can quote \"the French rate\". You quote a cell.",[11,13725,13726,13729],{},[23,13727,13728],{},"Several steps, not one."," Britain has a single step at 10,000 miles. Ireland has four distance bands that go up before they come down, which is definitely harder to do in your head.",[15,13731,13733],{"id":13732},"the-grid-in-outline","The grid, in outline",[74,13735,13736,13748],{},[77,13737,13738],{},[80,13739,13740,13742,13744,13746],{},[83,13741],{},[83,13743,12320],{},[83,13745,12323],{},[83,13747,9944],{},[92,13749,13750,13767,13781,13794],{},[80,13751,13752,13755,13760,13765],{},[97,13753,13754],{},"Depends on the car",[97,13756,13757,13759],{},[23,13758,107],{},", engine capacity",[97,13761,13762,13764],{},[23,13763,107],{},", fiscal horsepower",[97,13766,102],{},[80,13768,13769,13772,13775,13778],{},[97,13770,13771],{},"Bands by annual distance",[97,13773,13774],{},"Four",[97,13776,13777],{},"Several",[97,13779,13780],{},"One, at 10,000 miles",[80,13782,13783,13786,13788,13791],{},[97,13784,13785],{},"Electric vehicles",[97,13787,12336],{},[97,13789,13790],{},"Uplift on the table figure",[97,13792,13793],{},"Same rate as any car",[80,13795,13796,13798,13801,13804],{},[97,13797,9880],{},[97,13799,13800],{},"No direct equivalent",[97,13802,13803],{},"Deduction on the return",[97,13805,13806],{},"Yes, Mileage Allowance Relief (tax relief on the gap)",[15,13808,427],{"id":426},[11,13810,13811],{},"The Irish requirement is unremarkable and identical in substance to everywhere else: date, destination, purpose, distance, contemporaneously.",[11,13813,13814],{},"The wrinkle is the running total. Because the rate changes band as the year progresses, an Irish log that does not keep an accurate cumulative distance cannot value its own journeys. That is a good argument for something that keeps the total for you rather than a spreadsheet you tot up at the end of the year.",[15,13816,191],{"id":190},[193,13818,13819,13824,13831],{},[196,13820,13821],{},[199,13822,12432],{"href":12430,"rel":13823},[203],[196,13825,13826],{},[199,13827,13830],{"href":13828,"rel":13829},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.revenue.ie\u002Fen\u002Femploying-people\u002Femployee-expenses\u002Ftravel-and-subsistence\u002Findex.aspx",[203],"Travel and subsistence (Revenue)",[196,13832,13833],{},[199,13834,13836],{"href":237,"rel":13835},[203],"Travel, mileage and fuel rates and allowances (HMRC), for the British comparison",[241,13838],{},[11,13840,13841],{},[246,13842,13843],{},"General information for drivers in Ireland and the UK, not tax advice. The civil service rates are revised: take your figure from the current Revenue table.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":13845},[13846,13847,13848,13849,13850,13851],{"id":13668,"depth":251,"text":13669},{"id":13697,"depth":251,"text":13698},{"id":13707,"depth":251,"text":13708},{"id":13732,"depth":251,"text":13733},{"id":426,"depth":251,"text":427},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-02-02","The civil service motor travel rates are a grid, not a rate: engine capacity down one side, distance bands across the other, and EVs in a petrol row.","\u002Fblog\u002Fireland-civil-service-rates.jpg","Stone walled fields and a white cottage in the Irish countryside","Photo by Ardfern, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=10627490",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fireland-civil-service-rates",[12472,277],{"title":13660,"description":13853},"Ireland's civil service mileage rates","blog\u002Fireland-civil-service-rates",[12478,1163,1164],"1yrisAOAX69nCOcl2hkrktoLHn0dvqD-C5PS1N3rfO4",{"id":13867,"title":13868,"author":6,"body":13869,"category":259,"date":14060,"description":14061,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":14062,"imageAlt":14063,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":14064,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":14065,"navigation":271,"path":14066,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":14067,"seo":14069,"seoTitle":281,"stem":14070,"tags":14071,"updated":275,"__hash__":14073},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fspain-gastos-de-locomocion.md","Spain