[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":8984},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-mileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses":3,"blog-related-mileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses":355},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":336,"date":337,"description":338,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":341,"imageAlt":342,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":345,"navigation":344,"path":346,"readTime":347,"seo":348,"stem":349,"tags":350,"__hash__":354},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses.md","Community care: forty short visits and nobody counting","The Milesheet Team",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":326},"minimark",[10,14,19,27,34,38,135,138,142,145,231,234,238,244,247,253,260,266,270,273,276,279,283,317,320],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Domiciliary care and community nursing produce a driving pattern almost no other job does: dozens of very short journeys, tight schedules, and no natural pause in which to write anything down.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"the-mileage-is-larger-than-it-feels","The mileage is larger than it feels",[11,20,21,22,26],{},"Twelve visits a day averaging three miles between them is 36 miles. Over 220 working days that is roughly ",[23,24,25],"strong",{},"7,900 miles a year"," — comparable to a sales rep, accumulated three miles at a time.",[11,28,29,30,33],{},"At the approved rates that is around ",[23,31,32],{},"£3,500"," of allowance. Recorded as \"about 30 miles a day\", it becomes a round number that is both hard to defend and almost certainly wrong.",[15,35,37],{"id":36},"what-a-typical-round-adds-up-to","What a typical round adds up to",[39,40,41,63],"table",{},[42,43,44],"thead",{},[45,46,47,51,54,57,60],"tr",{},[48,49,50],"th",{},"Visits per day",[48,52,53],{},"Miles between visits",[48,55,56],{},"Daily miles",[48,58,59],{},"Annual (220 days)",[48,61,62],{},"Approved amount",[64,65,66,84,101,118],"tbody",{},[45,67,68,72,75,78,81],{},[69,70,71],"td",{},"8",[69,73,74],{},"2",[69,76,77],{},"16",[69,79,80],{},"3,520",[69,82,83],{},"£1,584",[45,85,86,89,92,95,98],{},[69,87,88],{},"12",[69,90,91],{},"3",[69,93,94],{},"36",[69,96,97],{},"7,920",[69,99,100],{},"£3,564",[45,102,103,106,109,112,115],{},[69,104,105],{},"15",[69,107,108],{},"4",[69,110,111],{},"60",[69,113,114],{},"13,200",[69,116,117],{},"£5,740",[45,119,120,123,126,129,132],{},[69,121,122],{},"18",[69,124,125],{},"5",[69,127,128],{},"90",[69,130,131],{},"19,800",[69,133,134],{},"£7,450",[11,136,137],{},"The last two rows cross the 10,000-mile threshold, so the totals are banded rather than a flat 45p.",[15,139,141],{"id":140},"what-an-underpaying-employer-costs-you","What an underpaying employer costs you",[11,143,144],{},"On 7,920 business miles, where the approved amount is £3,564:",[39,146,147,163],{},[42,148,149],{},[45,150,151,154,157,160],{},[48,152,153],{},"Employer pays",[48,155,156],{},"You receive",[48,158,159],{},"Shortfall",[48,161,162],{},"Relief at 20%",[64,164,165,178,192,206,219],{},[45,166,167,170,172,175],{},[69,168,169],{},"45p",[69,171,100],{},[69,173,174],{},"£0",[69,176,177],{},"—",[45,179,180,183,186,189],{},[69,181,182],{},"35p",[69,184,185],{},"£2,772",[69,187,188],{},"£792",[69,190,191],{},"£158",[45,193,194,197,200,203],{},[69,195,196],{},"30p",[69,198,199],{},"£2,376",[69,201,202],{},"£1,188",[69,204,205],{},"£238",[45,207,208,211,214,216],{},[69,209,210],{},"25p",[69,212,213],{},"£1,980",[69,215,83],{},[69,217,218],{},"£317",[45,220,221,224,226,228],{},[69,222,223],{},"Nothing",[69,225,174],{},[69,227,100],{},[69,229,230],{},"£713",[11,232,233],{},"And it can be claimed for the current year plus the previous four.",[15,235,237],{"id":236},"where-the-rules-bite","Where the rules bite",[11,239,240,243],{},[23,241,242],{},"The first and last journeys."," If you have a base you attend — an office, a depot, a clinic — travel from home to it is ordinary commuting. If you go from home directly to your first client and home from your last, the position is different and often more favourable.",[11,245,246],{},"Which of those you are in is a question about your contract and working pattern, not about how it feels. It is worth establishing once, properly, because it affects two journeys every working day.",[11,248,249,252],{},[23,250,251],{},"Reimbursement below the approved rate."," Many employers in the sector pay a per-mile rate lower than HMRC's approved figure. Where that happens, the employee can claim tax relief on the difference through Self Assessment or a P87 — and a great many never do.",[11,254,255,256,259],{},"On 7,900 miles, an employer paying 30p against an approved 45p leaves relief due on roughly ",[23,257,258],{},"£1,185"," of shortfall. For a basic-rate taxpayer that is around £237 of tax back, for filling in a form.",[11,261,262,265],{},[23,263,264],{},"Passenger payments."," If you carry a colleague on a work journey, 5p a mile per head is available — but only if the employer pays it. It cannot be claimed as relief if they do not.",[15,267,269],{"id":268},"the-recording-problem-honestly","The recording problem, honestly",[11,271,272],{},"Nobody is going to stop between a medication round and a personal care visit to log three miles. Any system that depends on that will fail, and the resulting log will be a reconstruction.",[11,274,275],{},"Automatic recording is the only realistic answer here. Milesheet notices you setting off, records the drive, and stops when you have been still for a few minutes — so forty visits arrive as forty journeys with real distances, and the whole day sorts in seconds afterwards.",[11,277,278],{},"Tagging the regular addresses means most of it classifies itself.",[15,280,282],{"id":281},"sources","Sources",[284,285,286,296,303,310],"ul",{},[287,288,289],"li",{},[290,291,295],"a",{"href":292,"rel":293},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002Frates-and-allowances-travel-mileage-and-fuel-allowances\u002Ftravel-mileage-and-fuel-rates-and-allowances",[294],"nofollow","HMRC — Travel, mileage and fuel rates and allowances",[287,297,298],{},[290,299,302],{"href":300,"rel":301},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Ftax-relief-for-employees\u002Fvehicles-you-use-for-work",[294],"HMRC — Claim tax relief for your job expenses: vehicles you use for work",[287,304,305],{},[290,306,309],{"href":307,"rel":308},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fclaim-income-tax-relief-for-your-employment-expenses-p87",[294],"HMRC — Claim Income Tax relief for employment expenses (P87)",[287,311,312],{},[290,313,316],{"href":314,"rel":315},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002F490-employee-travel-a-tax-and-nics-guide",[294],"HMRC — 490: Employee travel, a tax and NICs guide",[318,319],"hr",{},[11,321,322],{},[323,324,325],"em",{},"General information, not tax advice. Whether you have a permanent workplace is fact-specific and matters here: take advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":329},"",2,[330,331,332,333,334,335],{"id":17,"depth":328,"text":18},{"id":36,"depth":328,"text":37},{"id":140,"depth":328,"text":141},{"id":236,"depth":328,"text":237},{"id":268,"depth":328,"text":269},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"HMRC & tax","2025-05-01","Care workers and community nurses cover serious mileage in five-minute hops, and it is the most under-recorded driving in the country.",false,"md","\u002Fshots\u002Fclassify.png","A day of short journeys in Milesheet",null,true,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses",3,{"title":5,"description":338},"blog\u002Fmileage-for-carers-and-community-nurses",[351,352,353],"care work","nhs","business driving","jZDhgWTC6G0PtdlCGOFs2M_XZ3gTGfo8XKlw3IzywGI",[356,910,1348,1770,2105,2305,2585,2814,3202,3470,3686,3973,4172,4364,4575,4762,5053,5240,5438,5641,5838,6074,6359,6553,6858,7064,7248,7563,7738,7942,8269,8495,8763],{"id":357,"title":358,"author":6,"body":359,"category":336,"date":896,"description":897,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":898,"imageAlt":899,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":900,"navigation":344,"path":901,"readTime":902,"seo":903,"stem":904,"tags":905,"__hash__":909},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained.md","HMRC mileage rates explained: 45p, 25p and the 10,000-mile line",{"type":8,"value":360,"toc":885},[361,364,368,439,446,450,457,460,464,467,470,487,490,497,501,504,630,633,637,640,710,714,721,725,728,821,828,832,835,838,840,878,880],[11,362,363],{},"If you use your own car for work, HMRC lets you be paid a set amount per mile without any of it counting as taxable pay. These are the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments, and they have not changed since 2011.",[15,365,367],{"id":366},"the-rates","The rates",[39,369,370,386],{},[42,371,372],{},[45,373,374,377,380,383],{},[48,375,376],{},"Vehicle",[48,378,379],{},"First 10,000 business miles",[48,381,382],{},"Above 10,000",[48,384,385],{},"Banded?",[64,387,388,402,415,427],{},[45,389,390,393,396,399],{},[69,391,392],{},"Cars and vans",[69,394,395],{},"45p per mile",[69,397,398],{},"25p per mile",[69,400,401],{},"Yes",[45,403,404,407,410,412],{},[69,405,406],{},"Motorcycles",[69,408,409],{},"24p per mile",[69,411,409],{},[69,413,414],{},"No",[45,416,417,420,423,425],{},[69,418,419],{},"Bicycles",[69,421,422],{},"20p per mile",[69,424,422],{},[69,426,414],{},[45,428,429,432,435,437],{},[69,430,431],{},"Each passenger carried",[69,433,434],{},"5p per mile",[69,436,434],{},[69,438,414],{},[11,440,441,442,445],{},"There is also a ",[23,443,444],{},"passenger rate",": 5p per mile for each colleague you carry on the same business journey. It is one of the most commonly missed parts of a claim, partly because you have to be able to say who was in the car and where you went.",[15,447,449],{"id":448},"the-10000-mile-line-is-per-tax-year-not-per-car","The 10,000-mile line is per tax year, not per car",[11,451,452,453,456],{},"This is where people slip up. The threshold resets on 6 April each year, and it counts ",[23,454,455],{},"all your business miles across every car and van you use",", not each vehicle separately. Two cars doing 6,000 business miles each is 12,000 miles: the first 10,000 at 45p, the last 2,000 at 25p.",[11,458,459],{},"The other subtlety: a single journey can straddle the line. If you hit 10,000 miles halfway through a 40-mile drive, the first 20 miles are worth 45p and the rest 25p. Any log worth keeping should split that trip rather than round the whole thing one way or the other.",[15,461,463],{"id":462},"what-if-your-employer-pays-less-than-45p","What if your employer pays less than 45p?",[11,465,466],{},"Very common, and worth money. If your employer pays you 25p a mile, you can claim tax relief on the difference between what you were paid and the approved rate. That is Mileage Allowance Relief, and you claim it through your Self Assessment return or a P87 if you do not file one.",[11,468,469],{},"Say you drove 4,000 business miles and were paid 25p:",[284,471,472,478,481],{},[287,473,474,475],{},"Approved amount: 4,000 × 45p = ",[23,476,477],{},"£1,800",[287,479,480],{},"Actually paid: 4,000 × 25p = £1,000",[287,482,483,484],{},"Relief due on: ",[23,485,486],{},"£800",[11,488,489],{},"You do not get £800 back. You get tax relief on £800, so a basic-rate taxpayer sees around £160. Still worth the ten minutes it takes to claim, and considerably more if your mileage is higher.",[11,491,492,493,496],{},"If your employer pays you ",[23,494,495],{},"more"," than the approved rate, the excess is taxable and should appear on your P11D.",[15,498,500],{"id":499},"what-a-year-is-worth-by-mileage","What a year is worth, by mileage",[11,502,503],{},"Assuming the car rate and no employer reimbursement:",[39,505,506,525],{},[42,507,508],{},[45,509,510,513,516,519,522],{},[48,511,512],{},"Business miles",[48,514,515],{},"At 45p",[48,517,518],{},"At 25p",[48,520,521],{},"Total allowance",[48,523,524],{},"Blended rate",[64,526,527,544,560,576,594,612],{},[45,528,529,532,535,537,541],{},[69,530,531],{},"2,000",[69,533,534],{},"£900",[69,536,177],{},[69,538,539],{},[23,540,534],{},[69,542,543],{},"45.0p",[45,545,546,549,552,554,558],{},[69,547,548],{},"5,000",[69,550,551],{},"£2,250",[69,553,177],{},[69,555,556],{},[23,557,551],{},[69,559,543],{},[45,561,562,565,568,570,574],{},[69,563,564],{},"10,000",[69,566,567],{},"£4,500",[69,569,177],{},[69,571,572],{},[23,573,567],{},[69,575,543],{},[45,577,578,581,583,586,591],{},[69,579,580],{},"15,000",[69,582,567],{},[69,584,585],{},"£1,250",[69,587,588],{},[23,589,590],{},"£5,750",[69,592,593],{},"38.3p",[45,595,596,599,601,604,609],{},[69,597,598],{},"20,000",[69,600,567],{},[69,602,603],{},"£2,500",[69,605,606],{},[23,607,608],{},"£7,000",[69,610,611],{},"35.0p",[45,613,614,617,619,622,627],{},[69,615,616],{},"30,000",[69,618,567],{},[69,620,621],{},"£5,000",[69,623,624],{},[23,625,626],{},"£9,500",[69,628,629],{},"31.7p",[11,631,632],{},"The blended rate is the column worth looking at. The more you drive, the less each mile is worth on\naverage — which is the opposite of how most people assume it works, and it matters when deciding\nbetween a company car and your own.",[15,634,636],{"id":635},"what-relief-is-actually-worth-to-you","What relief is actually worth to you",[11,638,639],{},"Relief is not a refund. It reduces your taxable income, so what you receive depends on your rate:",[39,641,642,658],{},[42,643,644],{},[45,645,646,649,652,655],{},[48,647,648],{},"Shortfall claimed",[48,650,651],{},"Basic rate (20%)",[48,653,654],{},"Higher rate (40%)",[48,656,657],{},"Additional rate (45%)",[64,659,660,674,687,699],{},[45,661,662,665,668,671],{},[69,663,664],{},"£200",[69,666,667],{},"£40",[69,669,670],{},"£80",[69,672,673],{},"£90",[45,675,676,678,681,684],{},[69,677,486],{},[69,679,680],{},"£160",[69,682,683],{},"£320",[69,685,686],{},"£360",[45,688,689,691,693,696],{},[69,690,477],{},[69,692,686],{},[69,694,695],{},"£720",[69,697,698],{},"£810",[45,700,701,703,705,707],{},[69,702,567],{},[69,704,534],{},[69,706,477],{},[69,708,709],{},"£2,025",[15,711,713],{"id":712},"if-you-drive-a-company-car-these-rates-are-not-yours","If you drive a company car, these rates are not yours",[11,715,716,717,720],{},"Approved mileage rates apply to your own vehicle. If the car belongs to the company, fuel is handled through ",[23,718,719],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates"," instead, which are lower, vary by engine size and fuel type, and are revised quarterly. Mixing the two up is the single most expensive mistake we see people make on a claim.",[15,722,724],{"id":723},"what-different-employer-rates-leave-on-the-table","What different employer rates leave on the table",[11,726,727],{},"On 6,000 business miles in a tax year, where the approved amount is £2,700:",[39,729,730,745],{},[42,731,732],{},[45,733,734,736,738,740,742],{},[48,735,153],{},[48,737,156],{},[48,739,159],{},[48,741,162],{},[48,743,744],{},"Relief at 40%",[64,746,747,761,778,791,807],{},[45,748,749,752,755,757,759],{},[69,750,751],{},"45p (the approved rate)",[69,753,754],{},"£2,700",[69,756,174],{},[69,758,177],{},[69,760,177],{},[45,762,763,766,769,772,775],{},[69,764,765],{},"40p",[69,767,768],{},"£2,400",[69,770,771],{},"£300",[69,773,774],{},"£60",[69,776,777],{},"£120",[45,779,780,782,784,786,789],{},[69,781,196],{},[69,783,477],{},[69,785,534],{},[69,787,788],{},"£180",[69,790,686],{},[45,792,793,795,798,801,804],{},[69,794,210],{},[69,796,797],{},"£1,500",[69,799,800],{},"£1,200",[69,802,803],{},"£240",[69,805,806],{},"£480",[45,808,809,811,813,815,818],{},[69,810,223],{},[69,812,174],{},[69,814,754],{},[69,816,817],{},"£540",[69,819,820],{},"£1,080",[11,822,823,824,827],{},"You can generally claim for the ",[23,825,826],{},"current tax year and the previous four",", so someone who has\nnever claimed and is paid 25p on this mileage is looking at four figures.",[15,829,831],{"id":830},"what-actually-needs-recording","What actually needs recording",[11,833,834],{},"For each business journey: the date, where you went and where from, why it was business, and how far it was. Keep the running total for the tax year so the banding is right, and hold on to the records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year if you are employed, or five years after the filing deadline if you are self-employed.",[11,836,837],{},"That is precisely the job Milesheet does in the background: it records the journey as you drive, bands each trip against your running total for the year, and keeps the whole lot exportable as a PDF or CSV.",[15,839,282],{"id":281},[284,841,842,847,854,859,864,871],{},[287,843,844],{},[290,845,295],{"href":292,"rel":846},[294],[287,848,849],{},[290,850,853],{"href":851,"rel":852},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-and-benefits-business-travel-mileage",[294],"HMRC — Business travel mileage for employees' own vehicles",[287,855,856],{},[290,857,302],{"href":300,"rel":858},[294],[287,860,861],{},[290,862,309],{"href":307,"rel":863},[294],[287,865,866],{},[290,867,870],{"href":868,"rel":869},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fguidance\u002Fadvisory-fuel-rates",[294],"HMRC — Advisory fuel rates (company cars)",[287,872,873],{},[290,874,877],{"href":875,"rel":876},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fself-assessment-tax-returns\u002Fkeeping-records",[294],"HMRC — Self Assessment: keeping your records",[318,879],{},[11,881,882],{},[323,883,884],{},"Rates and thresholds are correct at the time of writing and apply to the UK. This is general information, not tax advice: check with HMRC or your accountant before you file.