Free tool
Work out your self-employed business mileage claim at HMRC's approved rates — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 car miles, then 25p — instantly, in your browser, with no signup.
Cars and vans: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p per mile.
Enter your business miles to see the HMRC mileage allowance you can claim.
HMRC's simplified expenses let the self-employed claim a flat amount per business mile instead of adding up the real running costs of a vehicle. It is the simplest way to claim travel, and for most sole traders it gives a fair result with far less paperwork.
The approved rates are:
The 10,000-mile threshold resets at the start of each tax year. The calculator adds the two car tiers together for you, so you can see both the breakdown and the total you can claim. It covers fuel, servicing, insurance and depreciation, so you cannot also claim those actual costs for the same vehicle. This is a planning estimate, not tax advice — check the current rates on GOV.UK.
If you use simplified expenses, HMRC lets you claim a flat rate for every business mile instead of working out the actual running costs of your vehicle. For cars and vans the approved rate is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p per mile after that. Motorcycles are 24p per mile and bicycles are 20p per mile, with no tiered drop.
The 45p rate is meant to cover both the running costs and a share of the cost of buying the vehicle. HMRC assumes that once you have driven 10,000 business miles in a year you have recovered most of that capital cost, so anything above 10,000 miles is paid at the lower 25p rate which reflects running costs only. The 10,000-mile threshold resets each tax year.
Business miles are journeys you make wholly for work — driving to a client, a job, a supplier or a temporary workplace. Your normal commute from home to a permanent place of work does not count, and neither do private trips. Keep a simple log of the date, route, reason and miles for each business journey so you can back up your claim.
No. Simplified mileage is an all-in figure that already covers fuel, servicing, insurance, repairs and depreciation, so you cannot also claim those actual costs for the same vehicle. You choose one method per vehicle and, once you use simplified mileage for a vehicle, you must keep using it for that vehicle. You can still claim separate costs like parking and toll charges on business trips.
If you are recharging travel to a client, add the mileage as its own line on your invoice — for example '320 business miles at 45p' with the calculated amount. With 1nvoic3 you can add a mileage line to any invoice in seconds. This calculator is a planning estimate to help you work out the figure; it is not tax advice.
Add your business mileage as a line on a professional, HMRC-ready invoice in seconds. Free, no signup required.
Invoice it with 1nvoic3