On this page
In short
- Travel between workplaces, to clients or to temporary sites counts. The commute to one permanent workplace does not.
- HMRC allows 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles from 6 April 2026 (45p for earlier years) and 25p after that.
- You get tax back on the gap between that and anything your employer paid you.
- Claims go back 4 tax years. 6,000 miles a year with nothing from your employer is about £2,160 back.
Mileage claims by job: care workers, support workers, security, cleaners, agency drivers, armed forces. Rough figure first? Try the mileage calculator.
What counts as work travel
HMRC's rule is about the workplace, not the journey. Travel to a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and never counts. Travel anywhere else you have to go for the job does: between two workplaces, to a client's home, to a site or depot you will be at for under 24 months, to a course your employer sent you on.
Journeys that count
- Between clients, patients or sites during the day.
- Home to a temporary workplace, expected to last under 24 months.
- Home to a different branch, depot or base for a temporary spell, unless the journey is much the same as your normal commute.
- To training, courses or meetings away from your normal workplace.
Journeys that do not
- Home to your one permanent workplace and back.
- Anything your employer already reimbursed at the approved rate or more.
- Personal detours on the way.
HMRC's approved rates
| Vehicle | First 10,000 miles | After 10,000 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 55p from 6 April 2026 (45p before) | 25p |
| Motorbike | 24p | 24p |
| Bicycle | 20p | 20p |
The relief is not the approved rate itself. It is tax on it: at 55p that is 11p a mile at the basic rate and 22p at the higher rate (9p and 18p at 45p).
If your employer pays mileage
Most care agencies pay 20p to 30p a mile. Anything below the approved rate leaves a gap you can claim on. In a year at 45p, an employer paying 25p on 6,000 miles leaves a 20p gap: £1,200 of relief, £240 back a year at the basic rate. At the approved rate or more there is nothing to claim on mileage, though uniform, tools and fees may still apply.
The 55p rate: what changed in April 2026
HMRC raised the approved rate for cars and vans from 45p to 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, backdated to 6 April 2026. It was the first change since April 2011. Miles over 10,000 stay at 25p, and the motorbike and bicycle rates did not change.
Many employers still pay 45p or less. If yours does, the gap is now at least 10p a mile, and you can claim relief on it without your employer doing anything.
Your gap, year by year
| Tax year | Approved rate, first 10,000 miles | Employer pays 30p on 8,000 miles: gap | Tax back at 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2023 up to 2025 to 2026 | 45p | £1,200 | £240 a year |
| 2026 to 2027 | 55p | £2,000 | £400 |
Each year uses that year's rate. Four past years at 45p plus this year at 55p comes to about £1,360 of tax back in this example, before any fee.
Worked example
Sam, agency support worker, 5,200 miles a year, paid 20p by the agency. Gap 25p a mile, £1,300 of relief each year, £1,040 over 4 years at the basic rate before our fee.
How to claim
Yourself with a P87 if expenses are £2,500 a year or less, or Self Assessment above that. Or let us do it: the app links to your HMRC record, your specialist works out all 4 years and you approve it before filing. Fee 37.5% plus VAT, nothing if there is no refund. Try the mileage calculator first.
Sold or scrapped the car you drove for work? Unused road tax comes back from the DVLA, not HMRC: see car tax refund.
Questions
I do not keep a mileage log.
HMRC expects a record of each journey: date, start and end postcode, and reason. If you did not keep one, we rebuild it from rotas and client lists, and it must match journeys you made. Start a log from today.
I use public transport.
Ticket costs for qualifying journeys are claimable in full instead of a mileage rate.
I drive a company vehicle.
Then mileage does not apply, but fuel you paid for on work journeys that was not reimbursed can be claimed.
My employer pays 45p. Can I claim?
Yes, from 6 April 2026. The approved rate is now 55p, so you can claim relief on the 10p gap for every business mile up to 10,000.
Do electric cars get a different rate?
No. The approved rates are the same for petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars you own.
Can I claim the 5p passenger rate?
No. Only an employer can pay it tax free; you cannot claim relief if they do not.
What if my expenses are over £2,500 in a year?
The claim has to go through a Self Assessment return instead of a P87 or the online form. We handle that too.
This guide is general information, not advice about your circumstances. Figures use HMRC rates for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. We are a paid tax agent and not HMRC.
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