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Mileage calculator

Mileage Allowance Calculator

Work out the tax-free mileage you can claim for business driving at HMRC approved rates. Enter your business miles and vehicle to see the approved amount, and if your employer pays less, the tax relief you can claim back.

Free, no signup2026/27 HMRC ratesVerify at gov.uk
Your business mileage
Only miles driven for work, not your normal commute to a permanent workplace.
miles
Fellow employees you carry on business trips. Your employer can add 5p per mile each, tax-free.
people
What your employer already reimburses per mile. Leave blank if they pay nothing or you are self-employed.
£
Sets the rate for any relief on an underpayment.
Approved mileage allowance
£6,000.00
The tax-free amount you can claim for 12,000 business miles by car or van at HMRC approved rates.
First 10,000 miles at 55pThe first 10,000 business miles£5,500.00
2,000 miles over 10,000 at 25p£500.00
Total approved amount£6,000.00
Self-employed? You deduct this approved amount from your business profit instead of claiming relief. Check your wider bill with the self-employed tax calculator.
2026/27 HMRC approved rates: cars and vans 55p for the first 10,000 miles then 25p, motorcycles 24p, bikes 20p, plus 5p per passenger. UK-wide. General information, not tax advice.
Simon Chadwick
Simon Chadwick
Founder, Orbit Money
Method: HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates and Mileage Allowance ReliefUpdated: 17 July 2026Sources: gov.uk travel mileage rates

How the mileage allowance works

When you drive your own car, van, motorcycle or bike for work, HMRC lets you claim a set amount per mile tax-free. These are the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP), sometimes called the MAP rates. The idea is simple: the rate is meant to cover fuel, wear, insurance and running costs, so you can be paid it, or claim it, without any tax to worry about. To get the approved amount, you multiply your business miles for the tax year by the rate per mile for your vehicle. Business miles are trips you make for work, not your ordinary commute from home to a permanent workplace.

HMRC approved mileage rates for 2026/27

For cars and vans, the rate is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile for every mile above 10,000. The 55p first-tier rate rose from the long-running 45p on 6 April 2026, so miles driven in the 2026-27 tax year use 55p while anything up to 5 April 2026 stays at 45p. Motorcycles are a flat 24p per mile and bikes are 20p per mile, with no threshold. On top of the car and van rate, an employer can pay an extra 5p per mile for each fellow employee carried on a business trip.

The 10,000-mile threshold, explained

The higher 55p rate only applies to your first 10,000 business miles in a tax year. Once you pass 10,000 miles, every extra mile is claimed at 25p, because HMRC assumes the fixed costs of running the vehicle are already covered by then. The count runs per tax year and resets on 6 April, so high-mileage drivers start fresh at 55p each April. If you drive 12,000 business miles, the first 10,000 are worth £5,500 and the last 2,000 are worth £500, giving a £6,000 approved amount.

Mileage Allowance Relief when your employer pays less

If your employer reimburses you below the HMRC rate, you are out of pocket, but you can claim the difference back as Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR). The relief is the shortfall between the approved amount and what your employer paid, multiplied by your marginal tax rate of 20%, 40% or 45%. Say your approved amount is £6,000 but your employer pays 30p per mile on 12,000 miles, so £3,600. The £2,400 shortfall earns relief of £480 for a basic-rate taxpayer. You claim it on your Self Assessment return, or on a P87 if you do not file one. Enter what your employer pays per mile above to see your own figure.

When your employer pays more, or you are self-employed

Paying up to the approved amount is tax-free. Anything above it counts as taxable pay, reported on a P11D or through payroll, so you pay income tax and National Insurance on the excess. That is why most employers pay exactly the HMRC rate. If you are self-employed, the mechanism is different but the rates are the same: you deduct the approved amount from your business profit as a simplified expense instead of claiming relief, which lowers the profit your income tax and Class 4 NI are charged on.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my mileage allowance?
Multiply your business miles by the HMRC approved rate for your vehicle. For a car or van in 2026-27 that is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p for every mile above 10,000. For example, 12,000 business miles works out as 10,000 at 55p, which is £5,500, plus 2,000 at 25p, which is £500, giving a £6,000 approved amount. Motorcycles are a flat 24p per mile and bikes 20p per mile.
Is mileage still 45p per mile?
Not for a full year any more. The first-10,000-mile rate for cars and vans was 45p for over a decade, but HMRC raised it to 55p per mile from 6 April 2026. So journeys in the 2026-27 tax year are claimed at 55p, while anything up to 5 April 2026 stays at the old 45p rate. The 25p rate above 10,000 miles, the 24p motorcycle rate and the 20p bike rate are unchanged.
What happens to the rate after 10,000 miles?
The rate drops. Cars and vans are claimed at 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile for every business mile beyond that. The 10,000-mile count resets at the start of each tax year on 6 April. Motorcycles and bikes have no threshold, so they stay at 24p and 20p per mile for every mile.
Can I claim tax relief if my employer pays less than the approved amount?
Yes. If your employer reimburses you below the HMRC approved rate, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall. This is called Mileage Allowance Relief, and it is worth the shortfall multiplied by your marginal tax rate, so 20%, 40% or 45%. For example, if you are owed £600 more than your employer paid and you are a basic-rate taxpayer, the relief is £120. You claim it through your Self Assessment return, or a P87 form if you do not file one.
What if my employer pays more than the HMRC rate?
Anything paid above the approved amount counts as taxable pay. Your employer reports it on a P11D or through payroll, and you pay income tax and National Insurance on the excess. Up to the approved amount, mileage payments are completely tax-free, which is why most employers pay exactly the HMRC rate rather than more.
Can I claim the 5p passenger rate as tax relief?
No. An employer can choose to pay an extra 5p per mile for each fellow employee you carry on a business trip in a car or van, and that payment is tax-free. But if your employer does not pay it, you cannot claim the passenger rate back as tax relief. Passenger payments sit outside Mileage Allowance Relief, so this calculator shows them as an optional employer top-up, separate from the relief you can reclaim.

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Simon Chadwick
About the author
Simon Chadwick
Founder of Orbit Money

Simon is the founder of Orbit Money, a tool that helps people track subscriptions and recurring spend. He builds Orbit's free money calculators and writes about personal finance for UK and Australian readers.

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This tool is a guide, not tax or financial advice.