AMAP Mileage Claim Guide 2026/27: Rates, Rules and Relief
How to claim AMAP mileage in 2026/27: 45p and 25p car rates, motorcycle and bicycle rates, MAR tax relief and how employees and the self-employed claim.
Quick answer
For 2026/27 the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate is 45p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles in your own car or van, then 25p per mile after that. Motorcycles are 24p per mile and bicycles 20p. These rates are tax-free when paid by an employer, and the same figures are deductible by the self-employed.
What AMAP rates are and what they cover
AMAP stands for Approved Mileage Allowance Payments. It is the flat, per-mile figure HMRC accepts as the cost of using your own vehicle for business, without you having to itemise fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres or depreciation. The rate bundles all of that into a single number.
The headline rates for the 2026/27 tax year are:
| Vehicle | First 10,000 business miles | Over 10,000 business miles |
|---|---|---|
| Car or van | 45p per mile | 25p per mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p per mile | 24p per mile |
| Bicycle | 20p per mile | 20p per mile |
Note that only cars and vans have the two-tier structure. Motorcycle and bicycle rates are flat regardless of how many miles you do.
How the 10,000-mile threshold works
The split between 45p and 25p happens once your cumulative business mileage for the year passes 10,000 miles. Because the threshold resets each 6 April, most people who drive moderate business miles never reach the lower 25p band at all.
Here is a worked example for someone who drives 14,000 business miles in their own car over a full tax year:
| Mileage band | Miles | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 10,000 | 10,000 | 45p | GBP 4,500 |
| Remaining | 4,000 | 25p | GBP 1,000 |
| Total | 14,000 | -- | GBP 5,500 |
That GBP 5,500 is the tax-free amount an employer could pay, or the deduction a sole trader could take against profit.
Employees: getting the AMAP money
There are two situations to separate.
Your employer pays you per mile
If your employer pays mileage up to the AMAP rate, the payment is tax-free and National Insurance free. It does not show as taxable pay. If they pay above the rate - say 50p a mile - the excess (5p a mile here) is taxable earnings and gets reported through payroll or on a P11D.
Your employer pays nothing or less than AMAP
This is where Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) comes in. You claim tax relief on the gap between what you were paid and what AMAP allows. The relief is a deduction from taxable income, so the cash benefit is your marginal tax rate applied to the shortfall.
Suppose you drive 6,000 business miles and your employer pays 20p a mile.
- AMAP entitlement: 6,000 x 45p = GBP 2,700
- Employer paid: 6,000 x 20p = GBP 1,200
- Unrelieved shortfall: GBP 1,500
A basic-rate (20%) taxpayer gets GBP 300 back. A higher-rate (40%) taxpayer gets GBP 600 back. To see how a deduction like this moves your overall tax position, try the
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Open Take-Home Pay calculatorYou claim MAR through a Self Assessment return, or via form P87 if you do not file one and the total expense claim is within HMRC's P87 limit. Claims can usually go back four tax years.
Self-employed: the simplified mileage method
Sole traders and business partners can use the same 45p/25p/24p/20p figures as a simplified way to claim vehicle costs. Instead of totting up actual fuel, repairs, insurance and claiming capital allowances on the vehicle, you simply multiply business miles by the AMAP rate and deduct the result from your profit.
This is often the cleaner choice for lower-cost cars and for anyone who dislikes keeping every fuel receipt. The trade-off:
Simplified mileage method: easy record-keeping (just miles), no capital allowances to track, predictable per-mile figure. Best for cheaper cars and moderate mileage.
Actual cost method: claim a proportion of real running costs plus capital allowances on the vehicle. Can be worth more for expensive vehicles, high running costs or significant depreciation, but needs full records and apportionment between business and private use.
Once you use simplified mileage for a particular vehicle, you must stick with it for that vehicle for as long as you own it. You cannot flip between methods year to year on the same car.
Because the mileage deduction lowers taxable profit, it reduces both Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance (6% on profits between GBP 12,570 and GBP 50,270, then 2% above). Model the combined effect with the
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Open Self-Employed Tax calculatorWhat counts as a business mile
This is where most claims go wrong. A business mile must be travel you are obliged to make for work. The ordinary commute from home to a permanent workplace is private travel and never qualifies.
Journeys that usually do count:
- Travelling to a client, supplier or site visit
- Driving between two separate workplaces in a single day
- Going to a temporary workplace (broadly, one you attend for less than 24 months)
Journeys that do not count:
- Home to your normal place of work and back
- Personal errands, even if you stop on a work trip
- Travel where the main purpose is private
If you are unsure whether a particular journey is private or business, keep the record and check the gov.uk guidance on employee travel before you claim. With YMYL tax claims, an honest, documented position is the only safe one.