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":886},[887,888,889,890,891,892,893,894,895],{"id":366,"depth":328,"text":367},{"id":448,"depth":328,"text":449},{"id":462,"depth":328,"text":463},{"id":499,"depth":328,"text":500},{"id":635,"depth":328,"text":636},{"id":712,"depth":328,"text":713},{"id":723,"depth":328,"text":724},{"id":830,"depth":328,"text":831},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-08-12","What the approved mileage rates actually are, how the 10,000-mile threshold works across a tax year, and the bit almost everyone gets wrong.","\u002Fshots\u002Finsights.png","The HMRC claim for the tax year in Milesheet, with progress towards the 10,000-mile threshold",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained",4,{"title":358,"description":897},"blog\u002Fhmrc-mileage-rates-explained",[906,907,908],"hmrc","rates","claims","F-C_Nd8e-_y_9uyvrWZg33pmvf756zkr1URMhGpzUDk",{"id":911,"title":912,"author":6,"body":913,"category":336,"date":1336,"description":1337,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":1338,"imageAlt":1339,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":1340,"navigation":344,"path":1341,"readTime":902,"seo":1342,"stem":1343,"tags":1344,"__hash__":1347},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile.md","What actually counts as a business mile?",{"type":8,"value":914,"toc":1324},[915,918,922,929,932,936,943,954,958,975,979,993,997,1000,1004,1007,1010,1014,1171,1175,1178,1202,1206,1288,1291,1293,1317,1319],[11,916,917],{},"Most underclaimed mileage is not fraud in reverse, it is uncertainty. People are not sure which drives count, so they leave off the ones they could have claimed and add up the rest badly. Here is the line, in plain terms.",[15,919,921],{"id":920},"the-commute-does-not-count","The commute does not count",[11,923,924,925,928],{},"Travel between your home and your ",[23,926,927],{},"permanent workplace"," is ordinary commuting, and it is never business travel. It does not matter that you left at six in the morning, or that you carried equipment, or that you went in on a Sunday.",[11,930,931],{},"A permanent workplace is somewhere you attend regularly for your work, in a way that is not temporary or one-off.",[15,933,935],{"id":934},"temporary-workplaces-do-count","Temporary workplaces do count",[11,937,938,939,942],{},"Travel to a ",[23,940,941],{},"temporary workplace"," is business travel, and this is where the claims live. A workplace is temporary if you go there to do a task of limited duration, or for a temporary purpose.",[11,944,945,946,949,950,953],{},"The catch is the ",[23,947,948],{},"24-month rule",". If you expect to spend more than 40% of your working time at a site for more than 24 months, it stops being temporary. Importantly, it stops the moment you ",[323,951,952],{},"expect"," that to be true, not when the 24 months elapse. A contract extension can retrospectively change what you should have been claiming.",[15,955,957],{"id":956},"journeys-that-usually-count","Journeys that usually count",[284,959,960,963,966,969,972],{},[287,961,962],{},"Driving to a client, a customer, a supplier or a site",[287,964,965],{},"Travelling between two workplaces on the same day",[287,967,968],{},"Going from home directly to a temporary site, if you are not going via the office",[287,970,971],{},"Driving to a conference, training course or trade show your work requires",[287,973,974],{},"A trip to the bank, the post office or the wholesaler for the business, if you are self-employed",[15,976,978],{"id":977},"journeys-that-usually-do-not","Journeys that usually do not",[284,980,981,984,987,990],{},[287,982,983],{},"Home to your usual office, in any circumstances",[287,985,986],{},"A detour for something personal, for the personal part of the distance",[287,988,989],{},"Taking a colleague home after work, unless it is part of a business journey",[287,991,992],{},"Driving somewhere purely social, even with people from work",[15,994,996],{"id":995},"the-awkward-middle-home-as-a-workplace","The awkward middle: home as a workplace",[11,998,999],{},"If you genuinely work from home as a requirement of the job, journeys from home to a client can be business travel. But HMRC looks carefully at whether home is a workplace by objective necessity or just where you choose to sit. Working from home three days a week by preference does not turn your Thursday commute into a business mile.",[15,1001,1003],{"id":1002},"why-the-recording-matters-more-than-the-rules","Why the recording matters more than the rules",[11,1005,1006],{},"Two people can drive identical routes and only one of them can claim, because only one of them can say what the journey was for. A date, a start, an end, a distance and a reason is what turns a drive into a claim. Reconstructing that from memory in April is where accuracy goes to die.",[11,1008,1009],{},"That is why Milesheet asks one question and only one: business or personal. It already knows the date, the route, the distance and how long you were stopped. You just tell it what the drive was for, ideally on the same day, when you can still remember.",[15,1011,1013],{"id":1012},"the-quick-reference","The quick reference",[39,1015,1016,1029],{},[42,1017,1018],{},[45,1019,1020,1023,1026],{},[48,1021,1022],{},"Journey",[48,1024,1025],{},"Claimable?",[48,1027,1028],{},"Why",[64,1030,1031,1043,1055,1067,1079,1092,1105,1117,1129,1146,1159],{},[45,1032,1033,1036,1040],{},[69,1034,1035],{},"Home → permanent workplace",[69,1037,1038],{},[23,1039,414],{},[69,1041,1042],{},"Ordinary commuting",[45,1044,1045,1048,1052],{},[69,1046,1047],{},"Home → temporary workplace",[69,1049,1050],{},[23,1051,401],{},[69,1053,1054],{},"Travel to a temporary workplace",[45,1056,1057,1060,1064],{},[69,1058,1059],{},"Home → client, direct",[69,1061,1062],{},[23,1063,401],{},[69,1065,1066],{},"Business travel",[45,1068,1069,1072,1076],{},[69,1070,1071],{},"Office → client → office",[69,1073,1074],{},[23,1075,401],{},[69,1077,1078],{},"Travel in the performance of duties",[45,1080,1081,1084,1089],{},[69,1082,1083],{},"Office → client → home",[69,1085,1086],{},[23,1087,1088],{},"Usually yes",[69,1090,1091],{},"Unless you detour somewhere personal",[45,1093,1094,1097,1102],{},[69,1095,1096],{},"Home → office → client",[69,1098,1099],{},[23,1100,1101],{},"Mixed",[69,1103,1104],{},"First leg commuting, second leg business",[45,1106,1107,1110,1114],{},[69,1108,1109],{},"Permanent workplace → second permanent workplace, same employer",[69,1111,1112],{},[23,1113,401],{},[69,1115,1116],{},"Travel between workplaces",[45,1118,1119,1122,1126],{},[69,1120,1121],{},"Home → workplace of a second, unconnected employer",[69,1123,1124],{},[23,1125,414],{},[69,1127,1128],{},"Commuting for that employment",[45,1130,1131,1138,1143],{},[69,1132,1133,1134,1137],{},"Home → workplace of a ",[23,1135,1136],{},"connected"," employer",[69,1139,1140],{},[23,1141,1142],{},"Often yes",[69,1144,1145],{},"Travel between connected employments",[45,1147,1148,1151,1156],{},[69,1149,1150],{},"Detour to the shops on the way back from a client",[69,1152,1153],{},[23,1154,1155],{},"Partly",[69,1157,1158],{},"The business element only",[45,1160,1161,1164,1168],{},[69,1162,1163],{},"Driving to a training course required by the job",[69,1165,1166],{},[23,1167,1088],{},[69,1169,1170],{},"If the workplace is temporary",[15,1172,1174],{"id":1173},"the-three-tests-in-order","The three tests, in order",[11,1176,1177],{},"Work through these and most journeys resolve:",[1179,1180,1181,1187,1196],"ol",{},[287,1182,1183,1186],{},[23,1184,1185],{},"Is this a workplace you attend, or somewhere you are going for work?"," A client visit is\nstraightforwardly business travel.",[287,1188,1189,1192,1193,1195],{},[23,1190,1191],{},"If it is a workplace, is it permanent or temporary?"," Apply the 24-month rule, remembering it\nturns on what you ",[323,1194,952],{},", not what has happened so far.",[287,1197,1198,1201],{},[23,1199,1200],{},"If it is permanent, is the journey between two workplaces rather than from home?"," Workplace to\nworkplace is business travel; home to workplace is not.",[15,1203,1205],{"id":1204},"what-a-defensible-record-looks-like","What a defensible record looks like",[39,1207,1208,1221],{},[42,1209,1210],{},[45,1211,1212,1215,1218],{},[48,1213,1214],{},"Field",[48,1216,1217],{},"Example",[48,1219,1220],{},"Why it matters",[64,1222,1223,1234,1245,1256,1267,1278],{},[45,1224,1225,1228,1231],{},[69,1226,1227],{},"Date",[69,1229,1230],{},"14 August 2026",[69,1232,1233],{},"Ties to your calendar and invoices",[45,1235,1236,1239,1242],{},[69,1237,1238],{},"From",[69,1240,1241],{},"Home",[69,1243,1244],{},"Establishes the journey type",[45,1246,1247,1250,1253],{},[69,1248,1249],{},"To",[69,1251,1252],{},"Harrogate — Acme Ltd",[69,1254,1255],{},"Names the workplace, not just a town",[45,1257,1258,1261,1264],{},[69,1259,1260],{},"Purpose",[69,1262,1263],{},"Site survey",[69,1265,1266],{},"The business character, in a few words",[45,1268,1269,1272,1275],{},[69,1270,1271],{},"Distance",[69,1273,1274],{},"18.4 mi",[69,1276,1277],{},"Not a round number, because real drives are not round",[45,1279,1280,1282,1285],{},[69,1281,376],{},[69,1283,1284],{},"Van (AB26 CDE)",[69,1286,1287],{},"Keeps multi-vehicle totals apart",[11,1289,1290],{},"The purpose column is the one people leave out and the one that turns a list of distances into a\nrecord. \"Site survey\" takes three seconds and answers the question HMRC would actually ask.",[15,1292,282],{"id":281},[284,1294,1295,1300,1307,1312],{},[287,1296,1297],{},[290,1298,316],{"href":314,"rel":1299},[294],[287,1301,1302],{},[290,1303,1306],{"href":1304,"rel":1305},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fhmrc-internal-manuals\u002Femployment-income-manual\u002Feim31815",[294],"HMRC — Employment Income Manual EIM31815: temporary workplace",[287,1308,1309],{},[290,1310,302],{"href":300,"rel":1311},[294],[287,1313,1314],{},[290,1315,853],{"href":851,"rel":1316},[294],[318,1318],{},[11,1320,1321],{},[323,1322,1323],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. If your situation is unusual, particularly around temporary workplaces, take proper advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":1325},[1326,1327,1328,1329,1330,1331,1332,1333,1334,1335],{"id":920,"depth":328,"text":921},{"id":934,"depth":328,"text":935},{"id":956,"depth":328,"text":957},{"id":977,"depth":328,"text":978},{"id":995,"depth":328,"text":996},{"id":1002,"depth":328,"text":1003},{"id":1012,"depth":328,"text":1013},{"id":1173,"depth":328,"text":1174},{"id":1204,"depth":328,"text":1205},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-08-05","The commute trap, the temporary workplace rule, and the everyday journeys people wrongly leave off their claim.","\u002Fshots\u002Flocations.png","Tagging places as home, workplace, business or personal in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile",{"title":912,"description":1337},"blog\u002Fwhat-counts-as-a-business-mile",[906,1345,1346],"business travel","commuting","4A-MoO4GyAmAjxMyDc8H812sazAEC0TjXgs17QNdjnE",{"id":1349,"title":1350,"author":6,"body":1351,"category":336,"date":1758,"description":1759,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":1760,"imageAlt":1761,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":1762,"navigation":344,"path":1763,"readTime":347,"seo":1764,"stem":1765,"tags":1766,"__hash__":1769},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up.md","How to keep a mileage log that stands up",{"type":8,"value":1352,"toc":1747},[1353,1356,1360,1363,1393,1396,1400,1414,1417,1421,1424,1430,1436,1442,1446,1449,1452,1456,1459,1473,1476,1480,1597,1600,1648,1652,1714,1716,1740,1742],[11,1354,1355],{},"A mileage claim is only as good as the record behind it. If someone asks you to justify 8,400 business miles two years after the fact, you want a log that answers the question rather than a number you once believed.",[15,1357,1359],{"id":1358},"what-a-record-should-contain","What a record should contain",[11,1361,1362],{},"For every business journey:",[284,1364,1365,1371,1376,1382,1387],{},[287,1366,1367,1370],{},[23,1368,1369],{},"The date"," it happened",[287,1372,1373],{},[23,1374,1375],{},"Where you started and where you finished",[287,1377,1378,1381],{},[23,1379,1380],{},"Why it was business",", in enough words to jog a memory",[287,1383,1384],{},[23,1385,1386],{},"How far you went",[287,1388,1389,1392],{},[23,1390,1391],{},"Which vehicle"," you used, if you have more than one",[11,1394,1395],{},"Add a running total for the tax year and you can prove the 45p and 25p banding is right, which is the part reconstructed logs almost always get wrong.",[15,1397,1399],{"id":1398},"how-long-to-keep-it","How long to keep it",[284,1401,1402,1408],{},[287,1403,1404,1407],{},[23,1405,1406],{},"Employees"," claiming Mileage Allowance Relief: at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the claim relates to.",[287,1409,1410,1413],{},[23,1411,1412],{},"Self-employed",": at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year.",[11,1415,1416],{},"Keep the record in a form you can still open. A note on a phone you no longer own is not a record.",[15,1418,1420],{"id":1419},"why-the-april-spreadsheet-is-the-weak-version","Why the April spreadsheet is the weak version",[11,1422,1423],{},"Three things go wrong when you write it all up at the end of the year.",[11,1425,1426,1429],{},[23,1427,1428],{},"Memory."," You remember the big trips and forget the twenty-mile round trip to a supplier in October. Those are the miles you paid for and never claimed.",[11,1431,1432,1435],{},[23,1433,1434],{},"Distance."," Postcode-to-postcode estimates are not the same as the route you drove. Sometimes that is in your favour, sometimes it is not, and either way it is not evidence.",[11,1437,1438,1441],{},[23,1439,1440],{},"Banding."," Fill in the mileage in one lump and the 10,000-mile threshold gets applied to the total rather than to journeys in date order. If your driving is at all seasonal, that number is wrong.",[15,1443,1445],{"id":1444},"the-habit-that-fixes-it","The habit that fixes it",[11,1447,1448],{},"Record as you go, and sort promptly. Anything that captures the drive at the time — an app, a notebook in the glovebox, a note dictated at the traffic lights — beats a perfect spreadsheet built from memory.",[11,1450,1451],{},"If you use Milesheet, this is the whole design: the journey is recorded while it happens, and the only question left is business or personal. It bands each trip against your running total for the tax year, keeps a per-trip and per-month record, and exports the lot as a PDF or CSV that reads like something you could hand to an accountant, because that is what it is for.",[15,1453,1455],{"id":1454},"a-quick-self-test","A quick self-test",[11,1457,1458],{},"Pick a random week from three months ago. Can you say, without guessing:",[1179,1460,1461,1464,1467,1470],{},[287,1462,1463],{},"Which drives you made for work?",[287,1465,1466],{},"Where each one started and ended?",[287,1468,1469],{},"How far each one was?",[287,1471,1472],{},"Why it was business?",[11,1474,1475],{},"If the answer is no, your log is not a log yet. That is entirely fixable, and the fix takes about ten seconds a day.",[15,1477,1479],{"id":1478},"what-a-record-must-contain","What a record must contain",[39,1481,1482,1496],{},[42,1483,1484],{},[45,1485,1486,1488,1491,1493],{},[48,1487,1214],{},[48,1489,1490],{},"Required?",[48,1492,1217],{},[48,1494,1495],{},"What it proves",[64,1497,1498,1510,1522,1535,1546,1557,1570,1584],{},[45,1499,1500,1502,1504,1507],{},[69,1501,1227],{},[69,1503,401],{},[69,1505,1506],{},"14 Aug 2026",[69,1508,1509],{},"Ties to calendar, invoices, fuel receipts",[45,1511,1512,1515,1517,1519],{},[69,1513,1514],{},"Start location",[69,1516,401],{},[69,1518,1241],{},[69,1520,1521],{},"Establishes commuting or not",[45,1523,1524,1527,1529,1532],{},[69,1525,1526],{},"Destination",[69,1528,401],{},[69,1530,1531],{},"Acme Ltd, Harrogate",[69,1533,1534],{},"The workplace, not just a town",[45,1536,1537,1539,1541,1543],{},[69,1538,1260],{},[69,1540,401],{},[69,1542,1263],{},[69,1544,1545],{},"The business character",[45,1547,1548,1550,1552,1554],{},[69,1549,1271],{},[69,1551,401],{},[69,1553,1274],{},[69,1555,1556],{},"The claim itself",[45,1558,1559,1561,1564,1567],{},[69,1560,376],{},[69,1562,1563],{},"If more than one",[69,1565,1566],{},"Van, AB26 CDE",[69,1568,1569],{},"Keeps totals apart",[45,1571,1572,1575,1578,1581],{},[69,1573,1574],{},"Route",[69,1576,1577],{},"Helpful",[69,1579,1580],{},"Recorded",[69,1582,1583],{},"Answers \"why so far?\"",[45,1585,1586,1589,1591,1594],{},[69,1587,1588],{},"Running total",[69,1590,1577],{},[69,1592,1593],{},"4,210 mi YTD",[69,1595,1596],{},"Gets the banding right",[15,1598,1399],{"id":1599},"how-long-to-keep-it-1",[39,1601,1602,1612],{},[42,1603,1604],{},[45,1605,1606,1609],{},[48,1607,1608],{},"If you are",[48,1610,1611],{},"Keep records until",[64,1613,1614,1626,1636],{},[45,1615,1616,1619],{},[69,1617,1618],{},"Employed",[69,1620,1621,1622,1625],{},"At least ",[23,1623,1624],{},"22 months"," after the end of the tax year",[45,1627,1628,1630],{},[69,1629,1412],{},[69,1631,1621,1632,1635],{},[23,1633,1634],{},"5 years"," after the 31 January filing deadline",[45,1637,1638,1641],{},[69,1639,1640],{},"Running a company",[69,1642,1643,1644,1647],{},"Generally ",[23,1645,1646],{},"6 years"," from the end of the accounting period",[15,1649,1651],{"id":1650},"strong-record-versus-weak-record","Strong record versus weak record",[39,1653,1654,1664],{},[42,1655,1656],{},[45,1657,1658,1661],{},[48,1659,1660],{},"Weak",[48,1662,1663],{},"Strong",[64,1665,1666,1674,1682,1690,1698,1706],{},[45,1667,1668,1671],{},[69,1669,1670],{},"\"August: 340 business miles\"",[69,1672,1673],{},"22 individual journeys totalling 341.6 miles",[45,1675,1676,1679],{},[69,1677,1678],{},"Round numbers throughout",[69,1680,1681],{},"Distances that are obviously measured",[45,1683,1684,1687],{},[69,1685,1686],{},"Written up in April from memory",[69,1688,1689],{},"Recorded on the day",[45,1691,1692,1695],{},[69,1693,1694],{},"No purpose recorded",[69,1696,1697],{},"Client or job named on each trip",[45,1699,1700,1703],{},[69,1701,1702],{},"Commuting included",[69,1704,1705],{},"Home-to-workplace excluded and visibly so",[45,1707,1708,1711],{},[69,1709,1710],{},"One total across two vehicles",[69,1712,1713],{},"Each vehicle separately",[15,1715,282],{"id":281},[284,1717,1718,1723,1728,1733],{},[287,1719,1720],{},[290,1721,877],{"href":875,"rel":1722},[294],[287,1724,1725],{},[290,1726,295],{"href":292,"rel":1727},[294],[287,1729,1730],{},[290,1731,316],{"href":314,"rel":1732},[294],[287,1734,1735],{},[290,1736,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":1738},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fexpenses-if-youre-self-employed\u002Fvehicles",[294],"HMRC — Expenses if you're self-employed: vehicles",[318,1741],{},[11,1743,1744],{},[323,1745,1746],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":1748},[1749,1750,1751,1752,1753,1754,1755,1756,1757],{"id":1358,"depth":328,"text":1359},{"id":1398,"depth":328,"text":1399},{"id":1419,"depth":328,"text":1420},{"id":1444,"depth":328,"text":1445},{"id":1454,"depth":328,"text":1455},{"id":1478,"depth":328,"text":1479},{"id":1599,"depth":328,"text":1399},{"id":1650,"depth":328,"text":1651},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-07-24","What HMRC expects a mileage record to contain, how long to keep it, and why the spreadsheet you fill in every April is the weakest version of it.","\u002Fshots\u002Ftrips.png","A month of journeys in Milesheet, each with date, route and distance",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up",{"title":1350,"description":1759},"blog\u002Fmileage-log-that-stands-up",[906,1767,1768],"records","self assessment","7eFe8s0RXjQlMVx4DhD_Imu-i1CiTq2uCOztI-60khs",{"id":1771,"title":1772,"author":6,"body":1773,"category":336,"date":2095,"description":2096,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":2097,"navigation":344,"path":2098,"readTime":347,"seo":2099,"stem":2100,"tags":2101,"__hash__":2104},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges.md","Parking, tolls and charges: what else you can claim",{"type":8,"value":1774,"toc":2086},[1775,1778,1782,1814,1817,1821,1851,1855,1858,1861,1864,1868,1879,1882,1886,1889,2010,2014,2060,2062,2079,2081],[11,1776,1777],{},"The approved mileage rate covers the cost of running the car: fuel, wear, servicing, insurance, depreciation. It does not cover what you spend on the way. Those are separate, claimable, and routinely forgotten.",[15,1779,1781],{"id":1780},"costs-that-usually-go-on-top","Costs that usually go on top",[284,1783,1784,1790,1796,1802,1808],{},[287,1785,1786,1789],{},[23,1787,1788],{},"Parking"," at the destination of a business journey",[287,1791,1792,1795],{},[23,1793,1794],{},"Tolls"," and bridge charges",[287,1797,1798,1801],{},[23,1799,1800],{},"Congestion charge",", where the journey was business",[287,1803,1804,1807],{},[23,1805,1806],{},"Clean-air and low-emission zone charges"," for a business trip",[287,1809,1810,1813],{},[23,1811,1812],{},"Ferry crossings"," where they form part of the journey",[11,1815,1816],{},"Each of these is claimable in its own right, in addition to the pence-per-mile. Keep the receipt and note which journey it belongs to.",[15,1818,1820],{"id":1819},"costs-that-do-not","Costs that do not",[284,1822,1823,1829,1835,1845],{},[287,1824,1825,1828],{},[23,1826,1827],{},"Parking fines and speeding tickets."," Never allowable, however the ticket came about.",[287,1830,1831,1834],{},[23,1832,1833],{},"Anything on your commute."," If the journey is not business travel, its parking is not either.",[287,1836,1837,1840,1841,1844],{},[23,1838,1839],{},"Fuel, on top of mileage."," You cannot claim the approved rate ",[323,1842,1843],{},"and"," the petrol. The rate already includes it. Claiming both is a genuine and expensive error.",[287,1846,1847,1850],{},[23,1848,1849],{},"Personal detours."," If you paid to park while doing something