What you can claim tax free for using your own car, motorcycle or bicycle for work.
If your employer pays less than the approved rate — and many pay 25p or 30p — you can claim tax relief on the difference. Most people never do.
The short version
- Car rates
- 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p.
- Other vehicles
- 24p a mile for a motorcycle and 20p for a bicycle, with no threshold.
- Passengers
- Another 5p a mile per colleague carried on the same business journey.
- Paid less than that
- You can claim tax relief on the shortfall, through a P87 or your tax return.
- Not commuting
- Home to a permanent workplace never counts, however far it is.
Common questions
What can I claim per mile in 2026?
45p for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after that, for a car or van. Motorcycles are 24p throughout and bicycles 20p. These rates have not changed since April 2011.
My employer only pays 25p a mile. Can I claim the difference?
You can claim tax relief on the shortfall — not the shortfall itself. On 5,000 miles paid at 25p against an approved 45p, the shortfall is £1,000 and a basic rate taxpayer gets back £200. Claim it on a P87 or through your tax return.
Does the 10,000 mile threshold reset per journey?
No. It is per tax year, across all employment with the same employer. Once you pass 10,000 business miles in the year the rate drops to 25p for the rest of it, then resets on 6 April.
Does my commute count?
No. Travel between home and a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and never qualifies, however long the journey. Travel to a temporary workplace does, and so does travel between workplaces during the day.
What if my employer pays more than 45p?
The excess is taxable as earnings. Your employer should report it, usually through payroll or a P11D, and you will pay tax and National Insurance on the part above the approved amount.
Can I claim for carrying colleagues?
Yes, 5p a mile for each passenger, but only if they are colleagues travelling on the same business journey and only if your employer pays it. Unlike the main rate, you cannot claim tax relief on unpaid passenger payments.
What the terms mean
- AMAP
- Approved mileage allowance payments: the rates an employer can pay for use of your own vehicle without it being taxed.
- Approved amount
- Business miles multiplied by the approved rate. Anything paid up to it is tax free; anything above it is taxable earnings.
- Business mileage
- Travel you have to do for work, excluding ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace.
- Temporary workplace
- Somewhere you attend for a limited duration or temporary purpose. Travel there is business mileage, unlike travel to a permanent workplace.
- P87
- The form for claiming tax relief on employment expenses where you do not complete a tax return.
- Advisory fuel rates
- A separate, lower set of rates for company cars, updated quarterly. They are not the same as AMAP and do not apply to your own vehicle.
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