reimburses 26 cents a kilometre, tax free",{"type":8,"value":13870,"toc":14052},[13871,13874,13880,13884,13891,13894,13898,13901,13904,13907,13911,13914,13920,13926,13929,13933,14008,14010,14013,14016,14018,14045,14047],[11,13872,13873],{},"Spain has a single figure, which makes it easier to describe than France or Ireland. One rate, no bands, no threshold.",[11,13875,13876,13879],{},[23,13877,13878],{},"What changed:"," the exempt figure was 19 cents a kilometre until 17 July 2023, when Orden HFP\u002F792\u002F2023 raised it to 26 cents. This post was first written at 19 cents and has been rewritten at 26.",[15,13881,13883],{"id":13882},"twenty-six-cents-tax-free","Twenty-six cents, tax free",[11,13885,13886,13887,13890],{},"Spanish employers can reimburse business driving in an employee's own car at ",[23,13888,13889],{},"26 cents a kilometre free of income tax",". Anything the employer pays above that is treated as pay and taxed accordingly. Tolls and parking can be reimbursed on top, against receipts.",[11,13892,13893],{},"The mechanism is clean and the arithmetic is simple. One rate, no bands, no threshold, no annual reset to track.",[15,13895,13897],{"id":13896},"what-that-means-in-practice","What that means in practice",[11,13899,13900],{},"At about 85p to the euro, 26 cents a kilometre works out at roughly 36p a mile once you convert both the currency and the distance. The exchange rate moves, so treat that as a rough guide. Britain's approved rate for cars and vans is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after that, for journeys from 6 April 2026.",[11,13902,13903],{},"For a Spanish employee, the consequence of a low figure is not that a claim is disallowed. It is that the exempt ceiling may not cover the cost. An employer who wants to pay more than 26 cents can, but everything above 26 cents is taxed as salary.",[11,13905,13906],{},"The 19 cent figure stood unchanged for many years before the 2023 rise, through a period in which fuel and most other running costs went up. That was the grievance behind the campaign to raise it, and a good illustration of why an unmoved rate is not a neutral thing: a rate that stands still while costs rise is a cut, applied quietly.",[15,13908,13910],{"id":13909},"the-structure-is-still-worth-understanding","The structure is still worth understanding",[11,13912,13913],{},"Two features of the Spanish system are worth knowing.",[11,13915,13916,13919],{},[23,13917,13918],{},"Receipts matter."," Tolls and parking on evidence are reimbursed separately, and on a toll motorway they can be a meaningful part of what a Spanish driver is paid back.",[11,13921,13922,13925],{},[23,13923,13924],{},"The exemption is the employer's to apply."," This is a payroll mechanism. It governs what your employer can pay you without deducting tax, rather than a deduction you claim on a return. If your employer pays nothing, there is no Spanish equivalent of Britain's Mileage Allowance Relief to fall back on.",[11,13927,13928],{},"That last point is easy to miss for British drivers working in Spain, who may expect to get tax relief on the shortfall themselves.",[15,13930,13932],{"id":13931},"side-by-side","Side by side",[74,13934,13935,13945],{},[77,13936,13937],{},[80,13938,13939,13941,13943],{},[83,13940],{},[83,13942,13105],{},[83,13944,9944],{},[92,13946,13947,13958,13969,13979,13989,13999],{},[80,13948,13949,13952,13955],{},[97,13950,13951],{},"Exempt rate",[97,13953,13954],{},"26 cents per km",[97,13956,13957],{},"55p per mile, then 25p",[80,13959,13960,13963,13966],{},[97,13961,13962],{},"Roughly, per mile",[97,13964,13965],{},"About 36p (at about 85p to the euro)",[97,13967,13968],{},"55p on the first 10,000 miles",[80,13970,13971,13974,13976],{},[97,13972,13973],{},"Bands",[97,13975,6439],{},[97,13977,13978],{},"One step at 10,000 miles",[80,13980,13981,13984,13987],{},[97,13982,13983],{},"Last changed",[97,13985,13986],{},"17 July 2023 (from 19 cents)",[97,13988,9872],{},[80,13990,13991,13994,13997],{},[97,13992,13993],{},"Tolls and parking",[97,13995,13996],{},"Separately, on receipts",[97,13998,13996],{},[80,14000,14001,14003,14006],{},[97,14002,9880],{},[97,14004,14005],{},"No