personal, that is yours.",[15,1852,1854],{"id":1853},"the-evidence-problem","The evidence problem",[11,1856,1857],{},"Parking is where records fall apart, because so much of it is now a card tap or an app payment with no paper at all. Three months later you have a bank line that says \"RingGo\" and no idea which site it was or why you were there.",[11,1859,1860],{},"The fix is to capture it at the moment of payment. A photo of the receipt or the machine, attached to the journey it belongs to, does the job. If there is no paper, note the amount and the reason while you are still standing there.",[11,1862,1863],{},"Milesheet keeps these against the trip itself: pick the type, enter the amount, and add a photo if you have one. The photo is copied into the app's own storage, so it survives you clearing out your camera roll. The totals then flow through into your monthly and tax-year statements, and appear as their own section in the exported PDF, clearly separated from the mileage claim.",[15,1865,1867],{"id":1866},"if-you-are-self-employed","If you are self-employed",[11,1869,1870,1871,1874,1875,1878],{},"You have a choice per vehicle: ",[23,1872,1873],{},"simplified expenses"," (the flat pence-per-mile) or ",[23,1876,1877],{},"actual costs"," (a business proportion of fuel, insurance, servicing, capital allowances and so on). You cannot mix the two for the same vehicle, and once you have chosen for a particular car you must keep to that method for as long as you have it.",[11,1880,1881],{},"Parking, tolls and charges sit outside that choice: they are claimable either way.",[15,1883,1885],{"id":1884},"what-is-claimable-alongside-mileage","What is claimable alongside mileage",[11,1887,1888],{},"The mileage rate covers running the vehicle. These are separate, and claimable when the journey was\nbusiness:",[39,1890,1891,1904],{},[42,1892,1893],{},[45,1894,1895,1898,1901],{},[48,1896,1897],{},"Cost",[48,1899,1900],{},"Claimable on a business journey?",[48,1902,1903],{},"Notes",[64,1905,1906,1917,1929,1940,1952,1964,1976,1988,1999],{},[45,1907,1908,1910,1914],{},[69,1909,1788],{},[69,1911,1912],{},[23,1913,401],{},[69,1915,1916],{},"Not at your permanent workplace",[45,1918,1919,1922,1926],{},[69,1920,1921],{},"Tolls and crossings",[69,1923,1924],{},[23,1925,401],{},[69,1927,1928],{},"Dartford, M6 Toll, estuarial crossings",[45,1930,1931,1933,1937],{},[69,1932,1800],{},[69,1934,1935],{},[23,1936,401],{},[69,1938,1939],{},"Journey must be business",[45,1941,1942,1945,1949],{},[69,1943,1944],{},"ULEZ \u002F clean air charges",[69,1946,1947],{},[23,1948,401],{},[69,1950,1951],{},"Same test",[45,1953,1954,1957,1961],{},[69,1955,1956],{},"Parking fine",[69,1958,1959],{},[23,1960,414],{},[69,1962,1963],{},"Penalties are never deductible",[45,1965,1966,1969,1973],{},[69,1967,1968],{},"Speeding fine",[69,1970,1971],{},[23,1972,414],{},[69,1974,1975],{},"Same",[45,1977,1978,1981,1985],{},[69,1979,1980],{},"Clamping release fee",[69,1982,1983],{},[23,1984,414],{},[69,1986,1987],{},"Consequence of a penalty",[45,1989,1990,1993,1996],{},[69,1991,1992],{},"Vehicle cleaning",[69,1994,1995],{},"Sometimes",[69,1997,1998],{},"If genuinely required for the business",[45,2000,2001,2004,2007],{},[69,2002,2003],{},"Breakdown cover",[69,2005,2006],{},"Apportioned",[69,2008,2009],{},"Business share only",[15,2011,2013],{"id":2012},"where-the-receipts-go-wrong","Where the receipts go wrong",[39,2015,2016,2026],{},[42,2017,2018],{},[45,2019,2020,2023],{},[48,2021,2022],{},"Problem",[48,2024,2025],{},"Fix",[64,2027,2028,2036,2044,2052],{},[45,2029,2030,2033],{},[69,2031,2032],{},"Thermal receipts fade to blank",[69,2034,2035],{},"Photograph at the time",[45,2037,2038,2041],{},[69,2039,2040],{},"Charges paid days later in a batch",[69,2042,2043],{},"Attach each to its journey when it happens",[45,2045,2046,2049],{},[69,2047,2048],{},"No record of which trip a charge belongs to",[69,2050,2051],{},"Log the cost against the trip, not the month",[45,2053,2054,2057],{},[69,2055,2056],{},"Personal and business charges mixed",[69,2058,2059],{},"Classify at the point of payment",[15,2061,282],{"id":281},[284,2063,2064,2069,2074],{},[287,2065,2066],{},[290,2067,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":2068},[294],[287,2070,2071],{},[290,2072,853],{"href":851,"rel":2073},[294],[287,2075,2076],{},[290,2077,302],{"href":300,"rel":2078},[294],[318,2080],{},[11,2082,2083],{},[323,2084,2085],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Check anything unusual with HMRC or your accountant.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":2087},[2088,2089,2090,2091,2092,2093,2094],{"id":1780,"depth":328,"text":1781},{"id":1819,"depth":328,"text":1820},{"id":1853,"depth":328,"text":1854},{"id":1866,"depth":328,"text":1867},{"id":1884,"depth":328,"text":1885},{"id":2012,"depth":328,"text":2013},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-07-02","Mileage is not the whole claim. The out-of-pocket costs that ride along with a business journey, and the ones that never qualify.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges",{"title":1772,"description":2096},"blog\u002Fparking-tolls-and-charges",[906,2102,2103],"expenses","receipts","dIsZ2zmWBFQZWA1iBvyi4P5hUTdLKXdke3MqpW45pyQ",{"id":2106,"title":2107,"author":6,"body":2108,"category":336,"date":2295,"description":2296,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":2297,"navigation":344,"path":2298,"readTime":328,"seo":2299,"stem":2300,"tags":2301,"__hash__":2304},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates.md","The 24p and 20p rates almost nobody claims",{"type":8,"value":2109,"toc":2287},[2110,2113,2115,2132,2139,2143,2150,2217,2224,2228,2231,2234,2237,2241,2248,2251,2255,2258,2261,2263,2280,2282],[11,2111,2112],{},"Everyone knows the 45p car rate. Far fewer know that HMRC publishes approved rates for motorcycles and bicycles too, and that they behave differently in a way that works in your favour.",[15,2114,367],{"id":366},[284,2116,2117,2122,2127],{},[287,2118,2119,2121],{},[23,2120,392],{}," — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p",[287,2123,2124,2126],{},[23,2125,406],{}," — 24p a mile, flat",[287,2128,2129,2131],{},[23,2130,419],{}," — 20p a mile, flat",[11,2133,2134,2135,2138],{},"The important word is ",[323,2136,2137],{},"flat",". The 10,000-mile threshold that drops car mileage to 25p does not apply to motorcycles or bicycles. Ride 15,000 business miles on a motorbike and every one of them is 24p.",[15,2140,2142],{"id":2141},"what-the-flat-rate-is-worth-at-higher-mileage","What the flat rate is worth at higher mileage",[11,2144,2145,2146,2149],{},"Because motorcycle and bicycle rates are not banded, they overtake the car rate's ",[323,2147,2148],{},"average"," once\nyou pass the threshold:",[39,2151,2152,2167],{},[42,2153,2154],{},[45,2155,2156,2158,2161,2164],{},[48,2157,512],{},[48,2159,2160],{},"Car (banded)",[48,2162,2163],{},"Motorcycle (24p flat)",[48,2165,2166],{},"Bicycle (20p flat)",[64,2168,2169,2180,2191,2204],{},[45,2170,2171,2173,2175,2177],{},[69,2172,531],{},[69,2174,534],{},[69,2176,806],{},[69,2178,2179],{},"£400",[45,2181,2182,2184,2186,2188],{},[69,2183,564],{},[69,2185,567],{},[69,2187,768],{},[69,2189,2190],{},"£2,000",[45,2192,2193,2195,2198,2201],{},[69,2194,598],{},[69,2196,2197],{},"£7,000 (35.0p avg)",[69,2199,2200],{},"£4,800",[69,2202,2203],{},"£4,000",[45,2205,2206,2208,2211,2214],{},[69,2207,616],{},[69,2209,2210],{},"£9,500 (31.7p avg)",[69,2212,2213],{},"£7,200",[69,2215,2216],{},"£6,000",[11,2218,2219,2220,2223],{},"The car still pays more per mile at every level — but the gap narrows, and the motorcycle's\nrunning costs are a fraction of the car's, so the ",[323,2221,2222],{},"margin"," often favours the bike.",[15,2225,2227],{"id":2226},"why-the-bicycle-rate-gets-ignored","Why the bicycle rate gets ignored",[11,2229,2230],{},"Because it sounds trivial. It is worth doing the arithmetic before you decide that.",[11,2232,2233],{},"A four-mile round trip to a client twice a week is roughly 400 business miles a year. At 20p that is £80 of allowance for journeys most people would never think to record. If you are an employee whose employer pays nothing, that becomes tax relief on £80 — not life-changing, but it costs you nothing to have counted it.",[11,2235,2236],{},"For couriers, tradespeople doing local calls, or anyone in a city where the bike genuinely is the sensible vehicle, the numbers get considerably more interesting.",[15,2238,2240],{"id":2239},"the-same-rules-still-apply","The same rules still apply",[11,2242,2243,2244,2247],{},"None of this changes what counts as business travel. A cycle commute from home to a permanent workplace is ordinary commuting and is not claimable, exactly as it would be in a car. The journey has to be travel ",[323,2245,2246],{},"in the performance of your duties",", or to a temporary workplace.",[11,2249,2250],{},"You also cannot claim the bicycle rate for a bike provided through Cycle to Work, on journeys where the employer is already covering the cost.",[15,2252,2254],{"id":2253},"recording-them","Recording them",[11,2256,2257],{},"The evidence HMRC expects is the same whatever you were riding: the date, where you went and came from, why it was business, and the distance. That is the awkward part on a bike, because there is no odometer to photograph and nobody wants to stop and write things down.",[11,2259,2260],{},"Milesheet records the journey by GPS regardless of what you were on, so a bike trip logs itself the same way a drive does. Set the vehicle up with its own rate and the claim adds up correctly against the flat rate rather than the banded car one.",[15,2262,282],{"id":281},[284,2264,2265,2270,2275],{},[287,2266,2267],{},[290,2268,295],{"href":292,"rel":2269},[294],[287,2271,2272],{},[290,2273,302],{"href":300,"rel":2274},[294],[287,2276,2277],{},[290,2278,316],{"href":314,"rel":2279},[294],[318,2281],{},[11,2283,2284],{},[323,2285,2286],{},"General information for UK drivers and riders, not tax advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":2288},[2289,2290,2291,2292,2293,2294],{"id":366,"depth":328,"text":367},{"id":2141,"depth":328,"text":2142},{"id":2226,"depth":328,"text":2227},{"id":2239,"depth":328,"text":2240},{"id":2253,"depth":328,"text":2254},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-05-28","Motorcycles and bicycles have their own approved mileage rates, they are not banded at 10,000 miles, and most people who could claim them never do.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates",{"title":2107,"description":2296},"blog\u002Fmotorcycle-and-bicycle-mileage-rates",[906,2302,2303],"motorcycle","cycling","ZisNq_xygLuwy7EEjpUf28Vw4OUNur5-5Dk8bRxO1uQ",{"id":2306,"title":2307,"author":6,"body":2308,"category":336,"date":2576,"description":2577,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":1338,"imageAlt":2578,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":2579,"navigation":344,"path":2580,"readTime":347,"seo":2581,"stem":2582,"tags":2583,"__hash__":2584},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained.md","The 24-month rule, in plain English",{"type":8,"value":2309,"toc":2566},[2310,2318,2322,2336,2339,2343,2350,2357,2364,2367,2371,2374,2377,2381,2443,2446,2450,2453,2503,2506,2510,2513,2516,2520,2523,2537,2540,2542,2559,2561],[11,2311,938,2312,2314,2315,2317],{},[23,2313,941],{}," is claimable. Travel to a ",[23,2316,927],{}," is ordinary commuting and is not. The 24-month rule is how HMRC decides which one you are looking at, and it catches people out because it works on expectation rather than hindsight.",[15,2319,2321],{"id":2320},"the-rule","The rule",[11,2323,2324,2325,2328,2329,2331,2332,2335],{},"A workplace stops being temporary when you have attended it, or expect to attend it, for ",[23,2326,2327],{},"more than 24 months",", ",[323,2330,1843],{}," your attendance is for a ",[23,2333,2334],{},"significant part"," of your working time.",[11,2337,2338],{},"Both halves matter. Two years on a site three days a week is caught. Two years popping in once a quarter is not.",[15,2340,2342],{"id":2341},"the-part-that-surprises-people","The part that surprises people",[11,2344,2345,2346,2349],{},"It is not \"you can claim for the first 24 months and then stop\". The test is about ",[23,2347,2348],{},"expectation",".",[11,2351,2352,2353,2356],{},"If you take an assignment that everyone knows from day one will run for three years, the workplace is permanent from the ",[323,2354,2355],{},"first day",". There is no 24 months of allowable travel followed by a cut-off. It was never temporary.",[11,2358,2359,2360,2363],{},"Conversely, if a six-month contract keeps being extended and at month 20 it becomes clear it will run past two years, the travel stops being claimable ",[23,2361,2362],{},"from the point your expectation changed"," — not from month 24.",[11,2365,2366],{},"That is the trap. The clock is not counting your journeys. It is measuring what you reasonably expected.",[15,2368,2370],{"id":2369},"significant-part-of-your-working-time","\"Significant part of your working time\"",[11,2372,2373],{},"HMRC does not fix a percentage in the legislation, but 40% of your working time is the figure used in practice as the rule of thumb. Below that, a workplace can remain temporary even beyond 24 months.",[11,2375,2376],{},"This is what makes the occasional-visit case genuinely different from the four-days-a-week case, and why two people on the same contract can get different answers.",[15,2378,2380],{"id":2379},"four-scenarios-worked-through","Four scenarios, worked through",[39,2382,2383,2396],{},[42,2384,2385],{},[45,2386,2387,2390,2393],{},[48,2388,2389],{},"Situation",[48,2391,2392],{},"Temporary?",[48,2394,2395],{},"Travel claimable",[64,2397,2398,2408,2422,2433],{},[45,2399,2400,2403,2405],{},[69,2401,2402],{},"9-month contract, expected 9 months",[69,2404,401],{},[69,2406,2407],{},"Throughout",[45,2409,2410,2413,2417],{},[69,2411,2412],{},"3-year contract, known on day one",[69,2414,2415],{},[23,2416,414],{},[69,2418,2419],{},[23,2420,2421],{},"None, from day one",[45,2423,2424,2427,2430],{},[69,2425,2426],{},"12-month contract, extended at month 10 to 30 months",[69,2428,2429],{},"Yes, then no",[69,2431,2432],{},"Until month 10 only",[45,2434,2435,2438,2440],{},[69,2436,2437],{},"30-month engagement, attending one day a fortnight",[69,2439,401],{},[69,2441,2442],{},"Throughout — below the \"significant part\" test",[11,2444,2445],{},"The third row is the one that costs people money, because nothing visible changes on the day the\nanswer does. The clock is not counting your journeys; it is tracking what you reasonably expected.",[15,2447,2449],{"id":2448},"what-it-is-worth-in-money","What it is worth, in money",[11,2451,2452],{},"A 30-mile each-way commute to a site, four days a week, 46 weeks a year:",[39,2454,2455,2466],{},[42,2456,2457],{},[45,2458,2459,2461,2464],{},[48,2460],{},[48,2462,2463],{},"Miles",[48,2465,62],{},[64,2467,2468,2478,2489],{},[45,2469,2470,2473,2475],{},[69,2471,2472],{},"Per day",[69,2474,111],{},[69,2476,2477],{},"£27.00",[45,2479,2480,2483,2486],{},[69,2481,2482],{},"Per week (4 days)",[69,2484,2485],{},"240",[69,2487,2488],{},"£108.00",[45,2490,2491,2494,2497],{},[69,2492,2493],{},"Per year",[69,2495,2496],{},"11,040",[69,2498,2499,2502],{},[23,2500,2501],{},"£4,730"," (banded)",[11,2504,2505],{},"Claiming that where the workplace was in fact permanent is an error worth thousands, repeated\nannually. Failing to claim it where the workplace genuinely was temporary is the same number, left\nbehind.",[15,2507,2509],{"id":2508},"why-it-is-worth-getting-right","Why it is worth getting right",[11,2511,2512],{},"The sums are not small. Someone driving 30 miles each way to a site four days a week covers roughly 12,000 business miles a year. At the approved rates, that is a little over £5,000 of allowance. Claiming it when the workplace was in fact permanent is the kind of error that gets expensive if it is repeated across several years.",[11,2514,2515],{},"Getting it wrong the other way — assuming a site is permanent when it qualified as temporary — is just money left behind.",[15,2517,2519],{"id":2518},"what-to-do-about-it","What to do about it",[11,2521,2522],{},"Keep the record either way. A journey you did not log cannot be claimed later if it turns out you were entitled, and a journey you logged but did not claim costs you nothing.",[11,2524,2525,2526,2529,2530,2532,2533,2536],{},"In Milesheet, tag a genuinely permanent workplace as ",[23,2527,2528],{},"Workplace"," and your house as ",[23,2531,1241],{},": those journeys are then recognised as ordinary commuting and kept out of your claim automatically, while staying in your records. Tag a temporary site as ",[23,2534,2535],{},"Business"," instead, and it counts.",[11,2538,2539],{},"If the status of a site changes — an extension lands, the expectation shifts — change the tag from that date. The history stays intact and the claim adjusts.",[15,2541,282],{"id":281},[284,2543,2544,2549,2554],{},[287,2545,2546],{},[290,2547,316],{"href":314,"rel":2548},[294],[287,2550,2551],{},[290,2552,1306],{"href":1304,"rel":2553},[294],[287,2555,2556],{},[290,2557,302],{"href":300,"rel":2558},[294],[318,2560],{},[11,2562,2563],{},[323,2564,2565],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. The 24-month rule turns on the facts of your case: if a site is close to the line, take proper advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":2567},[2568,2569,2570,2571,2572,2573,2574,2575],{"id":2320,"depth":328,"text":2321},{"id":2341,"depth":328,"text":2342},{"id":2369,"depth":328,"text":2370},{"id":2379,"depth":328,"text":2380},{"id":2448,"depth":328,"text":2449},{"id":2508,"depth":328,"text":2509},{"id":2518,"depth":328,"text":2519},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-05-21","When a temporary workplace quietly becomes a permanent one, why the clock can start before you notice, and what it costs when it does.","Tagging a regular site as a workplace in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained",{"title":2307,"description":2577},"blog\u002Fthe-24-month-rule-explained",[906,941,1345],"4SZnIGPQZ-UVIt7aGuDCXhsMT7_yIhkh3K1q7pdCfdA",{"id":2586,"title":2587,"author":6,"body":2588,"category":336,"date":2805,"description":2806,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":2807,"navigation":344,"path":2808,"readTime":347,"seo":2809,"stem":2810,"tags":2811,"__hash__":2813},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile.md","The 5p a mile almost every claim misses",{"type":8,"value":2589,"toc":2796},[2590,2597,2601,2604,2607,2611,2694,2701,2705,2708,2719,2726,2729,2733,2736,2740,2758,2761,2765,2768,2771,2773,2790,2792],[11,2591,2592,2593,2596],{},"If you carry a colleague on a business journey, HMRC's approved rates include an extra ",[23,2594,2595],{},"5p per passenger per mile",". Almost nobody claims it, for two reasons: it is easy not to know about, and it works differently from the main rate.",[15,2598,2600],{"id":2599},"how-it-works","How it works",[11,2602,2603],{},"The passenger payment is 5p a mile for each fellow employee who is also travelling on business. It is not banded — the 10,000-mile threshold that drops your car rate to 25p does not touch it. Every passenger mile is 5p, all year.",[11,2605,2606],{},"Two colleagues in the car for a 120-mile round trip is £12 on top of the mileage itself. Do that fortnightly and it is over £300 a year that most people never record.",[15,2608,2610],{"id":2609},"what-it-adds-up-to","What it adds up to",[39,2612,2613,2629],{},[42,2614,2615],{},[45,2616,2617,2620,2623,2626],{},[48,2618,2619],{},"Journey pattern",[48,2621,2622],{},"Passengers",[48,2624,2625],{},"Business miles\u002Fyr",[48,2627,2628],{},"Passenger payment",[64,2630,2631,2645,2656,2669,2681],{},[45,2632,2633,2636,2639,2642],{},[69,2634,2635],{},"Fortnightly 120-mile round