Can You Claim Mileage on Taxes If Not Self-Employed? 2026/27
Employees may claim tax relief on qualifying business mileage that is not fully reimbursed.
Can you claim mileage on taxes if not self-employed? You may be able to claim employee mileage tax relief when you use your own car, van, motorcycle or bicycle for qualifying business journeys and your employer pays less than the approved mileage amount. You do not need to be a sole trader or run a business to qualify, but ordinary commuting between your home and permanent workplace is normally excluded.
The relief is based on qualifying business miles rather than every mile driven for work-related reasons. Your employer’s reimbursement is deducted from the approved amount, and tax relief may be available on the remaining shortfall. The relief is not usually a repayment of the entire mileage cost; its value depends on the Income Tax you paid and the rate at which relief is given. You can estimate the approved mileage amount with the business mileage calculator.
Can You Claim Mileage If You Are Not Self-Employed?
An employee can claim mileage tax relief when they use their own vehicle for qualifying business travel and are not fully reimbursed at the HMRC-approved amount.
Employee mileage tax relief is available separately from the vehicle-expense rules used by self-employed people. Eligibility depends on the journey, the vehicle used, what the employer paid and whether the employee paid sufficient Income Tax. Being paid through PAYE does not prevent an employee from making a legitimate mileage claim.
According to HMRC guidance for vehicles used for work, eligible employees can claim for the current tax year and the four previous tax years. The employee must use a qualifying vehicle for business travel and keep suitable records. Where an employer reimburses the full approved amount, no additional Mileage Allowance Relief is normally available.
The claim generally relates to a privately owned or personally leased car, van, motorcycle or bicycle. Different rules apply when the vehicle is owned or leased by the employer. Employees using a company-provided vehicle should review the separate section below rather than applying the private-vehicle mileage rates automatically.
What Counts as Business Mileage?
Business mileage generally covers journeys made in performing employment duties or travelling to a workplace that qualifies as temporary, excluding ordinary commuting and private travel.
Qualifying business mileage can include travel between workplaces for the same employment, journeys to visit customers and trips to temporary workplaces where the statutory conditions are satisfied. A journey made directly as part of the employee’s duties may also qualify. The purpose and circumstances of the journey matter more than whether the employer informally describes it as work travel.
- Travel from one workplace to another for the same job
- Journeys to visit clients, customers or suppliers
- Travel to a temporary workplace where HMRC’s conditions are met
- Journeys made while carrying out employment duties
- Travel to necessary off-site meetings or qualifying work-related training
As explained in the HMRC Employment Income Manual, qualifying travel must be necessary for attending a particular place in performing the duties of the employment. A workplace is not automatically temporary simply because an assignment has an expected end date. Regular attendance, the length and purpose of the assignment and the wider employment arrangements may all affect its status.
Which Journeys Do Not Qualify?
Ordinary commuting between an employee’s home and permanent workplace, substantially similar commuting journeys and private travel do not normally qualify for mileage tax relief.
HMRC generally treats travel between home and a permanent workplace as ordinary commuting. This applies even when an employee occasionally works from home or performs some duties before leaving home. Choosing to live farther from work also does not convert any part of the normal commute into business mileage.
According to HMRC’s ordinary commuting guidance, no deduction is normally due for travel between home and a permanent workplace. A journey to a temporary workplace can qualify, but a journey that is substantially the same as the employee’s normal commute may still be treated as ordinary commuting. Adding a minor business appointment to a normal journey does not necessarily make the entire journey eligible.
- Home-to-office travel to a permanent workplace
- Travel from work to home
- Private journeys made during or after the working day
- Personal detours added to a business journey
- Journeys reimbursed in full at the approved amount
- Mileage that cannot be supported by appropriate records
What Are the HMRC Mileage Rates for 2026/27?
For 2026/27, the approved rate for an employee’s own car or van is 55p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p for each subsequent business mile.
HMRC increased the approved car and van rate for the first 10,000 business miles from 45p to 55p for the 2026/27 tax year. The new rate applies from 6 April 2026. Claims for earlier tax years must use the rate that applied during the year in which the journey occurred rather than the current rate.
According to the official HMRC travel and mileage rates, the approved rates for 2026/27 are:
| Vehicle | First 10,000 business miles | Business miles above 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 55p per mile | 25p per mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p per mile | 24p per mile |
| Bicycle | 20p per mile | 20p per mile |
The rates apply to qualifying business mileage in the employee’s own vehicle. For a privately owned electric or hybrid car, the car and van mileage rates are generally used in the same way as for other privately owned cars. The approved rate is designed to cover vehicle ownership and running costs, so an employee cannot normally use it and make additional claims for fuel, electricity, vehicle tax, MOTs or repairs covering the same journeys.