Mileage and VAT
The AMAP rate is an Income Tax mechanism. For VAT-registered businesses there is a separate point: you may be able to reclaim the VAT on the fuel element of business mileage, using HMRC advisory fuel rates and keeping fuel receipts as evidence that you incurred enough VATable fuel cost. This does not give you an extra Income Tax deduction - it is purely a VAT input reclaim. If your turnover is near the GBP 90,000 VAT registration threshold, factor this in. The
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Open VAT calculatorRecord-keeping: the non-negotiable part
HMRC can ask you to evidence any mileage claim. A defensible log records, for each business journey:
- Date of the journey
- Start and end point (or postcode)
- Purpose of the trip
- Business miles
A spreadsheet or a mileage app is fine. What is not fine is reconstructing a year of journeys from memory the night before a deadline. No log means no reliable claim, and an inflated claim that cannot be supported is the kind of error HMRC penalises.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Claiming fuel receipts on top of the AMAP rate for the same vehicle. The rate already covers fuel.
- Including the daily commute as business mileage.
- Forgetting that the 10,000-mile threshold is cumulative across all business driving in the year.
- Using AMAP rates for a company car where the employer provides fuel - use HMRC advisory fuel rates instead.
- Failing to claim MAR at all when an employer pays below 45p. This is money left on the table.
The bottom line
For 2026/27 the AMAP rates are unchanged at 45p (first 10,000 car/van miles), 25p thereafter, 24p for motorcycles and 20p for bicycles. Employees claim the gap via Mileage Allowance Relief at their marginal rate; the self-employed deduct mileage straight from profit. Keep a clean, dated log, pick the right method for your vehicle, and check your overall tax position with the
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What are the AMAP mileage rates for 2026/27?
For cars and vans the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rate is 45p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile after that. Motorcycles are 24p per mile with no threshold change, and bicycles are 20p per mile. These rates cover fuel plus running costs such as insurance, servicing and depreciation. The same figures apply across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Does the 10,000-mile threshold reset each tax year?
Yes. The 10,000-mile boundary that splits the 45p and 25p car rates resets at the start of each UK tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. So you can claim 45p for the first 10,000 business miles every year, and 25p only kicks in once you pass 10,000 miles within that single year. Keep a dated mileage log so you can show exactly when you crossed the threshold.
Can I claim mileage if my employer already pays me a car allowance?
A car allowance is taxable salary, not a mileage payment. If your employer pays you less than the AMAP rate per business mile (or nothing per mile), you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the shortfall through your tax return or a P87. If your employer pays more than the AMAP rate, the excess is taxable. The car allowance itself does not change your AMAP entitlement on actual business miles driven.
How does Mileage Allowance Relief actually save me money?
Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) reduces your taxable income by the unclaimed AMAP amount, so you get tax back at your marginal rate. If you drive 5,000 business miles and your employer pays nothing, the relief is 5,000 x 45p = GBP 2,250. A basic-rate taxpayer saves 20% of that (GBP 450); a higher-rate taxpayer saves 40% (GBP 900). It is relief on tax, not a cash refund of the full mileage figure.
What counts as a business mile?
A business mile is travel you must make for work, such as visiting a client, driving between two workplaces or going to a temporary workplace. Your ordinary commute from home to a permanent workplace does not count, and neither does private travel. A temporary workplace is generally one you attend for under 24 months. If in doubt, keep records and check the gov.uk guidance on travel expenses before claiming.
Can the self-employed claim AMAP rates instead of actual car costs?
Yes. Sole traders and partners can use the simplified mileage method - 45p for the first 10,000 business miles then 25p - instead of working out actual running costs and capital allowances. Once you choose simplified mileage for a particular vehicle you must keep using it for that vehicle. The mileage figure is a deductible business expense that lowers your taxable profit, reducing both Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance.
Do I pay tax on mileage payments from my employer?
Mileage payments up to the AMAP rate are tax-free and do not appear on your payslip as taxable pay. If your employer pays more than 45p (or 25p above 10,000 miles) per business mile, the excess counts as taxable earnings and is reported through payroll or a P11D. If they pay less, you do not owe tax but you can claim relief on the difference. Always keep your mileage records to support either position.
How far back can I claim mileage tax relief?
You can usually claim Mileage Allowance Relief for the previous four tax years, as well as the current one. So in the 2026/27 tax year you can typically still claim back to around the 2022/23 year, subject to HMRC time limits. You will need mileage records for each year. Claims for closed years use the rates that applied then, though the headline car rates have not changed for some time.
Can I claim mileage and fuel receipts at the same time?
No. The AMAP rate is designed to cover fuel and all running costs together, so you cannot also claim petrol receipts on top of the 45p or 25p rate for the same vehicle. The exception is that VAT-registered businesses may reclaim the VAT element of fuel within the mileage rate using HMRC advisory fuel rates and fuel receipts as evidence - but that is a separate VAT mechanism, not an extra Income Tax deduction.
Which mileage rate applies to a company car?
AMAP rates do not apply to company cars where the employer provides the fuel. For company cars you reimburse private fuel or claim business fuel using HMRC advisory fuel rates, which vary by engine size and fuel type and change quarterly. AMAP at 45p/25p applies when you use your own vehicle for business. If you have a company car, check the current advisory fuel rate on gov.uk rather than using the AMAP figures.
Try the calculators
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