trip",[69,2637,2638],{},"1",[69,2640,2641],{},"3,120",[69,2643,2644],{},"£156",[45,2646,2647,2649,2651,2653],{},[69,2648,2635],{},[69,2650,74],{},[69,2652,2641],{},[69,2654,2655],{},"£312",[45,2657,2658,2661,2663,2666],{},[69,2659,2660],{},"Weekly 80-mile site visit",[69,2662,74],{},[69,2664,2665],{},"3,840",[69,2667,2668],{},"£384",[45,2670,2671,2674,2676,2679],{},[69,2672,2673],{},"Daily 40-mile run, 3 days a week",[69,2675,2638],{},[69,2677,2678],{},"6,240",[69,2680,2655],{},[45,2682,2683,2686,2689,2691],{},[69,2684,2685],{},"Territory driving, colleague half the time",[69,2687,2688],{},"1 (50%)",[69,2690,598],{},[69,2692,2693],{},"£500",[11,2695,2696,2697,2700],{},"Unlike the main rate, this is ",[23,2698,2699],{},"not banded"," — every passenger mile is 5p regardless of your annual\ntotal.",[15,2702,2704],{"id":2703},"the-catch-employees-need-to-know","The catch employees need to know",[11,2706,2707],{},"Here is where it differs from the main rate, and why it is worth understanding before you rely on it.",[11,2709,2710,2711,2714,2715,2718],{},"If your employer pays you a passenger payment, up to 5p a mile is tax-free. But if your employer pays you ",[23,2712,2713],{},"nothing"," for carrying passengers, you ",[23,2716,2717],{},"cannot"," claim tax relief on the difference the way you can with the main mileage rate.",[11,2720,2721,2722,2725],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief covers the gap between what you were paid and the approved rate for the ",[323,2723,2724],{},"vehicle",". It does not extend to passenger payments. If the employer does not pay it, there is nothing to claim.",[11,2727,2728],{},"That makes this one worth raising with your employer rather than saving up for your tax return. Many will pay it once asked, because it costs them little and is tax-free up to 5p.",[15,2730,2732],{"id":2731},"for-the-self-employed","For the self-employed",[11,2734,2735],{},"Different picture. If you are self-employed and using simplified expenses, the mileage rate you claim is for the vehicle and its running costs — there is no separate passenger element to add, because you are claiming your own costs rather than being reimbursed by an employer.",[15,2737,2739],{"id":2738},"the-conditions","The conditions",[284,2741,2742,2748,2755],{},[287,2743,2744,2745],{},"The passenger must be a ",[23,2746,2747],{},"fellow employee",[287,2749,2750,2751,2754],{},"They must also be travelling ",[23,2752,2753],{},"on business",", not being dropped somewhere convenient",[287,2756,2757],{},"It applies to the same journey, in your own vehicle",[11,2759,2760],{},"A spouse, a client or a friend does not count, however useful the lift was.",[15,2762,2764],{"id":2763},"recording-it","Recording it",[11,2766,2767],{},"The evidence is the journey plus who was in the car. Milesheet lets you add passengers to a trip, works out the payment at 5p a mile per head, and shows it alongside the mileage claim — so if your employer does pay it, the number is already there rather than being reconstructed from memory at year end.",[11,2769,2770],{},"The same passenger count also drives the fuel split for personal journeys, which is a different calculation for a different purpose, but the same question: who was actually in the car.",[15,2772,282],{"id":281},[284,2774,2775,2780,2785],{},[287,2776,2777],{},[290,2778,295],{"href":292,"rel":2779},[294],[287,2781,2782],{},[290,2783,853],{"href":851,"rel":2784},[294],[287,2786,2787],{},[290,2788,302],{"href":300,"rel":2789},[294],[318,2791],{},[11,2793,2794],{},[323,2795,1746],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":2797},[2798,2799,2800,2801,2802,2803,2804],{"id":2599,"depth":328,"text":2600},{"id":2609,"depth":328,"text":2610},{"id":2703,"depth":328,"text":2704},{"id":2731,"depth":328,"text":2732},{"id":2738,"depth":328,"text":2739},{"id":2763,"depth":328,"text":2764},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-05-14","HMRC pays extra for carrying colleagues on business journeys. It is optional for employers, invisible to most people, and adds up faster than you would think.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile",{"title":2587,"description":2806},"blog\u002Fpassenger-payments-5p-a-mile",[906,2812,1345],"passengers","Bk1V7SUov2QDZbHtNPid8FMgwRSdIgIlD83w_sUKRBE",{"id":2815,"title":2816,"author":6,"body":2817,"category":336,"date":3193,"description":3194,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":3195,"navigation":344,"path":3196,"readTime":347,"seo":3197,"stem":3198,"tags":3199,"__hash__":3201},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs.md","Mileage rate or actual costs: which is worth more to you",{"type":8,"value":2818,"toc":3183},[2819,2822,2826,2832,2838,2842,2849,2852,2855,2859,2921,2925,2928,2942,2945,2959,2962,2966,3049,3053,3056,3131,3134,3137,3141,3147,3150,3152,3176,3178],[11,2820,2821],{},"If you are self-employed, you can deduct the cost of business driving one of two ways. Choosing well is worth real money, and the choice is stickier than most people realise.",[15,2823,2825],{"id":2824},"the-two-options","The two options",[11,2827,2828,2831],{},[23,2829,2830],{},"Simplified expenses (the mileage rate)."," Claim a flat 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p after that. That figure is meant to cover everything: fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs, road tax, depreciation. You claim nothing else for the vehicle.",[11,2833,2834,2837],{},[23,2835,2836],{},"Actual costs."," Work out what the vehicle really costs you across the year, then claim the business proportion of it. You also claim capital allowances on the purchase price. This means keeping receipts for everything and knowing your business-use percentage.",[15,2839,2841],{"id":2840},"the-rule-that-catches-people","The rule that catches people",[11,2843,2844,2845,2848],{},"Once you have used the mileage rate for a particular vehicle, ",[23,2846,2847],{},"you must keep using it for that vehicle"," for as long as you own it. You cannot claim 45p a mile for three years and then switch to actual costs when the car needs a new gearbox.",[11,2850,2851],{},"It also runs the other way: if you claim capital allowances on a vehicle, the mileage rate is closed to you for that vehicle.",[11,2853,2854],{},"So the decision is made once, early, and lives with the car.",[15,2856,2858],{"id":2857},"the-quick-test","The quick test",[39,2860,2861,2871],{},[42,2862,2863],{},[45,2864,2865,2868],{},[48,2866,2867],{},"Your situation",[48,2869,2870],{},"Likely better",[64,2872,2873,2883,2890,2900,2907,2914],{},[45,2874,2875,2878],{},[69,2876,2877],{},"Cheap or already-owned car, high business mileage",[69,2879,2880],{},[23,2881,2882],{},"Mileage rate",[45,2884,2885,2888],{},[69,2886,2887],{},"Economical car, moderate mileage",[69,2889,2882],{},[45,2891,2892,2895],{},[69,2893,2894],{},"Expensive vehicle, high business-use percentage",[69,2896,2897],{},[23,2898,2899],{},"Actual costs",[45,2901,2902,2905],{},[69,2903,2904],{},"Thirsty van working hard",[69,2906,2899],{},[45,2908,2909,2912],{},[69,2910,2911],{},"Low business mileage, expensive car",[69,2913,2899],{},[45,2915,2916,2919],{},[69,2917,2918],{},"You would rather not keep receipts",[69,2920,2882],{},[15,2922,2924],{"id":2923},"which-usually-wins","Which usually wins",[11,2926,2927],{},"The mileage rate tends to win when:",[284,2929,2930,2933,2936,2939],{},[287,2931,2932],{},"The car was cheap, or was already yours",[287,2934,2935],{},"You drive a lot of business miles in it",[287,2937,2938],{},"It is economical, so 45p comfortably exceeds what the mile actually cost",[287,2940,2941],{},"You would rather not keep every receipt",[11,2943,2944],{},"Actual costs tend to win when:",[284,2946,2947,2950,2953,2956],{},[287,2948,2949],{},"The vehicle was expensive, so the capital allowances are substantial",[287,2951,2952],{},"Business use is a high proportion of total use",[287,2954,2955],{},"Running costs are genuinely high — a van, something thirsty, something old and needy",[287,2957,2958],{},"Your annual business mileage is modest, so the flat rate does not add up to much",[11,2960,2961],{},"The rough test: estimate your business miles for the year, multiply by the rate, and compare it against your real annual running costs times your business-use percentage. If the answer is close, the mileage rate is usually the better deal simply because it takes an afternoon less to administer.",[15,2963,2965],{"id":2964},"the-two-methods-side-by-side","The two methods side by side",[39,2967,2968,2978],{},[42,2969,2970],{},[45,2971,2972,2974,2976],{},[48,2973],{},[48,2975,2882],{},[48,2977,2899],{},[64,2979,2980,2991,3003,3014,3026,3038],{},[45,2981,2982,2985,2988],{},[69,2983,2984],{},"What you claim",[69,2986,2987],{},"45p \u002F 25p a mile",[69,2989,2990],{},"Business share of real costs",[45,2992,2993,2996,3000],{},[69,2994,2995],{},"Capital allowances",[69,2997,2998],{},[23,2999,414],{},[69,3001,3002],{},"Yes, on the purchase",[45,3004,3005,3008,3011],{},[69,3006,3007],{},"Receipts needed",[69,3009,3010],{},"Mileage log only",[69,3012,3013],{},"Everything, all year",[45,3015,3016,3019,3021],{},[69,3017,3018],{},"Business-use % needed",[69,3020,414],{},[69,3022,3023],{},[23,3024,3025],{},"Yes, and defensible",[45,3027,3028,3031,3036],{},[69,3029,3030],{},"Can you switch later?",[69,3032,3033],{},[23,3034,3035],{},"No, not for that vehicle",[69,3037,414],{},[45,3039,3040,3043,3046],{},[69,3041,3042],{},"Best for",[69,3044,3045],{},"Cheap, economical, high mileage",[69,3047,3048],{},"Expensive, thirsty, high business use",[15,3050,3052],{"id":3051},"a-worked-comparison","A worked comparison",[11,3054,3055],{},"A van bought for £18,000, doing 8,000 business miles out of 12,000 total (67% business):",[39,3057,3058,3068],{},[42,3059,3060],{},[45,3061,3062,3064,3066],{},[48,3063],{},[48,3065,2882],{},[48,3067,2899],{},[64,3069,3070,3080,3090,3100,3116],{},[45,3071,3072,3075,3077],{},[69,3073,3074],{},"Fuel, servicing, tyres, insurance, tax (£4,200 × 67%)",[69,3076,177],{},[69,3078,3079],{},"£2,814",[45,3081,3082,3085,3087],{},[69,3083,3084],{},"Capital allowances, first year (illustrative)",[69,3086,177],{},[69,3088,3089],{},"£3,240",[45,3091,3092,3095,3098],{},[69,3093,3094],{},"8,000 miles at 45p",[69,3096,3097],{},"£3,600",[69,3099,177],{},[45,3101,3102,3107,3111],{},[69,3103,3104],{},[23,3105,3106],{},"Year one total",[69,3108,3109],{},[23,3110,3097],{},[69,3112,3113],{},[23,3114,3115],{},"£6,054",[45,3117,3118,3124,3128],{},[69,3119,3120,3123],{},[23,3121,3122],{},"Year four total"," (allowances largely spent)",[69,3125,3126],{},[23,3127,3097],{},[69,3129,3130],{},"~£2,900",[11,3132,3133],{},"Actual costs win early, because of the capital allowances. The mileage rate wins later, because it\ndoes not decline. Since the choice is locked per vehicle, the question is which side of that\ncrossover you expect to spend most of the vehicle's life on.",[11,3135,3136],{},"Figures are illustrative — capital allowance treatment depends on the vehicle and your\ncircumstances, which is exactly why this one is worth an accountant's hour.",[15,3138,3140],{"id":3139},"you-still-need-the-mileage-log-either-way","You still need the mileage log either way",[11,3142,3143,3144,3146],{},"This is the part people miss. Choosing actual costs does not free you from recording journeys — it makes the record ",[323,3145,495],{}," important, because your business-use percentage has to be justified from somewhere. \"About 60%\" is not a figure HMRC can check, and neither can you.",[11,3148,3149],{},"Whichever route you take, the underlying evidence is the same: date, from, to, purpose, distance. That is what Milesheet records, and why the log is worth keeping before you have decided which method you are using.",[15,3151,282],{"id":281},[284,3153,3154,3159,3166,3171],{},[287,3155,3156],{},[290,3157,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":3158},[294],[287,3160,3161],{},[290,3162,3165],{"href":3163,"rel":3164},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fsimplified-expenses-checker",[294],"HMRC — Simplified expenses checker",[287,3167,3168],{},[290,3169,295],{"href":292,"rel":3170},[294],[287,3172,3173],{},[290,3174,877],{"href":875,"rel":3175},[294],[318,3177],{},[11,3179,3180],{},[323,3181,3182],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. The choice between methods has long-term consequences: worth an hour of an accountant's time before you commit.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":3184},[3185,3186,3187,3188,3189,3190,3191,3192],{"id":2824,"depth":328,"text":2825},{"id":2840,"depth":328,"text":2841},{"id":2857,"depth":328,"text":2858},{"id":2923,"depth":328,"text":2924},{"id":2964,"depth":328,"text":2965},{"id":3051,"depth":328,"text":3052},{"id":3139,"depth":328,"text":3140},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-05-07","Self-employed drivers get a choice, it is effectively permanent for that vehicle, and the right answer depends on how much the car cost and how far you drive.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs",{"title":2816,"description":3194},"blog\u002Fsimplified-expenses-vs-actual-costs",[3200,1873,906],"self-employed","HlRnKRUnXzms-hkICaAX7FR0qmCLGGXO5n0LKIcc1rM",{"id":3203,"title":3204,"author":6,"body":3205,"category":336,"date":3460,"description":3461,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":3462,"navigation":344,"path":3463,"readTime":347,"seo":3464,"stem":3465,"tags":3466,"__hash__":3469},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own.md","Company car or your own: what you can actually claim",{"type":8,"value":3206,"toc":3451},[3207,3210,3214,3221,3224,3228,3238,3241,3255,3258,3262,3330,3337,3341,3344,3394,3397,3401,3404,3411,3415,3418,3421,3424,3426,3444,3446],[11,3208,3209],{},"There are two entirely separate systems here, they use different numbers, and mixing them up is the most expensive routine mistake on UK mileage claims.",[15,3211,3213],{"id":3212},"if-the-car-is-yours","If the car is yours",[11,3215,3216,3217,3220],{},"You use ",[23,3218,3219],{},"Approved Mileage Allowance Payments",": 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, 25p thereafter. That rate is meant to cover everything the car costs you — fuel, insurance, servicing, depreciation, the lot.",[11,3222,3223],{},"If your employer pays you less than that, you can claim tax relief on the shortfall. If they pay more, the excess is taxable.",[15,3225,3227],{"id":3226},"if-the-car-belongs-to-the-company","If the car belongs to the company",[11,3229,3230,3231,3234,3235,3237],{},"Approved mileage rates do not apply. The company already owns the car and bears its costs, so there is nothing to reimburse you for except ",[23,3232,3233],{},"fuel",". That is what ",[23,3236,719],{}," are for.",[11,3239,3240],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates are:",[284,3242,3243,3246,3252],{},[287,3244,3245],{},"Much lower — pence per mile figures that vary by engine size and fuel type",[287,3247,3248,3251],{},[23,3249,3250],{},"Revised quarterly",", so last year's figure is not this year's",[287,3253,3254],{},"Used both for reimbursing employees for business fuel, and for employees repaying the cost of private fuel",[11,3256,3257],{},"The practical consequence: someone with a company car claiming 45p a mile is claiming something they are not entitled to, usually without realising, and often for years.",[15,3259,3261],{"id":3260},"which-system-applies","Which system applies",[39,3263,3264,3276],{},[42,3265,3266],{},[45,3267,3268,3270,3273],{},[48,3269,2389],{},[48,3271,3272],{},"Rate system",[48,3274,3275],{},"Roughly",[64,3277,3278,3289,3298,3308,3319],{},[45,3279,3280,3283,3286],{},[69,3281,3282],{},"Your own car, business journey",[69,3284,3285],{},"Approved mileage rates",[69,3287,3288],{},"45p then 25p",[45,3290,3291,3294,3296],{},[69,3292,3293],{},"Your own EV, business journey",[69,3295,3285],{},[69,3297,3288],{},[45,3299,3300,3303,3305],{},[69,3301,3302],{},"Company car, business fuel",[69,3304,719],{},[69,3306,3307],{},"Pence per mile, by engine and fuel",[45,3309,3310,3313,3316],{},[69,3311,3312],{},"Company EV, business mileage",[69,3314,3315],{},"Advisory electricity rate",[69,3317,3318],{},"A single pence-per-mile figure",[45,3320,3321,3324,3327],{},[69,3322,3323],{},"Company car, private fuel paid by employer",[69,3325,3326],{},"Car fuel benefit",[69,3328,3329],{},"Fixed charge from CO2, not usage",[11,3331,3332,3333,3336],{},"Advisory rates are revised ",[23,3334,3335],{},"quarterly",". Approved mileage rates have not changed since 2011.",[15,3338,3340],{"id":3339},"the-size-of-the-error","The size of the error",[11,3342,3343],{},"Someone with a company car claiming the approved car rate instead of the advisory fuel rate, on\n10,000 business miles:",[39,3345,3346,3358],{},[42,3347,3348],{},[45,3349,3350,3352,3355],{},[48,3351],{},[48,3353,3354],{},"Per mile",[48,3356,3357],{},"10,000 miles",[64,3359,3360,3369,3380],{},[45,3361,3362,3365,3367],{},[69,3363,3364],{},"Claimed at 45p",[69,3366,169],{},[69,3368,567],{},[45,3370,3371,3374,3377],{},[69,3372,3373],{},"Advisory fuel rate (illustrative)",[69,3375,3376],{},"~14p",[69,3378,3379],{},"£1,400",[45,3381,3382,3387,3389],{},[69,3383,3384],{},[23,3385,3386],{},"Over-claimed",[69,3388],{},[69,3390,3391],{},[23,3392,3393],{},"~£3,100",[11,3395,3396],{},"Repeated across several years, that is the kind of error that gets expensive with interest attached.\nThe advisory figure varies by engine size and fuel type — check the current table rather than using\nthe number above.",[15,3398,3400],{"id":3399},"electric-company-cars","Electric company cars",[11,3402,3403],{},"There is a separate advisory electricity rate for fully electric company cars, published alongside the fuel rates and revised on the same cycle. It is not the same as the 45p rate, for the same reason: the company owns the car.",[11,3405,3406,3407,3410],{},"An electric car that is ",[323,3408,3409],{},"yours"," is different again — approved mileage rates apply at the normal 45p and 25p, regardless of the fact you are charging rather than filling up.",[15,3412,3414],{"id":3413},"why-the-record-still-matters","Why the record still matters",[11,3416,3417],{},"Under both systems the underlying evidence is identical: which journeys were business, when, where from and to, and how far.",[11,3419,3420],{},"The difference is only in what you multiply the miles by. Get the log right and switching between the two — a new job, a company car arriving or going away — is a change of rate rather than a change of habit.",[11,3422,3423],{},"Milesheet keeps each vehicle separate, with its own economy and running costs, so a company car and your own car do not end up in the same total.",[15,3425,282],{"id":281},[284,3427,3428,3434,3439],{},[287,3429,3430],{},[290,3431,3433],{"href":868,"rel":3432},[294],"HMRC — Advisory fuel rates",[287,3435,3436],{},[290,3437,295],{"href":292,"rel":3438},[294],[287,3440,3441],{},[290,3442,853],{"href":851,"rel":3443},[294],[318,3445],{},[11,3447,3448],{},[323,3449,3450],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Advisory Fuel Rates change quarterly — check the current table before you claim.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":3452},[3453,3454,3455,3456,3457,3458,3459],{"id":3212,"depth":328,"text":3213},{"id":3226,"depth":328,"text":3227},{"id":3260,"depth":328,"text":3261},{"id":3339,"depth":328,"text":3340},{"id":3399,"depth":328,"text":3400},{"id":3413,"depth":328,"text":3414},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-04-30","Advisory Fuel Rates, approved mileage rates, and the expensive habit of confusing the two.