An employer may also make a tax-free passenger payment of up to 5p per passenger per business mile when an employee carries a fellow employee on a qualifying work journey. However, HMRC states that there is no employee Mileage Allowance Relief for a passenger-payment shortfall if the employer pays less than 5p or pays nothing. Passenger payments should therefore not be included automatically in an employee’s mileage-relief claim.
What Is Mileage Allowance Relief?
Mileage Allowance Relief is an Income Tax deduction based on the difference between the approved mileage amount and the qualifying mileage reimbursement received from an employer.
The approved amount is calculated by multiplying qualifying business miles by the appropriate HMRC rate. Any qualifying mileage payment received from the employer is then deducted. If the result is positive, the remaining amount may qualify for Mileage Allowance Relief.
HMRC refers to qualifying employer reimbursements within the approved amount as Approved Mileage Allowance Payments. According to its mileage-payment guidance, an employee who receives less than the approved amount may be entitled to a deduction for the shortfall. If the employer pays the full approved amount, there is normally no shortfall to claim.
The shortfall is not necessarily the cash refund HMRC will pay. It is the amount on which Income Tax relief is calculated. An employee who has paid Income Tax at 20% would normally receive £20 of tax relief for each £100 of qualifying shortfall, subject to their circumstances and the amount of tax paid.
What If Your Employer Pays Less Than the HMRC Rate?
If an employer pays less than the approved mileage amount, an employee may claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference rather than the full mileage value.
An employer is not necessarily required to reimburse employees at the HMRC-approved rate. The amount an employer must pay can depend on the employment contract and workplace expense policy. The HMRC rate determines how much can generally be paid without an Income Tax charge and how a potential employee relief is calculated; it does not itself guarantee reimbursement at that rate.
For example, suppose an employee drives 5,000 qualifying business miles in their own car during 2026/27. The approved amount is £2,750, calculated as 5,000 miles multiplied by 55p. If the employer pays 35p per mile, the employee receives £1,750 and the potential Mileage Allowance Relief amount is the £1,000 shortfall.
| Example calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Approved amount: 5,000 miles × 55p | £2,750 |
| Employer payment: 5,000 miles × 35p | £1,750 |
| Potential relief amount | £1,000 |
| Indicative tax saving at 20% | £200 |
| Indicative tax saving at 40% | £400 |
The example assumes all 5,000 miles qualify, the employee uses their own car, the employer’s payment relates directly to those journeys and the employee has paid sufficient Income Tax. A 20% taxpayer would not normally receive the entire £1,000 shortfall from HMRC; the illustrative relief is £200. The exact value can differ for Scottish taxpayers, people whose income spans tax bands and anyone with insufficient Income Tax liability.
Can You Claim If Your Employer Pays Nothing?
An employee may claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the approved amount for qualifying business mileage when their employer provides no mileage reimbursement.
The same calculation applies when no reimbursement is received, but nothing is deducted from the approved amount. If an employee drives 2,000 qualifying business miles in their own car during 2026/27, the potential relief amount would be £1,100 at 55p per mile. A taxpayer receiving relief at 20% could obtain an indicative Income Tax saving of £220, subject to eligibility and sufficient tax having been paid.
Employees should first check whether their employer operates an expense policy and whether a reimbursement claim is still available. HMRC tax relief does not replace an employment-contract right to reimbursement, and an employer claim may produce a different financial result. Any amount paid later by the employer must be reflected accurately so the employee does not receive relief twice for the same mileage.
How Do You Claim Mileage Tax Relief?
Employees can generally claim through HMRC’s online employment-expenses service, form P87 or Self Assessment, depending on their filing position and the size of the claim.
Start by calculating qualifying mileage separately for each tax year and vehicle type. Apply the rate that was in force for that tax year, then subtract the mileage payments received from the employer. Do not use the 2026/27 rate for journeys made before 6 April 2026.
According to HMRC’s employee claim service, anyone who already completes a Self Assessment tax return must claim the employment expense through that return. Other eligible employees can use HMRC’s online service or submit form P87 where the relevant conditions are met. The Self Assessment guide explains the wider return process without repeating it here.
HMRC’s current P87 guidance states that a postal claim must generally be made within four years from the end of the relevant tax year. Total employment-expense claims of £2,500 or less for a tax year can potentially use the P87 route, while claims above £2,500 must normally be made through Self Assessment. The claimant must also have paid Income Tax for the year concerned.
For a current-year claim, HMRC may adjust the employee’s PAYE tax code so less tax is deducted from future pay. A previous-year claim may result in a repayment or another appropriate adjustment. Employees should inspect the amended code and subsequent payslips; the guide to checking a tax code online explains how to review the calculation.
What Mileage Records Should You Keep?
Keep a mileage log showing the date, journey purpose, start and end points, business miles and any amount reimbursed by the employer.
