HMRC approved mileage rates 2026/27
| Vehicle Type | First 10,000 miles | Over 10,000 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Car or Van | 55p | 25p |
| Motorcycle | 24p | 24p |
| Bicycle | 20p | 20p |
| Passenger (per person) | 5p | 5p |
Quick mileage allowance lookup (cars)
| Business Miles | Allowance | Tax Relief (20%) |
|---|
How HMRC mileage allowance works
HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) let employees claim a tax-free amount for using their own vehicle for business journeys. The rates are designed to cover the cost of fuel, wear and tear, insurance, and depreciation.
Car and van rates
Over 10,000 miles: miles x 25p = allowance
The threshold is cumulative across the tax year (6 April to 5 April). For example, if you drive 12,000 business miles, the first 10,000 are paid at 55p and the remaining 2,000 at 25p. This gives a total allowance of £6,000.
Motorcycle and bicycle rates
Bicycle: miles x 20p = allowance
Motorcycles and bicycles use a flat rate regardless of how many miles you travel. There is no threshold or reduced rate after 10,000 miles.
Passenger payments
If you carry fellow employees on business trips, your employer can pay you up to 5p per mile for each passenger tax-free. These are called passenger payments, and the passenger must be travelling for business purposes. Your employer does not have to pay them, and you cannot claim tax relief from HMRC if they pay less or nothing. They are separate from the main mileage allowance and do not affect the 10,000 mile threshold.
Claiming tax relief
If your employer pays you less than the HMRC approved rate (or nothing), you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. The tax relief is calculated at your income tax rate. A basic rate taxpayer saves 20p for every £1 of unclaimed allowance. A higher rate taxpayer saves 40p per £1. You can claim through self-assessment or using HMRC form P87.
Worked examples for 2026/27
Each example was run through the calculator above for a car, using the approved rates from 6 April 2026. All three assume the miles are business journeys in your own car and that your employer pays you nothing towards them, so the whole approved amount can be claimed as Mileage Allowance Relief. If your employer pays something, take that off before working out the relief.
8,000 business miles in the year
All 8,000 miles are inside the first 10,000, so every mile is worth 55p: an approved amount of £4,400.00. The relief reduces your tax rather than paying you the £4,400, so a basic rate taxpayer saves £880.00 and a higher rate taxpayer £1,760.00. For the current tax year HMRC usually adjusts your tax code; for earlier years it either adjusts your tax code or pays a tax refund.
14,000 business miles in the year
The first 10,000 miles at 55p come to £5,500.00 and the remaining 4,000 at 25p to £1,000.00, so the approved amount is £6,500.00. The step down at 10,000 miles applies per tax year across all the cars and vans you use, not per car.
A 4,000-mile claim after 8,000 miles already this year
Only 2,000 miles of the 55p allowance are left, worth £1,100.00. The other 2,000 miles fall to 25p, worth £500.00. The claim is £1,600.00. Entering earlier miles in the "already claimed" box stops the 55p rate being counted twice when you claim in batches.
Rules that change the answer
The car rate rose to 55p
For the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, the approved rate for cars and vans went from 45p to 55p on 6 April 2026. Above 10,000 miles it stays at 25p. Motorcycles stay at 24p and bicycles at 20p (HMRC travel, mileage and fuel rates, checked 30 October 2026). Electrically assisted pedal bikes use the bicycle rate; other electric bikes use the motorcycle rate (GOV.UK: Business travel and mileage, checked 30 October 2026).
Above 10,000 miles rises to 35p from April 2027
Budget 2026 raises the approved rate for business mileage above 10,000 miles from 25p to 35p a mile from 6 April 2027, with the matching change to the National Insurance disregard (HMRC: Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation, paragraph 2.7, checked 1 November 2026). The calculator uses the 2026/27 rates, so a claim for 14,000 miles in 2026/27 still works out at 10,000 miles at 55p plus 4,000 miles at 25p. The same 4,000 miles in 2027/28 would be paid at 35p, an extra £400.
What your employer pays changes your claim
If your employer pays less than the approved amount, you can claim relief on the difference. If they pay more, the excess goes on a P11D or through payroll and is taxed. Relief covers the mileage rate only: you cannot also claim fuel, vehicle tax, MOTs or repairs, and HMRC asks for mileage logs showing the reason for each journey and the start and end postcodes (GOV.UK: Vehicles you use for work, checked 30 October 2026).
Passenger payments get no relief
Your employer can pay up to 5p per passenger per mile tax-free for carrying colleagues on business trips. Unlike the mileage rate, there is no relief to claim if they pay less or nothing. The relief figures above leave out any passenger amount you enter for that reason.
Common mistakes
Claiming the commute. You cannot claim for travelling to and from your normal workplace. Journeys to a temporary place of work do count (GOV.UK: Travel and overnight expenses, checked 30 October 2026).
Using 55p for earlier years. You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 before it, but miles before 6 April 2026 use 45p. This calculator applies the 2026/27 rate.
Expecting the relief as a payment. The relief reduces your tax. If you file Self Assessment, you must claim through your return.
How this calculator works: for cars and vans it applies 55p to the miles left within your first 10,000 for the tax year and 25p to the rest, adds 5p per passenger mile if you enter passengers, and shows the mileage amount, without passenger payments, multiplied by 20% and 40% as the tax relief at basic and higher rate. Rates were checked against GOV.UK on 30 October 2026, and every source is listed on our methodology page.