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own",{"title":3204,"description":3461},"blog\u002Fcompany-car-or-your-own",[3467,3468,906],"company car","advisory fuel rates","Uxdv7Sb_RJbFqnXh6YHm74hngXTkgmgJEij-Z16QCYI",{"id":3471,"title":3472,"author":6,"body":3473,"category":336,"date":3676,"description":3677,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":3678,"navigation":344,"path":3679,"readTime":347,"seo":3680,"stem":3681,"tags":3682,"__hash__":3685},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage.md","If you work from home, where does business travel start?",{"type":8,"value":3474,"toc":3667},[3475,3478,3482,3489,3492,3496,3507,3510,3513,3517,3520,3523,3527,3604,3608,3611,3622,3625,3629,3632,3641,3643,3660,3662],[11,3476,3477],{},"Hybrid working broke a rule that used to be simple. When everyone went to an office five days a week, home was home and the office was the permanent workplace. Now the line moves, and a lot of people are guessing.",[15,3479,3481],{"id":3480},"the-default-answer","The default answer",[11,3483,3484,3485,3488],{},"Your home is ",[23,3486,3487],{},"not"," automatically a workplace just because you work in it. HMRC's starting position is that where you live is a personal choice, and travel from it to your employer's premises is ordinary commuting — not claimable — whether you go five days a week or one.",[11,3490,3491],{},"That is the answer most hybrid workers do not want, and it is the answer that applies to most of them.",[15,3493,3495],{"id":3494},"when-home-genuinely-is-a-workplace","When home genuinely is a workplace",[11,3497,3498,3499,3502,3503,3506],{},"It can be, but the bar is meaningful. Broadly, the duties you perform at home must be ",[23,3500,3501],{},"substantive"," — real work, not just admin you could have done anywhere — and there must be an ",[23,3504,3505],{},"objective requirement"," to do them at home, rather than a personal preference or an employer being relaxed about it.",[11,3508,3509],{},"\"My employer lets me work from home three days a week\" does not clear it. \"There is no office within a hundred miles and my role requires a base\" is much closer.",[11,3511,3512],{},"If home does qualify as a workplace, travel from there to another workplace is business travel, and the picture changes considerably.",[15,3514,3516],{"id":3515},"the-trap-in-the-middle","The trap in the middle",[11,3518,3519],{},"The most common hybrid mistake is treating office days as claimable because they are occasional. Frequency is not the test. A permanent workplace visited once a fortnight is still a permanent workplace, and the drive to it is still commuting.",[11,3521,3522],{},"Equally, people under-claim: a drive from home straight to a client, on a day you would otherwise have been at home, is business travel and often goes unrecorded because it did not feel like a \"work trip\".",[15,3524,3526],{"id":3525},"the-hybrid-cases-resolved","The hybrid cases, resolved",[39,3528,3529,3537],{},[42,3530,3531],{},[45,3532,3533,3535],{},[48,3534,1022],{},[48,3536,1025],{},[64,3538,3539,3549,3559,3568,3576,3586,3594],{},[45,3540,3541,3544],{},[69,3542,3543],{},"Home → office, 5 days a week",[69,3545,3546,3548],{},[23,3547,414],{}," — commuting",[45,3550,3551,3554],{},[69,3552,3553],{},"Home → office, once a fortnight",[69,3555,3556,3558],{},[23,3557,414],{}," — still a permanent workplace",[45,3560,3561,3564],{},[69,3562,3563],{},"Home → client, on a home-working day",[69,3565,3566],{},[23,3567,401],{},[45,3569,3570,3573],{},[69,3571,3572],{},"Home → office → client → home",[69,3574,3575],{},"Leg 1 no, legs 2 and 3 yes",[45,3577,3578,3581],{},[69,3579,3580],{},"Home → temporary project site",[69,3582,3583,3585],{},[23,3584,401],{},", subject to the 24-month rule",[45,3587,3588,3591],{},[69,3589,3590],{},"Home → coworking space the employer pays for",[69,3592,3593],{},"Depends whether it is a permanent workplace",[45,3595,3596,3599],{},[69,3597,3598],{},"Home → office on a day you were not required in",[69,3600,3601,3603],{},[23,3602,414],{}," — frequency is not the test",[15,3605,3607],{"id":3606},"triangular-journeys","Triangular journeys",[11,3609,3610],{},"Home → office → client → home is three legs and they are not all the same.",[284,3612,3613,3616,3619],{},[287,3614,3615],{},"Home to office: commuting, not claimable",[287,3617,3618],{},"Office to client: business travel, claimable",[287,3620,3621],{},"Client to home: usually claimable, though if you detour somewhere personal on the way, that part is not",[11,3623,3624],{},"The practical answer is to record all of it and classify each leg for what it was, rather than deciding at the end of the month that the whole day was or was not \"business\".",[15,3626,3628],{"id":3627},"why-the-record-helps-here-more-than-anywhere","Why the record helps here more than anywhere",[11,3630,3631],{},"This is precisely the area where a claim gets challenged, because the facts vary person to person and month to month. A contemporaneous log — recorded on the day, not reconstructed in April — is the difference between a defensible position and an argument.",[11,3633,3634,3635,3637,3638,3640],{},"Milesheet records each leg separately, so a day like the one above arrives as three journeys you can sort individually. Tag home as ",[23,3636,1241],{}," and the office as ",[23,3639,2528],{}," and the commuting legs are recognised and kept out of the claim automatically, while still sitting in your records where you can see them.",[15,3642,282],{"id":281},[284,3644,3645,3650,3655],{},[287,3646,3647],{},[290,3648,316],{"href":314,"rel":3649},[294],[287,3651,3652],{},[290,3653,1306],{"href":1304,"rel":3654},[294],[287,3656,3657],{},[290,3658,302],{"href":300,"rel":3659},[294],[318,3661],{},[11,3663,3664],{},[323,3665,3666],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Whether a home qualifies as a workplace is fact-specific: if you are relying on it, get it confirmed.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":3668},[3669,3670,3671,3672,3673,3674,3675],{"id":3480,"depth":328,"text":3481},{"id":3494,"depth":328,"text":3495},{"id":3515,"depth":328,"text":3516},{"id":3525,"depth":328,"text":3526},{"id":3606,"depth":328,"text":3607},{"id":3627,"depth":328,"text":3628},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-04-16","Whether your house counts as a workplace, when the drive to the office becomes claimable, and why hybrid working makes this harder rather than easier.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage",{"title":3472,"description":3677},"blog\u002Fworking-from-home-mileage",[906,3683,3684],"working from home","hybrid","-oq2GPHpOUCa52GVfCbeynaK5s-kfHlgWZvAkZo6bXs",{"id":3687,"title":3688,"author":6,"body":3689,"category":336,"date":3963,"description":3964,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":898,"imageAlt":3965,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":3966,"navigation":344,"path":3967,"readTime":347,"seo":3968,"stem":3969,"tags":3970,"__hash__":3972},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers.md","A tax year end checklist for anyone who drives for work",{"type":8,"value":3690,"toc":3952},[3691,3698,3702,3705,3708,3712,3719,3722,3726,3729,3732,3736,3739,3742,3746,3749,3753,3764,3768,3866,3870,3922,3924,3946,3948],[11,3692,3693,3694,3697],{},"The UK tax year ends on ",[23,3695,3696],{},"5 April",". Nothing dramatic happens on the day, but a few things get considerably harder once it has passed. Here is the short list.",[15,3699,3701],{"id":3700},"_1-sort-anything-still-unclassified","1. Sort anything still unclassified",[11,3703,3704],{},"An unclassified journey is in no total. If you have a backlog of trips you never got round to marking business or personal, that is money sitting in a queue.",[11,3706,3707],{},"Do it now while you can still remember what a Tuesday in November was for. In six months you will be guessing, and a guessed log is a weak log.",[15,3709,3711],{"id":3710},"_2-check-your-business-mileage-against-the-10000-line","2. Check your business mileage against the 10,000 line",[11,3713,3714,3715,3718],{},"The rate drops from 45p to 25p once you pass 10,000 business miles ",[23,3716,3717],{},"in the tax year",", and the counter resets on 6 April.",[11,3720,3721],{},"This matters for planning if you are close to it. Nobody is suggesting you invent journeys — but if you have discretion over when a long trip happens, and you are at 9,800 miles in late March, the same drive is worth 45p a mile in April rather than 25p now.",[15,3723,3725],{"id":3724},"_3-reconcile-your-odometer","3. Reconcile your odometer",[11,3727,3728],{},"This is the one people skip and later regret. Compare what your odometer says against what your log accounts for. If the car has covered 14,000 miles and your journeys add up to 11,000, then 3,000 miles went unrecorded — and unrecorded business miles cannot be claimed.",[11,3730,3731],{},"You will not recover all of it, but a gap between two known dates is a far better prompt for your memory than a blank year. Milesheet does this comparison for you from your fill-up odometer readings and flags stretches where the two disagree.",[15,3733,3735],{"id":3734},"_4-collect-the-out-of-pocket-costs","4. Collect the out-of-pocket costs",[11,3737,3738],{},"Parking, tolls, congestion and clean-air charges on business journeys are claimable separately from mileage — the mileage rate covers running the vehicle, not what you paid to leave it somewhere.",[11,3740,3741],{},"Receipts are easier to find in April than in January. If you photograph them onto the journey as you go, this step is already done.",[15,3743,3745],{"id":3744},"_5-export-before-you-need-it","5. Export before you need it",[11,3747,3748],{},"Produce the CSV and the claim PDF for the year while everything is fresh, and put them somewhere that is not only your phone. If you file in January, the version of events you want is the one you assembled in April.",[15,3750,3752],{"id":3751},"_6-check-how-long-to-keep-it","6. Check how long to keep it",[11,3754,3755,3756,3759,3760,3763],{},"Records need keeping for ",[23,3757,3758],{},"at least 22 months after the end of the tax year"," if you are employed, and ",[23,3761,3762],{},"five years after the 31 January filing deadline"," if you are self-employed. Deleting last year's log to tidy up is a bad trade.",[15,3765,3767],{"id":3766},"the-checklist-in-one-table","The checklist in one table",[39,3769,3770,3786],{},[42,3771,3772],{},[45,3773,3774,3777,3780,3783],{},[48,3775,3776],{},"#",[48,3778,3779],{},"Task",[48,3781,3782],{},"Why it is harder later",[48,3784,3785],{},"Time",[64,3787,3788,3801,3814,3827,3840,3853],{},[45,3789,3790,3792,3795,3798],{},[69,3791,2638],{},[69,3793,3794],{},"Sort anything unclassified",[69,3796,3797],{},"Memory fades; guesses are weak evidence",[69,3799,3800],{},"10 min",[45,3802,3803,3805,3808,3811],{},[69,3804,74],{},[69,3806,3807],{},"Check where you are against 10,000 miles",[69,3809,3810],{},"The counter resets on 6 April",[69,3812,3813],{},"1 min",[45,3815,3816,3818,3821,3824],{},[69,3817,91],{},[69,3819,3820],{},"Reconcile the odometer against your log",[69,3822,3823],{},"A year-old gap is unrecoverable",[69,3825,3826],{},"5 min",[45,3828,3829,3831,3834,3837],{},[69,3830,108],{},[69,3832,3833],{},"Collect parking, tolls and charges",[69,3835,3836],{},"Receipts vanish",[69,3838,3839],{},"15 min",[45,3841,3842,3844,3847,3850],{},[69,3843,125],{},[69,3845,3846],{},"Export the CSV and claim PDF",[69,3848,3849],{},"You will file in January from April's data",[69,3851,3852],{},"2 min",[45,3854,3855,3858,3861,3864],{},[69,3856,3857],{},"6",[69,3859,3860],{},"Check retention periods",[69,3862,3863],{},"Deleting last year to tidy up is costly",[69,3865,177],{},[15,3867,3869],{"id":3868},"key-dates","Key dates",[39,3871,3872,3881],{},[42,3873,3874],{},[45,3875,3876,3878],{},[48,3877,1227],{},[48,3879,3880],{},"What happens",[64,3882,3883,3891,3898,3906,3914],{},[45,3884,3885,3888],{},[69,3886,3887],{},"6 April",[69,3889,3890],{},"New tax year begins; 10,000-mile counter resets",[45,3892,3893,3895],{},[69,3894,3696],{},[69,3896,3897],{},"Tax year ends",[45,3899,3900,3903],{},[69,3901,3902],{},"31 October",[69,3904,3905],{},"Paper Self Assessment deadline",[45,3907,3908,3911],{},[69,3909,3910],{},"31 January",[69,3912,3913],{},"Online filing and payment deadline for the year ended the previous 5 April",[45,3915,3916,3919],{},[69,3917,3918],{},"4 years back",[69,3920,3921],{},"How far Mileage Allowance Relief can generally be backdated",[15,3923,282],{"id":281},[284,3925,3926,3931,3936,3941],{},[287,3927,3928],{},[290,3929,877],{"href":875,"rel":3930},[294],[287,3932,3933],{},[290,3934,295],{"href":292,"rel":3935},[294],[287,3937,3938],{},[290,3939,309],{"href":307,"rel":3940},[294],[287,3942,3943],{},[290,3944,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":3945},[294],[318,3947],{},[11,3949,3950],{},[323,3951,1746],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":3953},[3954,3955,3956,3957,3958,3959,3960,3961,3962],{"id":3700,"depth":328,"text":3701},{"id":3710,"depth":328,"text":3711},{"id":3724,"depth":328,"text":3725},{"id":3734,"depth":328,"text":3735},{"id":3744,"depth":328,"text":3745},{"id":3751,"depth":328,"text":3752},{"id":3766,"depth":328,"text":3767},{"id":3868,"depth":328,"text":3869},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-04-09","What to do in the fortnight before 5 April, and the three things that are much harder to fix afterwards.","The tax-year claim and business mileage total in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers",{"title":3688,"description":3964},"blog\u002Ftax-year-end-checklist-for-drivers",[3971,1768,1767],"tax year","85kNj2_mvcmSwGdGqj6I_aG7hodV4nBENqhuEnNcqfY",{"id":3974,"title":3975,"author":6,"body":3976,"category":336,"date":4159,"description":4160,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4161,"imageAlt":4162,"imageCredit":4163,"imageCreditUrl":4164,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":4165,"navigation":344,"path":4166,"readTime":328,"seo":4167,"stem":4168,"tags":4169,"__hash__":4171},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate.md","Electric cars and the 45p rate",{"type":8,"value":3977,"toc":4151},[3978,3981,3985,3992,3995,3998,4001,4005,4008,4047,4050,4088,4091,4095,4102,4105,4108,4112,4115,4119,4122,4125,4127,4144,4146],[11,3979,3980],{},"The rules here are simpler than people expect, but they land in a way that surprises everyone the first time.",[15,3982,3984],{"id":3983},"if-the-ev-is-yours","If the EV is yours",[11,3986,3987,3988,3991],{},"You claim the ",[23,3989,3990],{},"same approved mileage rates as any other car",": 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p.",[11,3993,3994],{},"There is no separate electric rate, no reduction for the fact you are charging rather than filling up, and no requirement to work out what the electricity cost. The rate is the rate.",[11,3996,3997],{},"This is quietly one of the better deals in the tax system. The approved rate is designed around the running costs of an average car — including petrol at petrol prices. If you charge mostly at home on a cheap overnight tariff, your actual cost per mile can be a small fraction of 45p, and you keep the difference.",[11,3999,4000],{},"Charge exclusively on the rapid network at motorway prices and the gap narrows considerably. It can close entirely.",[15,4002,4004],{"id":4003},"what-you-keep","What you keep",[11,4006,4007],{},"An EV owned by you, doing 8,000 business miles, charged at home on an off-peak tariff:",[39,4009,4010,4019],{},[42,4011,4012],{},[45,4013,4014,4016],{},[48,4015],{},[48,4017,4018],{},"Figure",[64,4020,4021,4028,4035],{},[45,4022,4023,4026],{},[69,4024,4025],{},"Approved mileage claim (8,000 × 45p)",[69,4027,3097],{},[45,4029,4030,4033],{},[69,4031,4032],{},"Actual electricity cost at ~2p a mile",[69,4034,680],{},[45,4036,4037,4042],{},[69,4038,4039],{},[23,4040,4041],{},"Difference retained",[69,4043,4044],{},[23,4045,4046],{},"£3,440",[11,4048,4049],{},"The same car charged exclusively on motorway rapids at ~23p a mile:",[39,4051,4052,4060],{},[42,4053,4054],{},[45,4055,4056,4058],{},[48,4057],{},[48,4059,4018],{},[64,4061,4062,4069,4077],{},[45,4063,4064,4067],{},[69,4065,4066],{},"Approved mileage claim",[69,4068,3097],{},[45,4070,4071,4074],{},[69,4072,4073],{},"Actual electricity cost",[69,4075,4076],{},"£1,840",[45,4078,4079,4083],{},[69,4080,4081],{},[23,4082,4041],{},[69,4084,4085],{},[23,4086,4087],{},"£1,760",[11,4089,4090],{},"Same car, same rate, same journeys. Where you plug in changes the outcome by more than a thousand\npounds.",[15,4092,4094],{"id":4093},"if-the-ev-belongs-to-the-company","If the EV belongs to the company",[11,4096,4097,4098,4101],{},"Different system. Approved mileage rates do not apply, because the company owns the car and bears its costs. What applies instead is the ",[23,4099,4100],{},"advisory electricity rate",", published by HMRC alongside Advisory Fuel Rates and revised on the same quarterly cycle.",[11,4103,4104],{},"It is a pence-per-mile figure for reimbursing business mileage in a company EV, and it is a lot lower than 45p, for exactly the reason it should be: you are being reimbursed for electricity, not for running a car you own.",[11,4106,4107],{},"Claiming 45p for a company EV is the same error as claiming it for a company diesel — common, and expensive if it runs for years.",[15,4109,4111],{"id":4110},"home-charging-and-company-cars","Home charging and company cars",[11,4113,4114],{},"Reimbursement for charging a company car at home has its own treatment and has changed in recent years. If that is your situation, check the current guidance rather than relying on what was true when you got the car.",[15,4116,4118],{"id":4117},"what-to-record","What to record",[11,4120,4121],{},"Identical to any other vehicle: date, from, to, purpose, distance. The rate you apply differs; the evidence does not.",[11,4123,4124],{},"If you run an EV alongside a petrol car, keep them as separate vehicles in your records. They may be on different systems entirely, and the 10,000-mile threshold is counted across all your own vehicles rather than per car — which is a detail worth getting right when two cars are in play.",[15,4126,282],{"id":281},[284,4128,4129,4134,4139],{},[287,4130,4131],{},[290,4132,295],{"href":292,"rel":4133},[294],[287,4135,4136],{},[290,4137,3433],{"href":868,"rel":4138},[294],[287,4140,4141],{},[290,4142,853],{"href":851,"rel":4143},[294],[318,4145],{},[11,4147,4148],{},[323,4149,4150],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Rates for company vehicles are revised quarterly — check the current table.