The HMRC mileage rate, explained for couriers and drivers

The short answer

The HMRC mileage rate for cars and vans is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25p after that. It rose from 45p on 6 April 2026. Motorcycles get 24p a mile and bicycles 20p. Self-employed couriers can use these rates to claim mileage expenses against tax.

If you still think of the mileage rate as 45p, update your sums. For cars and vans it has been 55p a mile since 6 April 2026. That is about a fifth more than the old rate, and it applies across the whole 2026 to 2027 tax year.

The current rates

Here is what HMRC allows per business mile, by vehicle.

Vehicle	Rate per mile	After 10,000 miles in the tax year
Car or van (petrol, diesel or electric)	55p	25p
Motorcycle	24p	24p, no threshold
Bicycle	20p	20p, no threshold

The new rates took effect on 6 April 2026 and apply retrospectively for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, so all your business miles in that year count at these figures. They are published on GOV.UK, and the rise from 45p is set out in an HMRC policy paper.

The 10,000 mile threshold

The 55p rate covers your first 10,000 business miles in a tax year. After that, cars and vans drop to 25p a mile until the tax year ends. Motorcycles and bicycles have no threshold: their rates stay the same however many miles you do.

10,000 miles sounds like a lot. It is not, for a courier. Delivery miles stack up quickly, and a full-time driver can pass the threshold well inside a tax year. So treat the 25p rate as a real part of your year, not an edge case.

What the rate is actually for

The same rates do two different jobs, and people mix them up.

An employer can repay an employee for business miles tax free at these rates.
A self-employed person can claim the same rates as an expense, using what HMRC calls simplified expenses.

If you deliver as a self-employed courier, the second one is yours. Nobody pays you 55p a mile. Instead you claim the mileage when you file your tax return, and it comes off your taxable profit.

A rule of thumb, not a measurement

Hold on to this bit. The 55p figure is a tax rule of thumb. It is meant to roughly cover fuel plus wear and tear on a typical vehicle. HMRC has not measured yours.

A frugal small car may genuinely cost less than 55p a mile to run. An old van doing short urban trips may cost more. The rate is still a fair starting point, and it beats a guess, because it is a real published figure.

Fuel prices move every week, so your real fuel spend will drift around any fixed figure. The government publishes weekly average pump prices if you want to check yours.

If you use Zippabout, the cost-per-mile setting is where this figure goes. The 55p rate is a sensible default. If you know your real running costs, use those instead.

Simplified expenses or actual costs

You have two ways to claim for a vehicle. Simplified expenses is the flat mileage rate with little admin; working out actual costs takes more bookkeeping but can come out higher if your vehicle is expensive to run. You cannot mix the two methods for the same vehicle.

You cannot claim fuel on top

The mileage rate already has fuel in it. That is the point of it: one figure covering fuel plus wear and tear. So if you claim mileage, you cannot claim your fuel receipts as well. That would be the same cost claimed twice.

Keep a mileage record

Whichever method you use, keep a log of your business miles. Date, journey, miles. A notebook in the glovebox or a note on your phone both work.

It matters if HMRC ever asks you to show your workings. A log kept as you go is easy. Rebuilding a year of driving from memory is not.

If you use Zippabout, your job history is stored on your own device and can be exported as a JSON file. That gives you a dated record of miles and time to start from.

The trading allowance and Self Assessment

One more threshold. If your gross trading income for a tax year is over £1,000, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October in the following tax year. The £1,000 figure is known as the trading allowance.

The detail lives on gov.uk, and that is where to check it.

Zippabout figures are estimates. They are not a wage slip, and nothing on this page is tax advice.

Common questions

Is the mileage rate 45p or 55p?

It is 55p a mile for cars and vans. The rate rose from 45p on 6 April 2026 and applies across the whole 2026 to 2027 tax year. Above 10,000 business miles in the year it drops to 25p.

What is the HMRC mileage rate for a motorbike?

Motorcycles get 24p a mile at any mileage. There is no 10,000 mile threshold, so the rate does not drop during the year. Bicycles get 20p a mile, also at any mileage.

Does the mileage rate apply to electric vehicles?

Yes. Electric cars and vans use the same rate as petrol and diesel ones. That is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p above that.

What happens after 10,000 miles?

For cars and vans, the rate falls from 55p to 25p a mile for the rest of the tax year. The count resets each tax year. A full-time courier can pass 10,000 business miles well inside a year, so the lower rate is worth expecting.

Can I claim fuel as well as mileage?

No. The mileage rate is built to cover fuel plus wear and tear in one figure. If you claim it, you cannot claim fuel receipts on top, because that would be claiming the same cost twice.

Do I need to keep a mileage log?

Yes, if you claim mileage expenses. Record the date, the journey and the miles for each business trip as you go. If HMRC ever asks you to back up your claim, that log is your evidence.

Does HMRC pay me 55p a mile?

No. If you are self-employed, the rate is an expense you claim against your trading income when you file your tax return, so it reduces your taxable profit. It is not a payment. Employees can be reimbursed by an employer tax free at the same rates.

Is 55p a mile what my vehicle really costs to run?

Not necessarily. It is a tax rule of thumb, not a measurement of your vehicle. A frugal small car may cost less to run, and an old van on short urban trips may cost more. Use it as a starting point, or work out your real costs and use those.

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Rates change, usually each April, so the date below is when they were last checked against the source.

Figures checked 29 July 2026. If one of them is out of date, that is a real bug in this page: tell me and it gets fixed.