The rates for 2026-27
These are flat rates per business mile. You claim them instead of working out the actual cost of buying and running the vehicle, so keep a record of the business miles you do.
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 55p per mile | Cars and goods vehicles (vans), first 10,000 business miles |
| 25p per mile | Cars and goods vehicles, each mile after 10,000 |
| 24p per mile | Motorcycles, all business miles |
HMRC's own worked example: 11,000 business miles is 10,000 miles at 55p (£5,500) plus 1,000 miles at 25p (£250), which comes to £5,750.
Once you use the flat rate for a vehicle you must carry on using it for as long as you use that vehicle in the business, and you cannot use it for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on or already put through as an expense.
The rise from 45p to 55p
The first-10,000-mile rate for cars and vans went up from 45p to 55p. It was announced in May 2026, but the change applies from 6 April 2026, the first day of the 2026-27 tax year. It is backdated to that date, so the whole of 2026-27 runs at 55p and not just the part of the year after the announcement.
The rate for miles after 10,000 stays at 25p and the motorcycle rate stays at 24p. Rates beyond 2026-27 are not published: the government has said it will set out a review at Budget 2026, so do not assume 55p carries into 2027-28.
Bicycles: no rate for the self-employed
There is no simplified mileage rate for cycling if you are a sole trader. The scheme covers cars, goods vehicles and motorcycles, and nothing else, so anything claimed for a bike has to be worked out from actual costs and meet the wholly and exclusively rule.
The 20p a mile quoted for cycling is an approved mileage rate for employees. Employers can pay it to staff tax-free, which is why it is easy to find on gov.uk and why it turns up in lists of sole trader rates. It is not part of the self-employed simplified expenses scheme.
What the rate already covers, and what it does not
The mileage rate is not just fuel money. It is a single fixed rate that stands in for the cost of acquiring, owning, hiring, leasing and using the vehicle.
- Fuel and oil
- Servicing and repairs
- Insurance
- Vehicle tax (vehicle excise duty)
- MOT
- Depreciation
Because those costs sit inside the rate, you cannot claim them separately for the same vehicle as well.
A few journey costs sit outside the rate and can be claimed on top when they are solely for business: tolls, congestion charges and parking fees. Other travel, such as train journeys, is claimed separately too.
Business journeys only, and the 10,000 mile band
Every mile you claim has to be a business journey, or an identifiable business part of a journey, made wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade.
Travel between home and a regular workplace is not a business journey, so it cannot be claimed at any rate. Ordinary private driving is out as well.
The 10,000 mile band is counted across all the business miles you do in the tax year, not separately for each vehicle. Run two vans doing 6,000 business miles each and that is 12,000 miles in total: 10,000 at 55p and 2,000 at 25p, not 55p on all of them. The statute behind the scheme (section 94F of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005) puts the 10,000 mile limit on the total miles of business journeys made in the period. If you run more than one vehicle, check your own position with an accountant.