equivalent mechanism",[97,14007,11067],{},[15,14009,3792],{"id":3791},[11,14011,14012],{},"Milometry has a Spain scheme built in at 26 cents a kilometre, with kilometres and euros throughout. If your employer pays a different figure, you can record what they actually pay alongside it and see both.",[11,14014,14015],{},"Seeing both is the useful part. The gap between what a journey cost and what it was reimbursed at is the number worth having, and it is invisible unless something is keeping the log.",[15,14017,191],{"id":190},[193,14019,14020,14027,14034,14039],{},[196,14021,14022],{},[199,14023,14026],{"href":14024,"rel":14025},"https:\u002F\u002Fsede.agenciatributaria.gob.es\u002FSede\u002Fayuda\u002Fmanuales-videos-folletos\u002Fmanuales-ayuda-presentacion\u002Firpf-2024\u002F7-cumplimentacion-irpf\u002F7_1-rendimientos-trabajo-personal\u002F7_1_1-rendimientos-integros\u002F7_1_1_2-dietas-gastos-viaje\u002Fasignaciones-gastos-locomocion.html",[203],"Asignaciones para gastos de locomoción (Agencia Tributaria)",[196,14028,14029],{},[199,14030,14033],{"href":14031,"rel":14032},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.boe.es\u002Fbuscar\u002Fdoc.php?id=BOE-A-2023-16461",[203],"Orden HFP\u002F792\u002F2023, which raised the figure to 26 cents from 17 July 2023 (BOE)",[196,14035,14036],{},[199,14037,13836],{"href":237,"rel":14038},[203],[196,14040,14041],{},[199,14042,14044],{"href":230,"rel":14043},[203],"Increasing mileage rates (HMRC policy paper), the 55p rate from 6 April 2026",[241,14046],{},[11,14048,14049],{},[246,14050,14051],{},"General information for drivers in Spain and the UK, not tax advice. Check the current exempt figure with the Agencia Tributaria or your asesor.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":14053},[14054,14055,14056,14057,14058,14059],{"id":13882,"depth":251,"text":13883},{"id":13896,"depth":251,"text":13897},{"id":13909,"depth":251,"text":13910},{"id":13931,"depth":251,"text":13932},{"id":3791,"depth":251,"text":3792},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-01-26","One flat figure, no bands and no threshold. Spain raised it from 19 to 26 cents in 2023, and it remains an employer payment rather than an employee claim.","\u002Fblog\u002Fspain-gastos-de-locomocion.jpg","An empty road running to the horizon under a clear sky","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F6059444\u002Ffree-public-domain-cc0-photo",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fspain-gastos-de-locomocion",[14068,277],"es",{"title":13868,"description":14061},"blog\u002Fspain-gastos-de-locomocion",[14072,1163,1164],"spain","0KLXxDcvY4TBjAUMYFiH7TVvie1kUIiKrNSIj_-xkDU",{"id":14075,"title":14076,"author":6,"body":14077,"category":259,"date":14247,"description":14248,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":14249,"imageAlt":14250,"imageCredit":14251,"imageCreditUrl":14252,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":14253,"navigation":271,"path":14254,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":14255,"seo":14256,"seoTitle":281,"stem":14257,"tags":14258,"updated":275,"__hash__":14259},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffrance-bareme-kilometrique.md","France has no single mileage rate, it has a table",{"type":8,"value":14078,"toc":14239},[14079,14082,14086,14089,14095,14101,14104,14107,14111,14114,14117,14121,14124,14127,14131,14203,14207,14210,14213,14215,14232,14234],[11,14080,14081],{},"Ask what France pays per kilometre and you will get a number from somebody. The number will be wrong, or at best right for one car and one annual distance.",[15,14083,14085],{"id":14084},"the-barème-is-a-grid-not-a-rate","The barème is a grid, not a rate",[11,14087,14088],{},"France's barème kilométrique is a table with two axes.",[11,14090,14091,14094],{},[23,14092,14093],{},"Down one side, fiscal horsepower."," French cars carry an administrative power rating, the puissance fiscale, which appears on the registration document. The scale runs from three CV or fewer up to seven CV and above. A larger rating means a higher rate per kilometre, on the reasoning that a more powerful car