HMRC Mileage Rates 2026/27: 55p a Mile, Then 25p After 10,000

For the 2026/27 tax year HMRC pays 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van and 25p a mile after that. The first-tier rate was 45p until 5 April 2026; HMRC announced the rise on 21 May 2026 and backdated it to 6 April. The same figures are the simplified-expenses flat rate for the self-employed.

HMRC mileage rates, 2026/27

Vehicle	First 10,000 business miles	Over 10,000	Before 6 April 2026
Cars and vans	55p	25p	45p, then 25p
Motorcycles	24p	24p	24p
Bicycles	20p	20p	20p
Each passenger on a business trip (employees)	5p	5p	5p

Source: HMRC, Travel — mileage and fuel rates and allowances, and Simplified expenses: vehicles. Checked 22 September 2026.

How the rate reaches you depends on how you work

Employees using their own car

These are the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates. Your employer can pay you up to them tax-free. If they pay less, or nothing, you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the gap: the AMAP amount for your business miles minus what you were paid, relieved at your income-tax rate. Ordinary commuting to your permanent workplace never counts.

Self-employed and sole traders

Under simplified expenses you deduct the flat rate per business mile instead of your actual fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing. Two conditions from HMRC matter: you cannot use it for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on or put through your accounts as an expense, and once you choose it for a vehicle you must keep using it for as long as that vehicle is in the business. Parking and other travel costs are still claimed separately.

If your turnover is over £30,000, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2027 (over £50,000, it already does): your mileage claim becomes a digital record and you send quarterly updates. What Making Tax Digital means for self-employed drivers covers the dates and the records.

A worked example

A self-employed plumber drives 12,000 business miles between 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2027: 10,000 × 55p = £5,500, plus 2,000 × 25p = £500, so £6,000. Rated at 55p throughout it would be £6,600, an over-claim of £600. The 10,000 miles are counted across the tax year, from 6 April, not the calendar year.

The band is crossed mid-journey, too. At 9,900 miles, a 200-mile trip is 100 miles at 55p and 100 at 25p. A log that rates each trip at a single figure gets that trip wrong either way.

How TaxMiles handles the HMRC scheme

• Miles and pounds. An iPhone set to the United Kingdom region uses the HMRC scheme automatically; you can also pick it under Settings > Tax Region.
• The tax year starts on 6 April. Totals, the 10,000-mile band and reports are labelled 2026/27, not 2026.
• Trips are rated in the order you drove them, and a trip that crosses 10,000 miles is split across the two rates.
• By date: trips before 6 April 2026 use 45p for the first tier, trips from 6 April use 55p.
• No invented categories. HMRC publishes no medical or charity mileage rate, so the app shows none. It does not model the motorcycle, bicycle or passenger rates.
• Tax estimate. A saving estimate uses the rate you pick from 20%, 40% or 45% (Scotland has its own bands) and 6% Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed. It is an estimate, not a Self Assessment return.

Want a quick number first? The mileage calculator has a tab for this scheme.

How the UK compares with Canada and Australia, and why two of the three change rate part-way through your driving, is in mileage deductions outside the US.

General information about HMRC mileage rates, not tax advice. Check HMRC guidance or ask an accountant about your own circumstances before you file.

Frequently asked questions

What is the HMRC mileage rate for 2026/27?

For cars and vans, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p a mile after that. Motorcycles are 24p and bicycles 20p. The first-tier rate was 45p before 6 April 2026.

Can self-employed people use the 55p rate?

Yes, under simplified expenses, instead of claiming actual running costs. Not for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on, and once chosen you must keep using it for that vehicle.

When does the 10,000-mile threshold reset?

At the start of each tax year, on 6 April, not on 1 January.

What if my employer pays less than 55p a mile?

You can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference between the approved amount for your business miles and what you were paid.