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":4152},[4153,4154,4155,4156,4157,4158],{"id":3983,"depth":328,"text":3984},{"id":4003,"depth":328,"text":4004},{"id":4093,"depth":328,"text":4094},{"id":4110,"depth":328,"text":4111},{"id":4117,"depth":328,"text":4118},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-03-26","Why an EV you own claims exactly the same as a petrol car, why a company EV does not, and what that gap is worth.","\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate.jpg","A charging cable connected to an electric car","CC0 public domain","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Fpublicdomain\u002Fzero\u002F1.0\u002F",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate",{"title":3975,"description":4160},"blog\u002Felectric-cars-and-the-45p-rate",[4170,906,3467],"electric","EakxpFPLEBuaYe2zar_an0S0aE1qQz6HQv6cJoO6MNo",{"id":4173,"title":4174,"author":6,"body":4175,"category":336,"date":4353,"description":4354,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4355,"imageAlt":4356,"imageCredit":4163,"imageCreditUrl":4164,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":4357,"navigation":344,"path":4358,"readTime":347,"seo":4359,"stem":4360,"tags":4361,"__hash__":4363},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van.md","Claiming mileage in a van",{"type":8,"value":4176,"toc":4344},[4177,4184,4188,4191,4197,4200,4204,4207,4271,4274,4278,4289,4292,4296,4299,4302,4306,4309,4313,4316,4319,4321,4338,4340],[11,4178,4179,4180,4183],{},"Vans sit in the same band as cars for approved mileage: ",[23,4181,4182],{},"45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after",". There is no separate van rate, which is the first thing worth knowing and the reason the mileage rate suits some trades badly.",[15,4185,4187],{"id":4186},"why-the-flat-rate-can-work-against-a-van","Why the flat rate can work against a van",[11,4189,4190],{},"The 45p figure is built around the running costs of an average car. A van is generally not an average car. It is heavier, thirstier, harder on tyres and brakes, more expensive to insure commercially, and often working considerably harder than a family hatchback.",[11,4192,4193,4194,4196],{},"If you are running a long-wheelbase van at 28 mpg, loaded, doing 6,000 business miles a year, the flat rate may well be less than the vehicle genuinely costs you. That is the case where ",[23,4195,1877],{}," deserve a proper look — real fuel, real servicing, real insurance, plus capital allowances on the purchase.",[11,4198,4199],{},"Against that: actual costs mean keeping every receipt and defending a business-use percentage.",[15,4201,4203],{"id":4202},"when-the-flat-rate-stops-covering-a-van","When the flat rate stops covering a van",[11,4205,4206],{},"Approved rate against real running cost per mile:",[39,4208,4209,4221],{},[42,4210,4211],{},[45,4212,4213,4215,4218],{},[48,4214,376],{},[48,4216,4217],{},"Real cost\u002Fmile",[48,4219,4220],{},"45p covers it?",[64,4222,4223,4236,4247,4259],{},[45,4224,4225,4228,4231],{},[69,4226,4227],{},"Small van, 45 mpg, bought used",[69,4229,4230],{},"~28p",[69,4232,4233],{},[23,4234,4235],{},"Comfortably",[45,4237,4238,4241,4244],{},[69,4239,4240],{},"Mid van, 38 mpg, 3 years old",[69,4242,4243],{},"~36p",[69,4245,4246],{},"Yes, with margin",[45,4248,4249,4252,4255],{},[69,4250,4251],{},"LWB van, 30 mpg, loaded, new",[69,4253,4254],{},"~48p",[69,4256,4257],{},[23,4258,414],{},[45,4260,4261,4264,4267],{},[69,4262,4263],{},"LWB van, 28 mpg, high mileage, towing",[69,4265,4266],{},"~55p",[69,4268,4269],{},[23,4270,414],{},[11,4272,4273],{},"The bottom two rows are where actual costs deserve a proper look — remembering the choice is close\nto permanent for that vehicle.",[15,4275,4277],{"id":4276},"where-the-mileage-rate-wins","Where the mileage rate wins",[284,4279,4280,4283,4286],{},[287,4281,4282],{},"High business mileage in a smaller, economical van",[287,4284,4285],{},"The van was bought cheaply, or is old enough that capital allowances are largely spent",[287,4287,4288],{},"You would rather have a simple, defensible number than a shoebox of receipts",[11,4290,4291],{},"The arithmetic is the same test as for a car: business miles × the rate, against real annual costs × business-use percentage.",[15,4293,4295],{"id":4294},"the-decision-is-close-to-permanent","The decision is close to permanent",[11,4297,4298],{},"Worth repeating, because it bites hardest here: once you use the mileage rate for a vehicle, you must keep using it for that vehicle. You cannot claim 45p for three years and switch to actual costs the year the clutch goes.",[11,4300,4301],{},"For a van with a hard life, that is a decision worth making deliberately at purchase rather than discovering later.",[15,4303,4305],{"id":4304},"private-use","Private use",[11,4307,4308],{},"If the van is also your personal transport, only the business proportion is claimable, and for employees a company van available for private use is a benefit in kind with its own charge. \"It's a work van\" is not, by itself, an answer to any of this.",[15,4310,4312],{"id":4311},"recording","Recording",[11,4314,4315],{},"Same evidence as any vehicle: date, from, to, purpose, distance. Trades doing many short drops in a day are the group most likely to under-record, because stopping to write down a four-mile hop between jobs is not going to happen.",[11,4317,4318],{},"That is the case for recording automatically. Milesheet logs each leg as its own journey, so a day of eleven drops arrives as eleven trips to sort rather than one vague total, and keeps each vehicle's economy and costs separate if you run more than one.",[15,4320,282],{"id":281},[284,4322,4323,4328,4333],{},[287,4324,4325],{},[290,4326,295],{"href":292,"rel":4327},[294],[287,4329,4330],{},[290,4331,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":4332},[294],[287,4334,4335],{},[290,4336,3165],{"href":3163,"rel":4337},[294],[318,4339],{},[11,4341,4342],{},[323,4343,1746],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":4345},[4346,4347,4348,4349,4350,4351,4352],{"id":4186,"depth":328,"text":4187},{"id":4202,"depth":328,"text":4203},{"id":4276,"depth":328,"text":4277},{"id":4294,"depth":328,"text":4295},{"id":4304,"depth":328,"text":4305},{"id":4311,"depth":328,"text":4312},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-03-19","Vans use the same 45p rate as cars, which is better news for some trades than others — and worse news than actual costs for a few.","\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van.jpg","A white van travelling on a road",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van",{"title":4174,"description":4354},"blog\u002Fclaiming-mileage-in-a-van",[4362,3200,906],"vans","ikZkJDTd1qwaGvfiTJDtOsG7TdAdXLa5tc2uRdqMbOI",{"id":4365,"title":4366,"author":6,"body":4367,"category":336,"date":4566,"description":4567,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":343,"imageAlt":343,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":4568,"navigation":344,"path":4569,"readTime":328,"seo":4570,"stem":4571,"tags":4572,"__hash__":4574},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses.md","Parking fees you can claim, and fines you cannot",{"type":8,"value":4368,"toc":4558},[4369,4372,4376,4383,4386,4392,4396,4399,4402,4406,4495,4499,4502,4516,4523,4527,4530,4533,4535,4552,4554],[11,4370,4371],{},"Both come out of the same wallet on the same day. Only one of them is deductible.",[15,4373,4375],{"id":4374},"parking-fees-claimable","Parking fees: claimable",[11,4377,4378,4379,4382],{},"Parking while on a business journey is a legitimate business expense, and it is claimable ",[23,4380,4381],{},"separately from mileage",". The approved mileage rate covers the cost of running the vehicle — fuel, wear, insurance, depreciation — not what you paid to leave it somewhere.",[11,4384,4385],{},"The same goes for tolls, the Dartford Crossing, the Severn crossing when it charged, congestion charges and clean-air zone charges, provided the journey itself was business.",[11,4387,4388,4389,4391],{},"What is not claimable is parking at your ",[23,4390,927],{},". That follows the same logic as commuting: getting yourself to your normal place of work is your own affair.",[15,4393,4395],{"id":4394},"parking-fines-not-claimable","Parking fines: not claimable",[11,4397,4398],{},"Penalties are not an allowable deduction. The reasoning is straightforward — the tax system does not subsidise breaking the law, however routine it feels.",[11,4400,4401],{},"That covers parking tickets, speeding fines, and penalty charge notices, whether you were on business or not.",[15,4403,4405],{"id":4404},"claimable-or-not","Claimable or not",[39,4407,4408,4416],{},[42,4409,4410],{},[45,4411,4412,4414],{},[48,4413,1897],{},[48,4415,1025],{},[64,4417,4418,4427,4434,4443,4452,4460,4468,4477,4486],{},[45,4419,4420,4423],{},[69,4421,4422],{},"Parking on a business journey",[69,4424,4425],{},[23,4426,401],{},[45,4428,4429,4432],{},[69,4430,4431],{},"Parking at your permanent workplace",[69,4433,414],{},[45,4435,4436,4439],{},[69,4437,4438],{},"Toll or crossing on a business journey",[69,4440,4441],{},[23,4442,401],{},[45,4444,4445,4448],{},[69,4446,4447],{},"Congestion or clean air charge, business journey",[69,4449,4450],{},[23,4451,401],{},[45,4453,4454,4456],{},[69,4455,1956],{},[69,4457,4458],{},[23,4459,414],{},[45,4461,4462,4464],{},[69,4463,1968],{},[69,4465,4466],{},[23,4467,414],{},[45,4469,4470,4473],{},[69,4471,4472],{},"Penalty charge notice",[69,4474,4475],{},[23,4476,414],{},[45,4478,4479,4482],{},[69,4480,4481],{},"Late payment penalty on a toll",[69,4483,4484],{},[23,4485,414],{},[45,4487,4488,4491],{},[69,4489,4490],{},"Clamping or removal fee",[69,4492,4493],{},[23,4494,414],{},[15,4496,4498],{"id":4497},"the-bit-that-differs-by-structure","The bit that differs by structure",[11,4500,4501],{},"There is a wrinkle worth knowing if you run a limited company.",[284,4503,4504,4510],{},[287,4505,4506,4509],{},[23,4507,4508],{},"Sole trader",": the fine is simply not deductible. It comes out of taxed money.",[287,4511,4512,4515],{},[23,4513,4514],{},"Limited company paying a fine issued to the driver personally",": the company has effectively settled a personal liability, which can be treated as a benefit in kind or as earnings, with the reporting that implies.",[11,4517,4518,4519,4522],{},"Fines issued to the ",[323,4520,4521],{},"company"," rather than the individual are treated differently again. Either way, \"the company paid it\" does not make it deductible.",[15,4524,4526],{"id":4525},"the-practical-bit","The practical bit",[11,4528,4529],{},"Keep the receipts for the fees and attach them to the journey they belong to. A parking receipt on its own is a scrap of thermal paper that will be illegible by August; a parking receipt attached to a recorded journey with a date, a destination and a purpose is evidence.",[11,4531,4532],{},"Milesheet lets you add parking, tolls and charges to a trip with a photo of the receipt, and carries them into your monthly statements alongside the mileage — so the claimable costs are itemised, and the fines are somewhere else entirely, which is where they belong.",[15,4534,282],{"id":281},[284,4536,4537,4542,4547],{},[287,4538,4539],{},[290,4540,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":4541},[294],[287,4543,4544],{},[290,4545,853],{"href":851,"rel":4546},[294],[287,4548,4549],{},[290,4550,302],{"href":300,"rel":4551},[294],[318,4553],{},[11,4555,4556],{},[323,4557,1746],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":4559},[4560,4561,4562,4563,4564,4565],{"id":4374,"depth":328,"text":4375},{"id":4394,"depth":328,"text":4395},{"id":4404,"depth":328,"text":4405},{"id":4497,"depth":328,"text":4498},{"id":4525,"depth":328,"text":4526},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-03-12","The line between a cost of doing business and a penalty, and the small print that catches sole traders and directors differently.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses",{"title":4366,"description":4567},"blog\u002Fparking-fines-are-not-expenses",[2102,4573,906],"parking","mZ4GGGmJQSkURyotOvfKI2S73MvjZ36MbEu2awdti44",{"id":4576,"title":4577,"author":6,"body":4578,"category":336,"date":4750,"description":4751,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":4754,"navigation":344,"path":4755,"readTime":328,"seo":4756,"stem":4757,"tags":4758,"__hash__":4761},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones.md","Congestion, ULEZ and clean air zones: what you can claim",{"type":8,"value":4579,"toc":4742},[4580,4583,4587,4594,4601,4605,4608,4611,4615,4693,4696,4700,4703,4706,4710,4713,4716,4718,4735,4737],[11,4581,4582],{},"Anyone driving for work in a UK city is now paying charges that did not exist a few years ago. They add up faster than people expect, and they are claimable — but only under the same test as everything else.",[15,4584,4586],{"id":4585},"they-are-separate-from-mileage","They are separate from mileage",[11,4588,4589,4590,4593],{},"This is the part worth internalising. The approved mileage rate covers ",[23,4591,4592],{},"running the vehicle",": fuel, servicing, insurance, depreciation. It does not cover what you paid to drive it into a particular postcode.",[11,4595,4596,4597,4600],{},"So congestion charges, ULEZ charges and clean air zone charges on a business journey are claimed ",[23,4598,4599],{},"in addition"," to the mileage, not instead of it. The same is true of tolls and crossings.",[15,4602,4604],{"id":4603},"the-test-is-the-journey-not-the-charge","The test is the journey, not the charge",[11,4606,4607],{},"A charge is claimable if the journey was business travel. It is not claimable if the journey was ordinary commuting — driving into a zone to reach your permanent workplace is your own cost, however unwelcome.",[11,4609,4610],{},"That means the same £15 charge can be claimable on Tuesday and not on Wednesday, depending on where you were going. This is exactly why a per-journey record beats a monthly total: a bank statement showing charges tells you what you paid, not which of them qualify.",[15,4612,4614],{"id":4613},"which-vehicles-pay-by-zone-class","Which vehicles pay, by zone class",[39,4616,4617,4636],{},[42,4618,4619],{},[45,4620,4621,4624,4627,4630,4633],{},[48,4622,4623],{},"Class",[48,4625,4626],{},"Buses, coaches, taxis",[48,4628,4629],{},"HGVs",[48,4631,4632],{},"Vans, minibuses",[48,4634,4635],{},"Cars",[64,4637,4638,4652,4665,4678],{},[45,4639,4640,4643,4646,4648,4650],{},[69,4641,4642],{},"A",[69,4644,4645],{},"Charged",[69,4647,177],{},[69,4649,177],{},[69,4651,177],{},[45,4653,4654,4657,4659,4661,4663],{},[69,4655,4656],{},"B",[69,4658,4645],{},[69,4660,4645],{},[69,4662,177],{},[69,4664,177],{},[45,4666,4667,4670,4672,4674,4676],{},[69,4668,4669],{},"C",[69,4671,4645],{},[69,4673,4645],{},[69,4675,4645],{},[69,4677,177],{},[45,4679,4680,4683,4685,4687,4689],{},[69,4681,4682],{},"D",[69,4684,4645],{},[69,4686,4645],{},[69,4688,4645],{},[69,4690,4691],{},[23,4692,4645],{},[11,4694,4695],{},"Compliant vehicles pay nothing in any class. The test is emissions standard, not age — broadly Euro\n6 for diesels and Euro 4 for petrols.",[15,4697,4699],{"id":4698},"zones-vary-and-so-does-what-they-charge","Zones vary, and so does what they charge",[11,4701,4702],{},"There is no single national scheme. London's congestion charge and ULEZ are separate things with separate rules. Clean air zones in other cities differ in class — some charge vans and taxis but not private cars, some charge almost everything, some charge nothing for compliant vehicles.",[11,4704,4705],{},"The practical consequence: what you owe depends on the vehicle as much as the city. If you run more than one vehicle, the same trip can cost differently depending on which one you took, and that is worth knowing before you decide which to take.",[15,4707,4709],{"id":4708},"keep-the-evidence-attached-to-the-journey","Keep the evidence attached to the journey",[11,4711,4712],{},"Charges are usually paid online, often days later, sometimes in a batch. By the time it reaches your statement it is a line item with a reference number and no context.",[11,4714,4715],{},"The version that survives a question is the charge attached to the journey it belongs to, with the date, the destination and the reason it was business. Milesheet takes parking, tolls and charges as costs on a trip, with a photo of the receipt or confirmation, and carries them into the monthly statement alongside the mileage — so the claimable ones are itemised where the journey is.",[15,4717,282],{"id":281},[284,4719,4720,4725,4730],{},[287,4721,4722],{},[290,4723,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":4724},[294],[287,4726,4727],{},[290,4728,853],{"href":851,"rel":4729},[294],[287,4731,4732],{},[290,4733,302],{"href":300,"rel":4734},[294],[318,4736],{},[11,4738,4739],{},[323,4740,4741],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Zone rules and charges change: check the operating authority for current rates.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":4743},[4744,4745,4746,4747,4748,4749],{"id":4585,"depth":328,"text":4586},{"id":4603,"depth":328,"text":4604},{"id":4613,"depth":328,"text":4614},{"id":4698,"depth":328,"text":4699},{"id":4708,"depth":328,"text":4709},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-03-05","Daily charges are a real cost of driving for work, they are claimable separately from mileage, and the rules on which vehicle pays what keep moving.","\u002Fblog\u002Fplaceholder.svg","Placeholder image",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones",{"title":4577,"description":4751},"blog\u002Fcongestion-ulez-and-clean-air-zones",[2102,4759,4760],"ulez","clean air zones","JXWrc7z3TTtIntQGGWFV4QJ3vauaC9_Lt8_6KIEz5EA",{"id":4763,"title":4764,"author":6,"body":4765,"category":336,"date":5043,"description":5044,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":1760,"imageAlt":5045,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":5046,"navigation":344,"path":5047,"readTime":347,"seo":5048,"stem":5049,"tags":5050,"__hash__":5052},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query.md","What makes HMRC look twice at a mileage claim",{"type":8,"value":4766,"toc":5031},[4767,4770,4774,4777,4780,4784,4787,4790,4794,4797,4801,4808,4812,4815,4819,4916,4920,4923,4977,4981,4984,4991,4995,4998,5001,5003,5025,5027],[11,4768,4769],{},"Most mileage claims are never looked at. The ones that are tend to share a handful of characteristics, and none of them are about the amount being large.",[15,4771,4773],{"id":4772},"round-numbers-everywhere","Round numbers everywhere",[11,4775,4776],{},"Real driving does not produce round numbers. A month of genuine journeys totals 847 miles, not 850. A claim made of tidy fifties and hundreds looks estimated because it usually is.",[11,4778,4779],{},"This is the single most common tell, and it is entirely avoidable: record the distance you actually drove.",[15,4781,4783],{"id":4782},"the-same-figure-every-month","The same figure every month",[11,4785,4786],{},"A claim of exactly 500 miles in twelve consecutive months describes a standing order, not a working year. Real mileage moves with holidays, weather, illness, quiet Augusts and busy Novembers.",[11,4788,4789],{},"If your driving genuinely is that regular, the record will show it — but it will show it as 512, 486, 503, not 500 twelve times.",[15,4791,4793],{"id":4792},"days-that-could-not-have-happened","Days that could not have happened",[11,4795,4796],{},"Claims that require being in two places at once, or covering 400 miles in a working day that also contained six hours of meetings, do not survive contact with a calendar. Reconstructing a year from memory produces these without anyone intending to mislead.",[15,4798,4800],{"id":4799},"no-evidence-of-the-journeys-purpose","No evidence of the journey's purpose",[11,4802,4803,4804,4807],{},"The distance is only half of it. HMRC's expectation is that you can say ",[23,4805,4806],{},"why"," a journey was business — which client, which site, which job. \"Business mileage: 340\" is a number, not a record.",[15,4809,4811],{"id":4810},"commuting-mixed-in","Commuting mixed in",[11,4813,4814],{},"Home to a permanent workplace is not claimable, and a claim that quietly includes it is the most common substantive error rather than a presentational one. If a pattern of identical journeys on identical weekdays runs through the log, it invites exactly the question you do not want.",[15,4816,4818],{"id":4817},"the-patterns-ranked","The patterns, ranked",[39,4820,4821,4834],{},[42,4822,4823],{},[45,4824,4825,4828,4831],{},[48,4826,4827],{},"Pattern",[48,4829,4830],{},"How obvious",[48,4832,4833],{},"Why it draws attention",[64,4835,4836,4846,4856,4866,4876,4885,4896,4906],{},[45,4837,4838,4840,4843],{},[69,4839,1678],{},[69,4841,4842],{},"Very",[69,4844,4845],{},"Real driving is not round",[45,4847,4848,4851,4853],{},[69,4849,4850],{},"Identical total every month",[69,4852,4842],{},[69,4854,4855],{},"Describes a standing order, not a year",[45,4857,4858,4861,4863],{},[69,4859,4860],{},"Impossible days",[69,4862,4842],{},[69,4864,4865],{},"Fails against a calendar",[45,4867,4868,4870,4873],{},[69,4869,1702],{},[69,4871,4872],{},"High",[69,4874,4875],{},"A repeating weekday pattern is visible",[45,4877,4878,4880,4882],{},[69,4879,1694],{},[69,4881,4872],{},[69,4883,4884],{},"A distance is not a record",[45,4886,4887,4890,4893],{},[69,4888,4889],{},"Claim jumps sharply year on year",[69,4891,4892],{},"Medium",[69,4894,4895],{},"Invites \"what changed?