costs more to run.",[11,14096,14097,14100],{},[23,14098,14099],{},"Across the other, annual distance."," The table bands by how far you have driven for work in the year, and the rate per kilometre falls as the distance rises, in the same spirit as Britain's 10,000 mile step but with more gradations.",[11,14102,14103],{},"So the rate that applies to your journey depends on your car and on your running total. Two colleagues driving the same route on the same day, in different cars, are entitled to different amounts.",[11,14105,14106],{},"Fully electric vehicles have their own scale, higher than the one for other cars, which is a deliberate incentive rather than a costing exercise.",[15,14108,14110],{"id":14109},"why-this-defeats-a-single-headline-number","Why this defeats a single headline number",[11,14112,14113],{},"Britain can say \"55p\" (for the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026, 25p after) because Britain has decided that one figure covers an average car. France has declined to make that simplification, so any sentence beginning \"the French rate is\" is either quoting one cell of the grid or inventing an average nobody uses.",[11,14115,14116],{},"Milometry does have a France scheme, and it has to work within that limit. It starts from one cell of the grid, the 5 CV figure for up to 5,000 km a year, because that is a common case. For any other car or distance, take the figure for your own row from the official simulator and set it in the app. The grid above 5,000 km is not a simple rate per kilometre at all, so the simulator is the reliable way to get your own number.",[15,14118,14120],{"id":14119},"what-the-barème-is-meant-to-cover","What the barème is meant to cover",[11,14122,14123],{},"The rate is inclusive. It is intended to cover depreciation, repairs, tyres, fuel and insurance. That is worth knowing because it settles a recurring argument: you do not claim the barème and then also claim your insurance premium.",[11,14125,14126],{},"Tolls and parking sit outside it and are claimed separately, on evidence. France is a heavily tolled country, and for a driver doing long motorway runs the tolls can rival the mileage in a month.",[15,14128,14130],{"id":14129},"against-the-british-system","Against the British system",[74,14132,14133,14143],{},[77,14134,14135],{},[80,14136,14137,14139,14141],{},[83,14138],{},[83,14140,12323],{},[83,14142,9944],{},[92,14144,14145,14154,14165,14175,14185,14194],{},[80,14146,14147,14149,14152],{},[97,14148,13522],{},[97,14150,14151],{},"A table, by fiscal horsepower and distance",[97,14153,11015],{},[80,14155,14156,14159,14163],{},[97,14157,14158],{},"Depends on your car",[97,14160,14161],{},[23,14162,107],{},[97,14164,102],{},[80,14166,14167,14169,14172],{},[97,14168,13771],{},[97,14170,14171],{},"Yes, several",[97,14173,14174],{},"Yes, one step at 10,000",[80,14176,14177,14180,14182],{},[97,14178,14179],{},"Electric uplift",[97,14181,107],{},[97,14183,14184],{},"No separate rate",[80,14186,14187,14189,14192],{},[97,14188,13993],{},[97,14190,14191],{},"Claimed separately",[97,14193,14191],{},[80,14195,14196,14199,14201],{},[97,14197,14198],{},"Covers running costs",[97,14200,107],{},[97,14202,107],{},[15,14204,14206],{"id":14205},"the-record-is-the-same-either-way","The record is the same either way",[11,14208,14209],{},"Whatever the rate, the evidence expected of a French driver is what it is everywhere: the date, the destination, the business reason and the distance, written down at the time rather than reconstructed in the spring.",[11,14211,14212],{},"The table decides what a kilometre is worth. Only the log decides how many kilometres there were.",[15,14214,191],{"id":190},[193,14216,14217,14222,14227],{},[196,14218,14219],{},[199,14220,12439],{"href":12437,"rel":14221},[203],[196,14223,14224],{},[199,14225,12446],{"href":12444,"rel":14226},[203],[196,14228,14229],{},[199,14230,13836],{"href":237,"rel":14231},[203],[241,14233],{},[11,14235,14236],{},[246,14237,14238],{},"General information for drivers in France and the UK, not tax advice. The barème is revised: take your figure from the official table for the year you are claiming.