UK business mileage log

How HMRC mileage rates work in 2026/27

HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payments are designed to simplify claims when you use your own vehicle for business travel. For cars and vans the current rates are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after that threshold. Motorcycles use a flat 24p rate and bicycles use 20p.

Passenger payments are separate. If you carry another person who is also travelling on company business, there is an extra 5p per passenger mile for the same journey.

What counts as business mileage

Travel to a temporary workplace, travel between workplaces, and journeys made as part of carrying out the work can qualify. Ordinary commuting to a regular workplace does not. Mixed-purpose trips need careful judgement and a clear business explanation.

What a compliant mileage log needs

A proper log records the journey date, where the trip started and ended, the business purpose, the miles driven, and the vehicle used. The record should be kept contemporaneously rather than reconstructed at year end from memory.

Sole trader versus limited company director

Sole traders usually claim mileage as a business expense in the accounts and tax return. Limited company directors using their own vehicle are typically reimbursed by the company at the HMRC rate, with the log kept as support for the expense reimbursement.

Practical tips

Log the trip when it happens, use postcodes where you can, and be specific about the business purpose. A short but defensible explanation is more useful than a vague note like work or site visit.