If you use your own car for business travel, HMRC lets you claim a tax-free mileage allowance. The rates are supposed to cover fuel, wear and tear, insurance, and servicing. Depending on how much you drive, claiming correctly can save you hundreds or thousands a year. Miss it, and you’re basically paying for business travel out of taxed income.
Current AMAP Rates
The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates for 2026/27:
- Cars and vans: 55p/mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p/mile after that
- Motorcycles: 24p/mile (all miles)
- Bicycles: 20p/mile (all miles)
That 55p is new. The car and van rate for the first 10,000 miles rose from 45p on 6 April 2026 — the first change since 2011/12, after years of complaints that 45p no longer covered real running costs. The 25p rate above 10,000 miles didn’t move, and neither did the motorcycle or bicycle rates.
If you are claiming for a journey made before 6 April 2026, use 45p. The rate that applies is the one in force when you drove, not when you file.
These rates apply whether your car is petrol, diesel, electric, or hybrid.
Who Can Claim?
- Self-employed: Claim AMAP rates as a business expense on your self-assessment. This is instead of actual running costs — you can’t use both. (Though you can switch methods from one year to the next.)
- Employees using their own car: If your employer pays you less than the AMAP rate (or nothing), you can claim the shortfall through self-assessment or a P87 form.
- Company directors: Your company can reimburse you at the AMAP rate, completely tax-free.
What Counts as a Business Journey?
HMRC is strict about this. Commuting between home and your regular workplace does not count. Business journeys include:
- Travel between business premises and client sites
- Travel to a temporary workplace (somewhere you attend for less than 24 months)
- Travel between two different workplaces
- Travel to training courses related to your current role
Here’s a useful one: if you work from home and it’s your main workplace, all journeys from home to client sites are business journeys. This is a big benefit for home-based workers.
Carrying Passengers
If you give a colleague a lift on a business journey, you can claim an extra 5p per mile per passenger. It’s not much, but if you regularly car-share for site visits, it adds up over a year.
Keeping Records
HMRC wants a mileage log. For each business journey, write down:
- Date
- Where you went (start and end)
- Why (the business purpose)
- Miles driven
You don’t need fuel receipts when claiming AMAP rates (it’s a fixed amount per mile). But you absolutely need the log. HMRC can disallow your entire claim if you can’t back it up. Google Maps journey history can help reconstruct past trips if you’re starting from scratch.
AMAP vs Actual Costs
Self-employed people can choose between AMAP rates and actual costs (fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, depreciation, then apply a business-use percentage). Actual costs can work out better if you drive a cheap, fuel-efficient car. But AMAP is simpler and usually more generous for cars with moderate running costs. If in doubt, calculate both and pick the higher one.
Work Out Your Claim
Our free mileage calculator works out your annual claim at AMAP rates and shows the tax saving based on your tax band. Drive 10,000 business miles a year and the approved amount is £5,500 — worth £1,100 in tax relief to a basic-rate taxpayer, or £2,200 at the higher rate, if your employer doesn’t reimburse you.