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":14240},[14241,14242,14243,14244,14245,14246],{"id":14084,"depth":251,"text":14085},{"id":14109,"depth":251,"text":14110},{"id":14119,"depth":251,"text":14120},{"id":14129,"depth":251,"text":14130},{"id":14205,"depth":251,"text":14206},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-01-19","The barème kilométrique varies by fiscal horsepower and by distance driven. There is no one number, and quoting one is how a French claim goes wrong.","\u002Fblog\u002Ffrance-bareme-kilometrique.jpg","A stone house with shutters on a village street in France","Photo by Barbichette, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=758706",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffrance-bareme-kilometrique",[12473,277],{"title":14076,"description":14248},"blog\u002Ffrance-bareme-kilometrique",[12479,1163,1164],"qkqPL0Maos0ryOldg8vvk5M7sG6Xbkdf-7OFi4I6SHE",{"id":14261,"title":14262,"author":6,"body":14263,"category":259,"date":14455,"description":14456,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":14457,"imageAlt":14458,"imageCredit":3039,"imageCreditUrl":14459,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":3258,"imageLicenceUrl":3259,"meta":14460,"navigation":271,"path":14461,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":274,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":14462,"seo":14463,"seoTitle":281,"stem":14464,"tags":14465,"updated":275,"__hash__":14466},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fjapan-no-mileage-rate.md","Japan has no business mileage rate, and what it has instead",{"type":8,"value":14264,"toc":14447},[14265,14268,14272,14275,14278,14281,14285,14292,14298,14304,14310,14313,14317,14320,14327,14330,14334,14403,14407,14410,14413,14415,14440,14442],[11,14266,14267],{},"Every so often someone asks what Japan's equivalent of Britain's approved mileage rate (55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026) is. The honest answer is that there is not one, and the reason is more interesting than the absence.",[15,14269,14271],{"id":14270},"there-is-no-national-per-kilometre-business-rate","There is no national per kilometre business rate",[11,14273,14274],{},"Japan's National Tax Agency does not publish a standard figure for reimbursing business driving in your own car. No cents per kilometre, no bands, no annual revision.",[11,14276,14277],{},"What a Japanese employee is paid for business driving is whatever their employer's internal rules say. Large employers publish a table. Smaller ones improvise. Two people doing identical work for different companies can be paid materially different amounts for the same journey, and both are correct, because there is no external figure either of them is measured against.",[11,14279,14280],{},"This is not an oversight. It reflects a system where the burden sits with the employer's own expense policy rather than with a national allowance.",[15,14282,14284],{"id":14283},"what-the-tax-agency-does-set","What the tax agency does set",[11,14286,14287,14288,14291],{},"The figure the National Tax Agency publishes is a ",[23,14289,14290],{},"monthly ceiling on tax free commuting allowances",", and it is a different animal in three ways.",[11,14293,14294,14297],{},[23,14295,14296],{},"It is about the commute, not business travel."," It covers getting to work, which is precisely the journey Britain refuses to recognise.",[11,14299,14300,14303],{},[23,14301,14302],{},"It is monthly, not per distance."," The ceiling is an amount per month, banded by the one way distance between home and work. Drive further, and the band you fall into allows a larger tax free monthly sum.",[11,14305,14306,14309],{},[23,14307,14308],{},"It is a ceiling, not an entitlement."," It caps how much your employer can pay you free of tax. It does not oblige anyone to pay you anything.",[11,14311,14312],{},"There is also a floor that surprises people: for a car commute of under 2 km one way, the allowance is taxable in full. There is no tax free amount at all at that distance.",[15,14314,14316],{"id":14315},"why-this-matters-if-you-drive-for-work-in-japan","Why this matters if you drive for work