HMRC currently requires mileage evidence when an employee submits a claim. For each journey, the log should show why it was made and distinguish business travel from ordinary commuting or personal mileage. Records should be created at or near the time of travel rather than reconstructed from unsupported estimates.
According to HMRC’s P87 evidence requirements, copies of mileage logs must include the reason for every journey and the postcodes for its start and end points. Where a claim covers more than one employment, a separate mileage log must be supplied for each one. It is also sensible to retain employer expense statements, payslips, mileage-payment records and the submitted claim confirmation.
- Date of the journey
- Starting location and postcode
- Destination and postcode
- Business reason for travelling
- Number of qualifying business miles
- Vehicle type used
- Employer reimbursement received
- Any personal or commuting mileage excluded
Fuel receipts do not by themselves prove that a journey qualifies as business travel. When an employee uses their own vehicle and claims the statutory mileage amount, the mileage rate covers the relevant vehicle-running costs. The central evidence is therefore an accurate journey log supported by the employment circumstances.
Do Company-Car Journeys Use the Same Rules?
No. Employees using a company vehicle cannot automatically claim the private-vehicle mileage rates and may instead claim eligible unreimbursed fuel or electricity costs for business journeys.
The approved 55p and 25p car rates apply when an employee uses a privately owned or personally leased qualifying vehicle. HMRC’s vehicle guidance states that a company-car user may instead claim relief on actual fuel or electricity costs paid personally for business trips, less any employer reimbursement. Records must demonstrate the business journey and the actual cost incurred.
Employers may use HMRC advisory fuel rates when reimbursing company-car business mileage or when employees repay private fuel. These rates are separate from Approved Mileage Allowance Payments and can change during the tax year. The company car tax calculator covers the Benefit in Kind position, while current fuel reimbursement rates should be checked directly on GOV.UK.
Employee Mileage vs Self-Employed Mileage
Employees claim relief for an eligible reimbursement shortfall, whereas self-employed people normally deduct eligible vehicle costs or simplified mileage expenses when calculating business profit.
An employee does not deduct mileage from business turnover because they are not calculating trading profit for that employment. Instead, Mileage Allowance Relief provides a deduction against employment income where the statutory conditions are met. The employer reimbursement must be taken into account.
A self-employed person may be able to use simplified mileage expenses or claim an eligible business proportion of actual vehicle costs, subject to the applicable rules and previous choices for the vehicle. Someone who is both employed and self-employed should keep the journeys and claims for each activity separate. The self-employed tax calculator provides wider context for sole-trader profit, Income Tax and National Insurance.
Common Employee Mileage Claim Mistakes
Common errors include claiming ordinary commuting, using the wrong tax-year rate, ignoring employer reimbursements and treating the relief amount as a full cash refund.
The 55p rate applies to the first 10,000 qualifying car or van business miles in 2026/27. Earlier-year claims generally use the older rate that applied at the time, including 45p for the first 10,000 car or van miles before 6 April 2026. Applying the latest rate retrospectively to every open tax year would overstate the claim.
Employees should not claim the full approved mileage amount when an employer has already paid part of it. They should also avoid claiming fuel, servicing, insurance, MOT and repair costs separately when using the approved rate for their own vehicle. These costs are already represented within the mileage rate.
Another mistake is assuming that every journey requested by a manager qualifies automatically. Permanent-workplace and ordinary-commuting rules can still prevent relief, even where travelling is inconvenient or expensive. Where the workplace status or employment arrangement is unclear, check the detailed HMRC guidance before submitting a claim.
How to Check the Value of Your Claim
Calculate the approved mileage amount, subtract employer payments and apply your relevant Income Tax rate to the qualifying shortfall for an initial estimate.
The business mileage calculator can calculate the approved amount using the current vehicle and mileage bands. That figure is not automatically the refund: employer reimbursements must be deducted, and the remaining amount normally receives relief at the taxpayer’s applicable rate. The final benefit also cannot exceed the Income Tax paid for the relevant year.
If HMRC gives the relief through a tax-code adjustment, compare the revised deduction with your payslip rather than expecting a separate bank payment immediately. The Income Tax calculator can provide an initial PAYE estimate, while the guide to claiming a tax refund from HMRC explains common repayment routes. Always retain the HMRC claim confirmation and check that the same expense has not been relieved twice.
This guide provides general information about employee mileage tax relief and HMRC mileage rates for 2026/27. Eligibility depends on the journey, workplace, vehicle, employer reimbursement, tax paid and individual circumstances. For personalised advice, consult a qualified tax adviser or contact HMRC directly. Always check GOV.UK for current rates, claim procedures and guidance.
Written by
Mia Carragher
Mia writes beginner-friendly UK tax and personal finance guides, with a focus on income tax, National Insurance, salary calculators and simple HMRC explainers.
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