The approved mileage rates
HMRC sets flat rates per mile for using your own vehicle for business journeys. The current rates are:
| Vehicle | First 10,000 miles | Over 10,000 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 45p | 25p |
| Motorcycle | 24p | 24p |
| Bicycle | 20p | 20p |
The 45p rate covers everything — fuel, oil, tyres, servicing, insurance, and wear and tear. You don't claim fuel separately on top of it. The 10,000-mile threshold resets at the start of each tax year on 6 April.
What counts as a business journey
A business journey is travel you make for the purpose of your work:
- Travelling to a client's location
- Moving between clients or jobs on the same day
- Going to a business meeting, networking event, or trade show
- Travelling to buy stock or materials
- Working at a location that isn't your usual place of work
What doesn't count
Ordinary commuting is not a business journey. HMRC defines this as travel between your home and a permanent, regular place of work. If you go to the same studio, office, or site every working day, the journey from home is a commute — and commuting is not deductible.
The line matters more for some trades than others. If you're a mobile worker with no fixed base — travelling to different clients or sites each day — HMRC generally treats travel from home as the start of a business journey. If you work at a fixed location, only travel beyond that location qualifies.
Keeping a mileage log
HMRC doesn't prescribe a specific format, but you need a record showing:
- Date of the journey
- Start and end location (or purpose if that makes the destination clear)
- Business reason for the journey
- Miles driven
A spreadsheet, a note in your phone, or a dedicated mileage app all work. The key is recording at the time, not reconstructing from memory six months later.
Some sole traders also note their odometer reading at the start and end of the tax year (6 April). This provides a useful cross-check if HMRC questions the total claimed.
Can I also claim fuel, insurance, and servicing?
Only if you use the actual costs method instead of the mileage rate. These two approaches are mutually exclusive:
- Mileage rate — 45p/25p per mile covers all running costs. You cannot additionally claim fuel, insurance, MOT, or repairs.
- Actual costs method — you track real running costs and claim the business proportion. More complex, generally only worth it for high-mileage sole traders with significant running costs.
Important: once you start using the mileage rate for a vehicle, you must continue using it for that vehicle's entire ownership. You cannot switch to actual costs mid-ownership.
For most sole traders using a personal car partly for business, the mileage rate is simpler and produces a comparable result in practice.
What about a car I'm financing?
The mileage rate applies regardless of whether you own the car outright, are buying it on HP, or have a personal lease. What matters is that you used it for business journeys.
If you have a car on a business lease (taken out in the business's name), different rules apply and you'd typically claim actual costs rather than mileage rates. For most sole traders using their personal car, the mileage rate is the right approach.
For a full breakdown of everything sole traders can claim, see what can I claim as a self-employed expense? or home office costs.