in Japan",[11,14318,14319],{},"The practical consequence is that your record has to do more work, not less.",[11,14321,14322,14323,14326],{},"Where a British driver logs distance and applies a published rate, a Japanese driver logs distance and applies ",[23,14324,14325],{},"their employer's"," rate. If the employer ever changes it, or if you move jobs, the rate changes with them and the historical claims keep the rate they were made under.",[11,14328,14329],{},"It also means the record is the only thing standing between you and a dispute. There is no national figure to appeal to. If your employer's policy says a rate and your log says a distance, the claim is the product of the two, and both halves need to be defensible.",[15,14331,14333],{"id":14332},"the-three-systems-side-by-side","The three systems, side by side",[74,14335,14336,14348],{},[77,14337,14338],{},[80,14339,14340,14342,14344,14346],{},[83,14341],{},[83,14343,12886],{},[83,14345,11468],{},[83,14347,9944],{},[92,14349,14350,14364,14378,14391],{},[80,14351,14352,14355,14359,14362],{},[97,14353,14354],{},"National business rate",[97,14356,14357],{},[23,14358,6439],{},[97,14360,14361],{},"30 cents per km",[97,14363,11015],{},[80,14365,14366,14369,14372,14375],{},[97,14367,14368],{},"Who sets your rate",[97,14370,14371],{},"Your employer",[97,14373,14374],{},"Legislation",[97,14376,14377],{},"Legislation, published by HMRC",[80,14379,14380,14383,14386,14389],{},[97,14381,14382],{},"Commute treatment",[97,14384,14385],{},"Monthly tax free ceiling, banded by distance",[97,14387,14388],{},"Own allowance, one way",[97,14390,11045],{},[80,14392,14393,14396,14399,14401],{},[97,14394,14395],{},"Short commutes",[97,14397,14398],{},"Taxable in full under 2 km one way",[97,14400,13353],{},[97,14402,11045],{},[15,14404,14406],{"id":14405},"setting-your-own-rate","Setting your own rate",[11,14408,14409],{},"Milometry has a Japan scheme, with kilometres and yen throughout, but it cannot contain a national rate because there is none. It starts from a placeholder rate per kilometre that is not an official figure, and expects you to replace it with your employer's rate.",[11,14411,14412],{},"That is deliberate. Presenting an invented Japanese figure as official would be worse than useless: it would look authoritative and be wrong. The app records the distance either way, and the rate is a setting, because in Japan the rate genuinely is a setting.",[15,14414,191],{"id":190},[193,14416,14417,14422,14429,14435],{},[196,14418,14419],{},[199,14420,12958],{"href":12956,"rel":14421},[203],[196,14423,14424],{},[199,14425,14428],{"href":14426,"rel":14427},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gesetze-im-internet.de\u002Festg\u002F__9.html",[203],"§ 9 Einkommensteuergesetz, for the German comparison",[196,14430,14431],{},[199,14432,14434],{"href":11558,"rel":14433},[203],"§ 5 Bundesreisekostengesetz, for the German comparison",[196,14436,14437],{},[199,14438,239],{"href":237,"rel":14439},[203],[241,14441],{},[11,14443,14444],{},[246,14445,14446],{},"General information for drivers in Japan and the UK, not tax advice. Employer schemes vary: check yours, and check anything that matters with a tax professional.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":14448},[14449,14450,14451,14452,14453,14454],{"id":14270,"depth":251,"text":14271},{"id":14283,"depth":251,"text":14284},{"id":14315,"depth":251,"text":14316},{"id":14332,"depth":251,"text":14333},{"id":14405,"depth":251,"text":14406},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-01-12","No national figure to claim per kilometre. The tax agency sets a monthly ceiling on commuting allowances, banded by distance, and it is not a mileage claim.","\u002Fblog\u002Fjapan-no-mileage-rate.jpg","People crossing a busy street in