\"",[45,4897,4898,4901,4903],{},[69,4899,4900],{},"Mileage inconsistent with fuel receipts",[69,4902,4892],{},[69,4904,4905],{},"Two of your own records disagree",[45,4907,4908,4911,4913],{},[69,4909,4910],{},"Claim inconsistent with the odometer",[69,4912,4892],{},[69,4914,4915],{},"Easy to check at MOT",[15,4917,4919],{"id":4918},"what-your-claim-is-checked-against","What your claim is checked against",[11,4921,4922],{},"Most of these are your own documents, which is why a consistent record is so much stronger than a\nplausible one:",[39,4924,4925,4935],{},[42,4926,4927],{},[45,4928,4929,4932],{},[48,4930,4931],{},"Cross-check",[48,4933,4934],{},"What it reveals",[64,4936,4937,4945,4953,4961,4969],{},[45,4938,4939,4942],{},[69,4940,4941],{},"Your calendar",[69,4943,4944],{},"Whether the meetings existed",[45,4946,4947,4950],{},[69,4948,4949],{},"Your invoices",[69,4951,4952],{},"Whether the client was visited that week",[45,4954,4955,4958],{},[69,4956,4957],{},"Fuel receipts",[69,4959,4960],{},"Whether enough fuel was bought to cover the miles",[45,4962,4963,4966],{},[69,4964,4965],{},"MOT odometer history",[69,4967,4968],{},"Whether the car covered the distance at all",[45,4970,4971,4974],{},[69,4972,4973],{},"Employer's reimbursement records",[69,4975,4976],{},"Whether the figures agree",[15,4978,4980],{"id":4979},"what-a-good-record-looks-like","What a good record looks like",[11,4982,4983],{},"For each journey: the date, where you went from and to, why it was business, and how far. Kept as you go, not assembled afterwards. Retained for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year if you are employed, or five years after the filing deadline if self-employed.",[11,4985,4986,4987,4990],{},"The reason contemporaneous records matter is not bureaucratic. It is that they are ",[323,4988,4989],{},"checkable"," — against your calendar, your invoices, your fuel receipts and your odometer — and a claim that agrees with four other sources is not a claim anyone spends long on.",[15,4992,4994],{"id":4993},"the-quiet-advantage-of-recording-automatically","The quiet advantage of recording automatically",[11,4996,4997],{},"A log that writes itself as you drive is contemporaneous by definition. It produces the awkward, specific numbers real driving makes, it carries the route rather than just the total, and it cannot accidentally include the school run because nobody was reconstructing anything in April.",[11,4999,5000],{},"Milesheet records each journey as it happens, keeps commuting out of the claim once home and workplace are tagged, and exports the year as a CSV or PDF that shows the individual journeys rather than a monthly figure.",[15,5002,282],{"id":281},[284,5004,5005,5010,5015,5020],{},[287,5006,5007],{},[290,5008,877],{"href":875,"rel":5009},[294],[287,5011,5012],{},[290,5013,316],{"href":314,"rel":5014},[294],[287,5016,5017],{},[290,5018,302],{"href":300,"rel":5019},[294],[287,5021,5022],{},[290,5023,295],{"href":292,"rel":5024},[294],[318,5026],{},[11,5028,5029],{},[323,5030,1746],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":5032},[5033,5034,5035,5036,5037,5038,5039,5040,5041,5042],{"id":4772,"depth":328,"text":4773},{"id":4782,"depth":328,"text":4783},{"id":4792,"depth":328,"text":4793},{"id":4799,"depth":328,"text":4800},{"id":4810,"depth":328,"text":4811},{"id":4817,"depth":328,"text":4818},{"id":4918,"depth":328,"text":4919},{"id":4979,"depth":328,"text":4980},{"id":4993,"depth":328,"text":4994},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-02-19","Round numbers, impossible days, claims that never change, and the other patterns that invite a question you would rather not answer.","A month of journeys in Milesheet, each with its own date, route and distance",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query",{"title":4764,"description":5044},"blog\u002Fwhat-triggers-a-mileage-query",[906,1767,5051],"compliance","a1fBiKauTh83ydtXeHWSvl1C8Phiho3OUAiriy5WAkA",{"id":5054,"title":5055,"author":6,"body":5056,"category":336,"date":5230,"description":5231,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":5232,"navigation":344,"path":5233,"readTime":347,"seo":5234,"stem":5235,"tags":5236,"__hash__":5239},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage.md","Claiming mileage as a company director",{"type":8,"value":5057,"toc":5221},[5058,5061,5064,5068,5071,5074,5078,5081,5153,5156,5160,5163,5166,5170,5173,5176,5180,5183,5187,5190,5192,5214,5216],[11,5059,5060],{},"If you run a limited company and drive your own car on its business, the company can pay you the approved mileage rates — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p — and that payment is tax-free in your hands and deductible for the company.",[11,5062,5063],{},"It is one of the more efficient ways to take money out of a company. It is also one of the easiest to do sloppily.",[15,5065,5067],{"id":5066},"you-are-an-employee-here","You are an employee here",[11,5069,5070],{},"A director is an office holder, and for these purposes the same rules apply as to any employee. The car is yours, the company reimburses you for business journeys, and the approved rates are what it can pay without creating a tax charge.",[11,5072,5073],{},"Pay more than the approved rate and the excess is earnings, reportable and taxable. Pay less and you can claim relief on the shortfall personally, exactly as an employee would.",[15,5075,5077],{"id":5076},"what-it-is-worth-to-take-mileage-rather-than-salary","What it is worth to take mileage rather than salary",[11,5079,5080],{},"Paying yourself £4,500 of approved mileage instead of the equivalent gross salary:",[39,5082,5083,5095],{},[42,5084,5085],{},[45,5086,5087,5089,5092],{},[48,5088],{},[48,5090,5091],{},"Via salary",[48,5093,5094],{},"Via approved mileage",[64,5096,5097,5107,5120,5131,5140],{},[45,5098,5099,5102,5105],{},[69,5100,5101],{},"Cost to the company",[69,5103,5104],{},"£4,500 + employer NIC",[69,5106,567],{},[45,5108,5109,5112,5115],{},[69,5110,5111],{},"Income tax on you",[69,5113,5114],{},"Yes, at your marginal rate",[69,5116,5117],{},[23,5118,5119],{},"None",[45,5121,5122,5125,5127],{},[69,5123,5124],{},"Employee NIC",[69,5126,401],{},[69,5128,5129],{},[23,5130,5119],{},[45,5132,5133,5136,5138],{},[69,5134,5135],{},"Corporation tax deduction for the company",[69,5137,401],{},[69,5139,401],{},[45,5141,5142,5145,5148],{},[69,5143,5144],{},"Paperwork required",[69,5146,5147],{},"Payroll",[69,5149,5150],{},[23,5151,5152],{},"A mileage log",[11,5154,5155],{},"That is why it is efficient, and equally why the log matters: the whole benefit rests on the\npayment being a reimbursement of a real cost rather than disguised remuneration.",[15,5157,5159],{"id":5158},"the-record-is-the-whole-thing","The record is the whole thing",[11,5161,5162],{},"Because you are both sides of this transaction, nobody else is checking your figures — which is precisely why the record needs to stand on its own.",[11,5164,5165],{},"What is expected is a journey-level log: date, from, to, purpose, distance. A monthly transfer from the company account described as \"mileage\" with no underlying detail is not a record, it is a payment. If the detail is missing, the payment starts to look like undeclared salary, and that is an expensive reclassification.",[15,5167,5169],{"id":5168},"commuting-is-still-commuting","Commuting is still commuting",[11,5171,5172],{},"Owning the company does not change the rule. Travel from home to your permanent workplace is ordinary commuting whether the workplace belongs to your employer or to you.",[11,5174,5175],{},"If you genuinely work from home and the company has no other premises, the position is different — but \"the company is registered at my house\" does not by itself make every drive claimable. This is worth getting right, because it applies to a lot of journeys repeated a lot of times.",[15,5177,5179],{"id":5178},"company-car-versus-your-own","Company car versus your own",[11,5181,5182],{},"If instead the company buys the car, none of the above applies: the vehicle is a benefit in kind with its own charge, and fuel is handled through Advisory Fuel Rates rather than approved mileage rates. Which is better depends on the car's value, its emissions and your mileage, and it is one of the few genuinely worthwhile conversations to have with an accountant.",[15,5184,5186],{"id":5185},"keeping-it-simple","Keeping it simple",[11,5188,5189],{},"Record every journey as it happens, mark it business or personal, tag home and any permanent workplace so commuting is excluded automatically, and export the year as a CSV. Then the mileage the company paid you and the mileage you can evidence are the same number, which is the whole point.",[15,5191,282],{"id":281},[284,5193,5194,5199,5204,5209],{},[287,5195,5196],{},[290,5197,853],{"href":851,"rel":5198},[294],[287,5200,5201],{},[290,5202,295],{"href":292,"rel":5203},[294],[287,5205,5206],{},[290,5207,3433],{"href":868,"rel":5208},[294],[287,5210,5211],{},[290,5212,316],{"href":314,"rel":5213},[294],[318,5215],{},[11,5217,5218],{},[323,5219,5220],{},"General information, not tax advice. Director remuneration has knock-on effects: take proper advice on the whole picture.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":5222},[5223,5224,5225,5226,5227,5228,5229],{"id":5066,"depth":328,"text":5067},{"id":5076,"depth":328,"text":5077},{"id":5158,"depth":328,"text":5159},{"id":5168,"depth":328,"text":5169},{"id":5178,"depth":328,"text":5179},{"id":5185,"depth":328,"text":5186},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-02-12","Your own car, your own company, and the paperwork that keeps 45p a mile out of the taxman's definition of salary.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage",{"title":5055,"description":5231},"blog\u002Fdirectors-claiming-mileage",[5237,5238,906],"limited company","directors","GE6Q-CmXfz6Zs084e5-p9op_8mD4fdtDIGVPwMwuBaE",{"id":5241,"title":5242,"author":6,"body":5243,"category":336,"date":5429,"description":5430,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":5431,"navigation":344,"path":5432,"readTime":328,"seo":5433,"stem":5434,"tags":5435,"__hash__":5437},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs.md","Two jobs, one car: which journeys count",{"type":8,"value":5244,"toc":5421},[5245,5248,5252,5255,5258,5262,5268,5271,5275,5362,5365,5369,5372,5375,5379,5386,5389,5392,5395,5397,5414,5416],[11,5246,5247],{},"More people hold two jobs than the tax rules were originally designed around, and the travel between them is where the confusion sits.",[15,5249,5251],{"id":5250},"the-default-each-job-has-its-own-commute","The default: each job has its own commute",[11,5253,5254],{},"If you work for two unconnected employers, the journey from home to each of them is ordinary commuting for that employment. Neither is claimable.",[11,5256,5257],{},"That includes the awkward middle case: finishing at job A, driving to job B. Even though it feels like a working journey rather than a commute, if the two employers are unconnected it is generally treated as commuting to the second job, not travel in the performance of duties for the first.",[15,5259,5261],{"id":5260},"the-exception-connected-employers","The exception: connected employers",[11,5263,5264,5265,5267],{},"Where the two employments are with ",[23,5266,1136],{}," employers — companies under common control, for example — travel between the two workplaces can be business travel rather than commuting.",[11,5269,5270],{},"This is the case most likely to be missed by people who work across a group, or who hold roles in two companies with the same owner. Those journeys can be claimable, and often are not claimed because they feel like commuting.",[15,5272,5274],{"id":5273},"which-journeys-count","Which journeys count",[39,5276,5277,5288],{},[42,5278,5279],{},[45,5280,5281,5283,5286],{},[48,5282,1022],{},[48,5284,5285],{},"Employers",[48,5287,1025],{},[64,5289,5290,5301,5312,5326,5340,5351],{},[45,5291,5292,5295,5297],{},[69,5293,5294],{},"Home → job A",[69,5296,177],{},[69,5298,5299,3548],{},[23,5300,414],{},[45,5302,5303,5306,5308],{},[69,5304,5305],{},"Home → job B",[69,5307,177],{},[69,5309,5310,3548],{},[23,5311,414],{},[45,5313,5314,5317,5320],{},[69,5315,5316],{},"Job A → job B",[69,5318,5319],{},"Unconnected",[69,5321,5322,5325],{},[23,5323,5324],{},"Generally no"," — commuting to the second",[45,5327,5328,5330,5335],{},[69,5329,5316],{},[69,5331,5332],{},[23,5333,5334],{},"Connected",[69,5336,5337,5339],{},[23,5338,1142],{}," — travel between workplaces",[45,5341,5342,5345,5347],{},[69,5343,5344],{},"Job A → client of job A",[69,5346,177],{},[69,5348,5349],{},[23,5350,401],{},[45,5352,5353,5356,5358],{},[69,5354,5355],{},"Home → temporary site for job B",[69,5357,177],{},[69,5359,5360,3585],{},[23,5361,401],{},[11,5363,5364],{},"The third and fourth rows are the same physical drive with different answers, decided by something\ninvisible from the road.",[15,5366,5368],{"id":5367},"the-temporary-workplace-overlay","The temporary workplace overlay",[11,5370,5371],{},"Everything from the 24-month rule still applies on top. If one of the two workplaces is genuinely temporary — a short assignment, a site with a defined end — travel to it may be claimable regardless of the other job.",[11,5373,5374],{},"Two tests, applied in order: is this workplace permanent or temporary for this employment, and if permanent, is the journey commuting or travel between connected employments.",[15,5376,5378],{"id":5377},"why-this-argues-for-recording-everything","Why this argues for recording everything",[11,5380,5381,5382,5385],{},"The pattern here is that the ",[323,5383,5384],{},"same physical journey"," can be claimable or not depending on facts that are not visible from the road: who employs whom, whether an assignment is expected to run past two years, whether an employer is connected to another.",[11,5387,5388],{},"Those facts can also change after the journey. A contract extends; a company is acquired; a temporary site becomes the permanent base.",[11,5390,5391],{},"If the journey was never recorded, none of that helps you. If it was recorded and classified, changing the classification later is trivial and the underlying evidence still holds.",[11,5393,5394],{},"That is the argument for logging everything and deciding afterwards, rather than deciding at the roadside whether a drive is worth writing down.",[15,5396,282],{"id":281},[284,5398,5399,5404,5409],{},[287,5400,5401],{},[290,5402,316],{"href":314,"rel":5403},[294],[287,5405,5406],{},[290,5407,1306],{"href":1304,"rel":5408},[294],[287,5410,5411],{},[290,5412,302],{"href":300,"rel":5413},[294],[318,5415],{},[11,5417,5418],{},[323,5419,5420],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Connected-employer cases turn on the detail: take advice before relying on one.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":5422},[5423,5424,5425,5426,5427,5428],{"id":5250,"depth":328,"text":5251},{"id":5260,"depth":328,"text":5261},{"id":5273,"depth":328,"text":5274},{"id":5367,"depth":328,"text":5368},{"id":5377,"depth":328,"text":5378},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-01-22","Travel between separate employments, the second-job commute, and the rule that surprises people working for connected companies.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs",{"title":5242,"description":5430},"blog\u002Ftravel-between-two-jobs",[906,5436,1345],"second job","hQ_ERh6nz1cRP35r4eYRxCe9AnqGHAXOu1RyPrLPMeM",{"id":5439,"title":5440,"author":6,"body":5441,"category":336,"date":5632,"description":5633,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":5634,"navigation":344,"path":5635,"readTime":328,"seo":5636,"stem":5637,"tags":5638,"__hash__":5640},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work.md","Driving abroad for work: what you can still claim",{"type":8,"value":5442,"toc":5624},[5443,5446,5450,5453,5456,5460,5463,5489,5492,5496,5568,5572,5578,5584,5590,5592,5595,5598,5600,5617,5619],[11,5444,5445],{},"If you take your own car abroad on business, the mileage itself is treated much as it would be at home. Nearly everything else about the trip is treated differently, and that is where the money and the mistakes are.",[15,5447,5449],{"id":5448},"the-mileage","The mileage",[11,5451,5452],{},"Approved mileage allowance payments apply to business travel in your own vehicle. The rates are not restricted to UK roads — a business journey is a business journey, and the miles you drive in France on the way to a client count towards the same annual total as the miles you drove to get to the ferry.",[11,5454,5455],{},"That includes the 10,000-mile threshold. It is one running total for the tax year across all your own vehicles, wherever they were driven.",[15,5457,5459],{"id":5458},"the-costs-that-are-not-mileage","The costs that are not mileage",[11,5461,5462],{},"The mileage rate covers running the vehicle. It does not cover:",[284,5464,5465,5470,5475,5480,5484],{},[287,5466,5467],{},[23,5468,5469],{},"Ferries and tunnel crossings",[287,5471,5472],{},[23,5473,5474],{},"Foreign tolls and vignettes",[287,5476,5477],{},[23,5478,5479],{},"Emissions stickers and city permits",[287,5481,5482],{},[23,5483,1788],{},[287,5485,5486],{},[23,5487,5488],{},"Additional insurance or breakdown cover for the trip",[11,5490,5491],{},"These are claimable separately where the journey is business, exactly as tolls and parking are at home. Keep them attached to the journey rather than in a pile.",[15,5493,5495],{"id":5494},"what-is-claimable-and-how","What is claimable, and how",[39,5497,5498,5507],{},[42,5499,5500],{},[45,5501,5502,5504],{},[48,5503,1897],{},[48,5505,5506],{},"Treatment",[64,5508,5509,5517,5525,5532,5539,5545,5552,5560],{},[45,5510,5511,5514],{},[69,5512,5513],{},"Mileage in your own car",[69,5515,5516],{},"Approved rates, same annual 10,000-mile total",[45,5518,5519,5522],{},[69,5520,5521],{},"Ferry or tunnel crossing",[69,5523,5524],{},"Separate claimable expense",[45,5526,5527,5530],{},[69,5528,5529],{},"Foreign tolls, vignettes",[69,5531,5524],{},[45,5533,5534,5537],{},[69,5535,5536],{},"Emissions stickers, city permits",[69,5538,5524],{},[45,5540,5541,5543],{},[69,5542,1788],{},[69,5544,5524],{},[45,5546,5547,5550],{},[69,5548,5549],{},"Extra insurance or breakdown cover for the trip",[69,5551,5524],{},[45,5553,5554,5557],{},[69,5555,5556],{},"Hire car abroad",[69,5558,5559],{},"The hire cost, not a per-mile rate",[45,5561,5562,5565],{},[69,5563,5564],{},"Fuel in a hire car",[69,5566,5567],{},"Actual cost, not the mileage rate",[15,5569,5571],{"id":5570},"where-it-gets-complicated","Where it gets complicated",[11,5573,5574,5577],{},[23,5575,5576],{},"Mixed trips."," A week abroad that is three days of client work and four days of holiday is not wholly business. The travel there and back has to be apportioned, or may fail entirely if the primary purpose was personal. This is the single most contested area of foreign business travel and the one worth taking advice on.",[11,5579,5580,5583],{},[23,5581,5582],{},"Subsistence."," Meals and accommodation abroad have their own treatment, including HMRC's published overseas scale rates for some countries. That is a separate topic from mileage but usually part of the same trip.",[11,5585,5586,5589],{},[23,5587,5588],{},"Foreign exchange."," Costs paid in another currency need converting at a reasonable rate, applied consistently. Pick a method — the card's rate on the day is usually the cleanest — and use it for the whole trip.",[15,5591,4118],{"id":4117},[11,5593,5594],{},"The same as at home, plus a bit more: date, from, to, purpose, distance, and enough detail to show the business character of the trip if the days were mixed. A calendar of meetings alongside the journey log answers most questions before they are asked.",[11,5596,5597],{},"Milesheet records the drive by GPS wherever you are, so the distance is measured rather than estimated from a map afterwards — which matters more abroad, where the route you actually took and the route you planned are often not the same.",[15,5599,282],{"id":281},[284,5601,5602,5607,5612],{},[287,5603,5604],{},[290,5605,295],{"href":292,"rel":5606},[294],[287,5608,5609],{},[290,5610,316],{"href":314,"rel":5611},[294],[287,5613,5614],{},[290,5615,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":5616},[294],[318,5618],{},[11,5620,5621],{},[323,5622,5623],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Mixed business and personal trips abroad are fact-sensitive: take advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":5625},[5626,5627,5628,5629,5630,5631],{"id":5448,"depth":328,"text":5449},{"id":5458,"depth":328,"text":5459},{"id":5494,"depth":328,"text":5495},{"id":5570,"depth":328,"text":5571},{"id":4117,"depth":328,"text":4118},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-01-08","The approved rates do not stop at Dover, but almost everything around them changes.