Tokyo","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rawpixel.com\u002Fimage\u002F11193365\u002Fphoto-image-people-light-road",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapan-no-mileage-rate",[12996,12762,277],{"title":14262,"description":14456},"blog\u002Fjapan-no-mileage-rate",[13439,1163,1164],"kiugFGOeDFxNZtHxJksDysZ4TBiOWrPdwfNVuv2316U",{"id":14468,"title":14469,"author":6,"body":14470,"category":259,"date":14684,"description":14685,"draft":262,"extension":263,"image":14686,"imageAlt":14687,"imageCredit":14688,"imageCreditUrl":14689,"imageIsScreenshot":262,"imageLicence":268,"imageLicenceUrl":269,"meta":14690,"navigation":271,"path":14691,"ratesFor":11148,"readTime":3603,"reviewed":275,"reviewedAgainst":14692,"seo":14693,"seoTitle":281,"stem":14694,"tags":14695,"updated":275,"__hash__":14696},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-kilometerpauschale.md","Germany pays 30 cents a kilometre, from the very first one",{"type":8,"value":14471,"toc":14676},[14472,14475,14479,14486,14489,14492,14496,14499,14502,14509,14531,14534,14538,14541,14544,14547,14549,14617,14621,14624,14627,14630,14632,14669,14671],[11,14473,14474],{},"A British driver reading the German rules for the first time tends to notice two things: the number is smaller, and there is no 10,000 line to worry about.",[15,14476,14478],{"id":14477},"the-business-rate","The business rate",[11,14480,14481,14482,14485],{},"For a business journey in your own car, an employee in Germany can use a ",[23,14483,14484],{},"Kilometerpauschale of 30 cents per kilometre",", either as a tax-free reimbursement from the employer or as a deduction on their own return for whatever the employer does not pay. Every kilometre, from the first, at the same rate. There is no threshold, no banding, and no annual reset to track.",[11,14487,14488],{},"The figure is not set by a tax circular that changes with fuel prices. It is anchored in law: § 9 of the income tax act (Einkommensteuergesetz) points at the highest travel allowance in the federal travel expenses act (Bundesreisekostengesetz), and that act sets 30 cents for a car. The payroll guidance, R 9.5 of the Lohnsteuer-Richtlinien, applies the same figure. Changing it means changing legislation, which is why it moves rarely.",[11,14490,14491],{},"At about 85p to the euro, 30 cents a kilometre is roughly 41p a mile once you convert both the currency and the distance. Britain's approved rate is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, from 6 April 2026, so on those miles Britain is ahead. Above 10,000 miles Britain drops to 25p and Germany does not drop at all.",[15,14493,14495],{"id":14494},"the-commute-is-a-different-allowance-entirely","The commute is a different allowance entirely",[11,14497,14498],{},"This is the part that catches people out, and it is the opposite of the British approach.",[11,14500,14501],{},"In Britain, ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace is simply not claimable. It is outside the system.",[11,14503,14504,14505,14508],{},"In Germany, the commute has ",[23,14506,14507],{},"its own allowance",", the Entfernungspauschale, and it works on different arithmetic:",[193,14510,14511,14518,14525,14528],{},[196,14512,14513,14514,14517],{},"It counts the ",[23,14515,14516],{},"distance one way",", not the round trip, for each working day you travel to your regular workplace",[196,14519,14520,14521,14524],{},"From 1 January 2026 it is ",[23,14522,14523],{},"38 cents for every kilometre"," of that one-way distance, from the first. From 2022 to 2025 it was 30 cents for the first 20 km and 38 cents from the 21st",[196,14526,14527],{},"It applies regardless of how you travelled, including on foot or by train",[196,14529,14530],{},"It is a deduction against income, not a tax free payment from an employer",[11,14532,14533],{},"So a German worker with a long commute gets something for it. A British worker with the same commute gets nothing. That is a genuine structural difference, not a rounding error.",[15,14535,14537],{"id":14536},"motorbikes-and-the-passenger-question","Motorbikes, and the passenger question",[11,14539,14540],{},"The 30 cent figure is for a car. For a motorbike, scooter or other motor vehicle the travel expenses act sets 20 cents a kilometre, and that is the figure the tax rules then use.",[11,14542,14543],{},"Germany historically paid a supplement for carrying colleagues, the Mitnahmeentschädigung. The 2014 reform of the travel expense rules dropped it. There is no passenger supplement in the current German system.",[11,14545,14546],{},"Britain's passenger payment, up to 5p per passenger mile tax free if the employer chooses to pay it, is unusual internationally. Assuming something similar exists in Germany is a reliable way to overstate a German claim.",[15,14548,9823],{"id":9822},[74,14550,14551,14561],{},[77,14552,14553],{},[80,14554,14555,14557,14559],{},[83,14556],{},[83,14558,11468],{},[83,14560,9944],{},[92,14562,14563,14572,14580,14591,14599,14607],{},[80,14564,14565,14567,14570],{},[97,14566,13522],{},[97,14568,14569],{},"30 cents per km, flat",[97,14571,11015],{},[80,14573,14574,14576,14578],{},[97,14575,7433],{},[97,14577,6439],{},[97,14579,4495],{},[80,14581,14582,14585,14588],{},[97,14583,14584],{},"Resets",[97,14586,14587],{},"Calendar year",[97,14589,14590],{},"Tax year, from 6 April",[80,14592,14593,14595,14597],{},[97,14594,11039],{},[97,14596,14388],{},[97,14598,11045],{},[80,14600,14601,14603,14605],{},[97,14602,11072],{},[97,14604,6439],{},[97,14606,11077],{},[80,14608,14609,14612,14614],{},[97,14610,14611],{},"Set by",[97,14613,14374],{},[97,14615,14616],{},"Legislation (ITEPA 2003 s230)",[15,14618,14620],{"id":14619},"what-it-means-for-a-record","What it means for a record",[11,14622,14623],{},"The absence of a threshold makes the German log simpler in one respect: you never have to know your running total to value a journey. Every kilometre is worth the same, so a trip recorded in March is worth exactly what the same trip is worth in November.",[11,14625,14626],{},"It makes it harder in another. Because the commute has its own allowance with its own arithmetic, a German record has to separate business travel from commuting cleanly, and record the one way distance for the latter. Lumping them together loses the distinction the deduction depends on.",[11,14628,14629],{},"Milometry ships the German scheme, so a driver on it sees kilometres, euros and the 30 cent rate throughout, rather than a British rate wearing a euro sign.",[15,14631,191],{"id":190},[193,14633,14634,14640,14645,14652,14658,14663],{},[196,14635,14636],{},[199,14637,14639],{"href":14426,"rel":14638},[203],"§ 9 Einkommensteuergesetz: Werbungskosten, including the Entfernungspauschale and the business travel rate",[196,14641,14642],{},[199,14643,13172],{"href":11558,"rel":14644},[203],[196,14646,14647],{},[199,14648,14651],{"href":14649,"rel":14650},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bundesregierung.de\u002Fbreg-de\u002Faktuelles\u002Fsteueraenderungsgesetz-bundesrat-2383684",[203],"Steueränderungsgesetz 2025, including the higher commuting allowance from 2026 (Bundesregierung)",[196,14653,14654],{},[199,14655,14657],{"href":2179,"rel":14656},[203],"Ordinary commuting and private travel (490: Chapter 3), for the British comparison",[196,14659,14660],{},[199,14661,239],{"href":237,"rel":14662},[203],[196,14664,14665],{},[199,14666,14668],{"href":5396,"rel":14667},[203],"Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, section 230",[241,14670],{},[11,14672,14673],{},[246,14674,14675],{},"General information for drivers in Germany and the UK, not tax advice. Rates change: check the current figure with the authority you are filing under.",{"title":250,"searchDepth":251,"depth":251,"links":14677},[14678,14679,14680,14681,14682,14683],{"id":14477,"depth":251,"text":14478},{"id":14494,"depth":251,"text":14495},{"id":14536,"depth":251,"text":14537},{"id":9822,"depth":251,"text":9823},{"id":14619,"depth":251,"text":14620},{"id":190,"depth":251,"text":191},"2023-01-05","No threshold, no banding, and a completely separate allowance for the commute. The German system is simpler than Britain's in one way and stricter in another.","\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-kilometerpauschale.jpg","Traffic on a German motorway seen from above","Photo by Labant, cropped","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fw\u002Findex.php?curid=9561069",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgermany-kilometerpauschale",[12762,277],{"title":14469,"description":14685},"blog\u002Fgermany-kilometerpauschale",[11599,1163,1164],"JZIYKb39j419g_RRYrKmm4DOSLCt3G0yzVJrOXPvOno",1790636877446]