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work",{"title":5440,"description":5633},"blog\u002Fdriving-abroad-for-work",[906,5639,1345],"travel abroad","SYdgprn42ONTBCu_P9OBju7JrxOsjsEYfXgLqBnfsPs",{"id":5642,"title":5643,"author":6,"body":5644,"category":336,"date":5829,"description":5830,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":5831,"navigation":344,"path":5832,"readTime":328,"seo":5833,"stem":5834,"tags":5835,"__hash__":5837},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage.md","Fuel cards and mileage claims: how they interact",{"type":8,"value":5645,"toc":5821},[5646,5649,5653,5660,5663,5666,5670,5677,5680,5683,5687,5690,5693,5697,5774,5777,5781,5792,5795,5797,5814,5816],[11,5647,5648],{},"Fuel cards feel like they simplify things — the fuel is paid for, so surely there is nothing to claim. In practice they usually create more record-keeping, not less, because the question stops being \"what am I owed\" and becomes \"what did I use that I should not have\".",[15,5650,5652],{"id":5651},"your-own-car-employers-fuel-card","Your own car, employer's fuel card",[11,5654,5655,5656,5659],{},"If the card pays for fuel in ",[23,5657,5658],{},"your"," car, the employer is meeting a cost that is partly personal. That has consequences.",[11,5661,5662],{},"Fuel used on business journeys is a business cost. Fuel used on personal journeys — including your commute — that the employer paid for is a benefit, and it is taxable.",[11,5664,5665],{},"So the split between business and personal mileage stops being about what you can claim and starts being about what you owe. Get the log wrong in the generous direction and you have understated a benefit. That is a worse position than under-claiming.",[15,5667,5669],{"id":5668},"company-car-fuel-card-no-reimbursement","Company car, fuel card, no reimbursement",[11,5671,5672,5673,5676],{},"If the car belongs to the company and the card pays for all fuel including private use, that is the ",[23,5674,5675],{},"car fuel benefit",", which is a fixed charge based on the car's CO2 figure rather than on how much fuel you actually used.",[11,5678,5679],{},"The catch is that it is fixed. Someone doing very little private mileage can end up taxed as though they did a great deal, which is why some drivers repay the cost of private fuel instead — using Advisory Fuel Rates — to avoid the charge entirely.",[11,5681,5682],{},"Whether repaying beats being taxed is arithmetic, and it depends on your private mileage. You cannot do that arithmetic without a mileage record.",[15,5684,5686],{"id":5685},"company-car-business-fuel-only","Company car, business fuel only",[11,5688,5689],{},"The cleanest arrangement: the card is used for business fuel, private fuel is repaid or bought separately. Advisory Fuel Rates are the yardstick.",[11,5691,5692],{},"Here the mileage log is the entire basis of the split. Without it there is no defensible line between the two.",[15,5694,5696],{"id":5695},"which-arrangement-you-are-in","Which arrangement you are in",[39,5698,5699,5715],{},[42,5700,5701],{},[45,5702,5703,5706,5709,5712],{},[48,5704,5705],{},"Car",[48,5707,5708],{},"Card pays for",[48,5710,5711],{},"What you owe or claim",[48,5713,5714],{},"Record needed",[64,5716,5717,5734,5746,5762],{},[45,5718,5719,5722,5725,5731],{},[69,5720,5721],{},"Yours",[69,5723,5724],{},"All fuel",[69,5726,5727,5728],{},"Private fuel paid by employer is a ",[23,5729,5730],{},"taxable benefit",[69,5732,5733],{},"Business\u002Fprivate split",[45,5735,5736,5738,5741,5744],{},[69,5737,5721],{},[69,5739,5740],{},"Business fuel only",[69,5742,5743],{},"Nothing; costs are met",[69,5745,5733],{},[45,5747,5748,5751,5754,5759],{},[69,5749,5750],{},"Company",[69,5752,5753],{},"All fuel incl. private",[69,5755,5756,5758],{},[23,5757,3326],{}," — fixed charge from CO2",[69,5760,5761],{},"Split, to decide whether to repay",[45,5763,5764,5766,5768,5771],{},[69,5765,5750],{},[69,5767,5740],{},[69,5769,5770],{},"Nothing, if private fuel repaid at advisory rates",[69,5772,5773],{},"Split, to calculate the repayment",[11,5775,5776],{},"Every row needs the same underlying thing: how many of those miles were business.",[15,5778,5780],{"id":5779},"the-common-thread","The common thread",[11,5782,5783,5784,5787,5788,5791],{},"In every version of this, the fuel card removes the ",[323,5785,5786],{},"payment"," but not the ",[323,5789,5790],{},"question",". Somebody still has to know how many of those miles were business, and the only way to know is to have recorded them as they happened.",[11,5793,5794],{},"Milesheet keeps each vehicle separate and records every journey with its own classification, so the business and private split is a number you can produce rather than an estimate you defend.",[15,5796,282],{"id":281},[284,5798,5799,5804,5809],{},[287,5800,5801],{},[290,5802,3433],{"href":868,"rel":5803},[294],[287,5805,5806],{},[290,5807,853],{"href":851,"rel":5808},[294],[287,5810,5811],{},[290,5812,295],{"href":292,"rel":5813},[294],[318,5815],{},[11,5817,5818],{},[323,5819,5820],{},"General information, not tax advice. Fuel benefit rules are detailed and change: check current guidance before relying on this.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":5822},[5823,5824,5825,5826,5827,5828],{"id":5651,"depth":328,"text":5652},{"id":5668,"depth":328,"text":5669},{"id":5685,"depth":328,"text":5686},{"id":5695,"depth":328,"text":5696},{"id":5779,"depth":328,"text":5780},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2026-01-01","A fuel card does not remove the need for a mileage log. It usually makes it more important.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage",{"title":5643,"description":5830},"blog\u002Ffuel-cards-and-mileage",[5836,906,3467],"fuel cards","8hK_ASTgHs0Njz1Gweckwsh7gMWJV7AEr92ll4YJXM8",{"id":5839,"title":5840,"author":6,"body":5841,"category":336,"date":6065,"description":6066,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":6067,"navigation":344,"path":6068,"readTime":328,"seo":6069,"stem":6070,"tags":6071,"__hash__":6073},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011.md","Why 45p a mile has not moved since 2011",{"type":8,"value":5842,"toc":6057},[5843,5850,5853,5857,5860,5863,5867,5977,5980,5984,5987,5992,5997,6000,6004,6007,6010,6014,6017,6023,6026,6028,6050,6052],[11,5844,5845,5846,5849],{},"The approved mileage rate for cars and vans went to ",[23,5847,5848],{},"45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles"," from 6 April 2011, up from 40p. The 25p rate above 10,000 miles has been unchanged for considerably longer.",[11,5851,5852],{},"It has not moved since.",[15,5854,5856],{"id":5855},"what-the-rate-is-meant-to-cover","What the rate is meant to cover",[11,5858,5859],{},"It is not a fuel reimbursement. The approved rate is intended to cover the whole cost of running your own car for business: fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, repairs and depreciation.",[11,5861,5862],{},"That is why it is so much higher than the Advisory Fuel Rates used for company cars, which cover fuel alone because the company already owns the asset.",[15,5864,5866],{"id":5865},"what-has-happened-since-2011","What has happened since 2011",[39,5868,5869,5884],{},[42,5870,5871],{},[45,5872,5873,5875,5878,5881],{},[48,5874],{},[48,5876,5877],{},"2011",[48,5879,5880],{},"Now",[48,5882,5883],{},"Direction",[64,5885,5886,5900,5913,5927,5940,5951,5964],{},[45,5887,5888,5891,5893,5895],{},[69,5889,5890],{},"Approved rate, first 10,000 miles",[69,5892,169],{},[69,5894,169],{},[69,5896,5897],{},[23,5898,5899],{},"Unchanged",[45,5901,5902,5905,5907,5909],{},[69,5903,5904],{},"Rate above 10,000 miles",[69,5906,210],{},[69,5908,210],{},[69,5910,5911],{},[23,5912,5899],{},[45,5914,5915,5918,5921,5923],{},[69,5916,5917],{},"Threshold",[69,5919,5920],{},"10,000 mi",[69,5922,5920],{},[69,5924,5925],{},[23,5926,5899],{},[45,5928,5929,5932,5934,5937],{},[69,5930,5931],{},"Insurance, servicing, parts",[69,5933,177],{},[69,5935,5936],{},"Substantially higher",[69,5938,5939],{},"Against the rate",[45,5941,5942,5945,5947,5949],{},[69,5943,5944],{},"New car prices, so depreciation",[69,5946,177],{},[69,5948,5936],{},[69,5950,5939],{},[45,5952,5953,5956,5958,5961],{},[69,5954,5955],{},"Typical fuel economy",[69,5957,177],{},[69,5959,5960],{},"Better",[69,5962,5963],{},"For the rate",[45,5965,5966,5969,5972,5975],{},[69,5967,5968],{},"Electric running costs",[69,5970,5971],{},"Negligible uptake",[69,5973,5974],{},"Very low at home",[69,5976,5963],{},[11,5978,5979],{},"Which is why the same rate is generous for one driver and thin for another, on identical mileage.",[15,5981,5983],{"id":5982},"why-it-feels-less-generous-than-it-did","Why it feels less generous than it did",[11,5985,5986],{},"Two things pull in opposite directions.",[11,5988,5989,5991],{},[23,5990,5939],{},": everything except fuel has risen substantially since 2011 — insurance, parts, labour rates, and the purchase price of cars, which drives depreciation.",[11,5993,5994,5996],{},[23,5995,5963],{},": cars have become considerably more efficient. A 2011 family car doing 40 mpg has a 2026 equivalent doing rather better, and an electric one doing better still on running cost per mile.",[11,5998,5999],{},"For a driver with a modern, efficient, cheaply-acquired car, 45p can still be comfortably ahead of what the mile costs. For someone running an older, thirstier or more expensive vehicle, it increasingly is not.",[15,6001,6003],{"id":6002},"the-10000-mile-cliff","The 10,000-mile cliff",[11,6005,6006],{},"The part that ages least well is the threshold. It has been 10,000 miles for a very long time, and it is not indexed to anything.",[11,6008,6009],{},"A driver doing 20,000 business miles a year is claiming 45p on half of them and 25p on the rest, giving a blended rate of 35p. The rules assume high mileage means lower marginal cost, which is true for fuel and largely untrue for tyres, servicing and depreciation.",[15,6011,6013],{"id":6012},"what-you-can-do-about-it","What you can do about it",[11,6015,6016],{},"If you are an employee paid less than the approved rate, you can claim tax relief on the difference. That is Mileage Allowance Relief and it is claimed through Self Assessment or a P87.",[11,6018,6019,6020,6022],{},"If you are self-employed and the flat rate genuinely does not cover your costs — a thirsty van, high mileage, expensive vehicle — ",[23,6021,1877],{}," may be worth more than simplified expenses. That decision is close to permanent per vehicle, so it is worth doing the arithmetic properly rather than defaulting.",[11,6024,6025],{},"Either way, the first requirement is knowing what your driving actually costs. Log fill-ups with the odometer and the figure stops being a guess.",[15,6027,282],{"id":281},[284,6029,6030,6035,6040,6045],{},[287,6031,6032],{},[290,6033,295],{"href":292,"rel":6034},[294],[287,6036,6037],{},[290,6038,302],{"href":300,"rel":6039},[294],[287,6041,6042],{},[290,6043,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":6044},[294],[287,6046,6047],{},[290,6048,3433],{"href":868,"rel":6049},[294],[318,6051],{},[11,6053,6054],{},[323,6055,6056],{},"General information for UK drivers, not tax advice. Check the current rate table before claiming.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":6058},[6059,6060,6061,6062,6063,6064],{"id":5855,"depth":328,"text":5856},{"id":5865,"depth":328,"text":5866},{"id":5982,"depth":328,"text":5983},{"id":6002,"depth":328,"text":6003},{"id":6012,"depth":328,"text":6013},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-12-25","The rate was set when petrol was cheaper and cars were thirstier. It has outlasted three prime ministers and a great deal of inflation.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011",{"title":5840,"description":6066},"blog\u002Fwhy-45p-has-not-changed-since-2011",[906,907,6072],"policy","5pAm07hgM5Uu-OF8IbXyTKwXAmwUCuRb3LSe09f4ZAI",{"id":6075,"title":6076,"author":6,"body":6077,"category":336,"date":6349,"description":6350,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":6351,"navigation":344,"path":6352,"readTime":347,"seo":6353,"stem":6354,"tags":6355,"__hash__":6358},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers.md","Choosing a company car: the numbers that actually decide it",{"type":8,"value":6078,"toc":6341},[6079,6082,6086,6089,6116,6119,6122,6126,6182,6185,6245,6248,6252,6262,6265,6268,6272,6275,6278,6298,6302,6305,6308,6310,6334,6336],[11,6080,6081],{},"A company car is not a perk with a tax side-effect. It is a taxable benefit whose size you choose when you pick the car, and the difference between two similar cars can be hundreds of pounds a year of take-home.",[15,6083,6085],{"id":6084},"how-the-charge-is-built","How the charge is built",[11,6087,6088],{},"Three numbers multiply together:",[1179,6090,6091,6101,6111],{},[287,6092,6093,6096,6097,6100],{},[23,6094,6095],{},"List price"," (P11D value) — the manufacturer's price including VAT and delivery, plus options. Note that it is the ",[323,6098,6099],{},"list"," price, not what your employer negotiated.",[287,6102,6103,6106,6107,6110],{},[23,6104,6105],{},"The appropriate percentage",", driven mainly by ",[23,6108,6109],{},"CO2 emissions",", with electric and low-emission cars at the bottom of the scale and high emitters at the top.",[287,6112,6113],{},[23,6114,6115],{},"Your marginal rate of tax.",[11,6117,6118],{},"The taxable benefit is list price × percentage. You then pay income tax on that at your rate, and the employer pays Class 1A NICs on it.",[11,6120,6121],{},"The practical consequence: a cheaper car with high emissions can cost more in tax than a pricier car with very low ones.",[15,6123,6125],{"id":6124},"how-the-benefit-is-built","How the benefit is built",[39,6127,6128,6137],{},[42,6129,6130],{},[45,6131,6132,6135],{},[48,6133,6134],{},"Step",[48,6136,1217],{},[64,6138,6139,6147,6155,6163,6171],{},[45,6140,6141,6144],{},[69,6142,6143],{},"List price (P11D value), including options",[69,6145,6146],{},"£35,000",[45,6148,6149,6152],{},[69,6150,6151],{},"Appropriate percentage, driven by CO2",[69,6153,6154],{},"25%",[45,6156,6157,6160],{},[69,6158,6159],{},"Taxable benefit",[69,6161,6162],{},"£8,750",[45,6164,6165,6168],{},[69,6166,6167],{},"Your marginal tax rate",[69,6169,6170],{},"40%",[45,6172,6173,6178],{},[69,6174,6175],{},[23,6176,6177],{},"Income tax you pay per year",[69,6179,6180],{},[23,6181,32],{},[11,6183,6184],{},"Change only the CO2 figure and the answer moves enormously:",[39,6186,6187,6200],{},[42,6188,6189],{},[45,6190,6191,6194,6197],{},[48,6192,6193],{},"Appropriate percentage",[48,6195,6196],{},"Taxable benefit on £35,000",[48,6198,6199],{},"Tax at 40%",[64,6201,6202,6215,6226,6234],{},[45,6203,6204,6207,6210],{},[69,6205,6206],{},"2% (typical electric)",[69,6208,6209],{},"£700",[69,6211,6212],{},[23,6213,6214],{},"£280",[45,6216,6217,6220,6223],{},[69,6218,6219],{},"12%",[69,6221,6222],{},"£4,200",[69,6224,6225],{},"£1,680",[45,6227,6228,6230,6232],{},[69,6229,6154],{},[69,6231,6162],{},[69,6233,32],{},[45,6235,6236,6239,6242],{},[69,6237,6238],{},"37% (high emitter)",[69,6240,6241],{},"£12,950",[69,6243,6244],{},"£5,180",[11,6246,6247],{},"A cheaper car with high emissions can easily cost more tax than a pricier low-emission one.",[15,6249,6251],{"id":6250},"fuel-is-a-separate-decision","Fuel is a separate decision",[11,6253,6254,6255,6258,6259,6261],{},"If the employer also pays for ",[23,6256,6257],{},"private"," fuel, there is a ",[23,6260,5675],{}," on top — and it is calculated from a fixed multiplier and the same CO2 percentage, not from how much fuel you actually used.",[11,6263,6264],{},"That makes it a bad deal for anyone with modest private mileage. Many drivers are better off repaying the cost of private fuel, using Advisory Fuel Rates as the yardstick, and avoiding the charge entirely.",[11,6266,6267],{},"You cannot work out which side you are on without knowing your private mileage. Which means you need the log before you can make the decision.",[15,6269,6271],{"id":6270},"company-car-or-your-own-car","Company car or your own car?",[11,6273,6274],{},"The alternative is running your own car and claiming approved mileage rates — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p, tax-free.",[11,6276,6277],{},"Very roughly:",[284,6279,6280,6286,6292],{},[287,6281,6282,6285],{},[23,6283,6284],{},"High business mileage, modest car"," — your own car often wins, because 45p a mile is generous against a cheap vehicle's real costs.",[287,6287,6288,6291],{},[23,6289,6290],{},"Low business mileage, expensive or low-emission car"," — the company car often wins, because there is little mileage to claim and the benefit charge on an EV is small.",[287,6293,6294,6297],{},[23,6295,6296],{},"Anything in between"," — do the arithmetic, and do it with real mileage figures rather than an estimate.",[15,6299,6301],{"id":6300},"the-thing-to-do-first","The thing to do first",[11,6303,6304],{},"Before comparing anything, get an accurate picture of how many business and private miles you actually drive. Almost everyone guesses this badly, usually overestimating business use.",[11,6306,6307],{},"Milesheet keeps each vehicle separate and splits the miles as you go, so when the company car conversation comes round you are choosing on your own numbers.",[15,6309,282],{"id":281},[284,6311,6312,6317,6322,6327],{},[287,6313,6314],{},[290,6315,3433],{"href":868,"rel":6316},[294],[287,6318,6319],{},[290,6320,853],{"href":851,"rel":6321},[294],[287,6323,6324],{},[290,6325,295],{"href":292,"rel":6326},[294],[287,6328,6329],{},[290,6330,6333],{"href":6331,"rel":6332},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fvehicle-tax-rate-tables",[294],"DVLA — Vehicle tax rate tables",[318,6335],{},[11,6337,6338],{},[323,6339,6340],{},"General information, not tax advice. Benefit-in-kind percentages are set years ahead and change: check the current tables for the tax year you are choosing in.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":6342},[6343,6344,6345,6346,6347,6348],{"id":6084,"depth":328,"text":6085},{"id":6124,"depth":328,"text":6125},{"id":6250,"depth":328,"text":6251},{"id":6270,"depth":328,"text":6271},{"id":6300,"depth":328,"text":6301},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-12-04","List price, CO2 and the benefit-in-kind percentage do more to your take-home than the car does to your commute.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers",{"title":6076,"description":6350},"blog\u002Fchoosing-a-company-car-the-numbers",[3467,6356,6357],"benefit in kind","business cars","2laksmGsLeuf-ccqXcTAZgR8la9Lk_8aDmTw1-a03x0",{"id":6360,"title":6361,"author":6,"body":6362,"category":336,"date":6543,"description":6544,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":6545,"navigation":344,"path":6546,"readTime":328,"seo":6547,"stem":6548,"tags":6549,"__hash__":6552},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity.md","Driving for a charity: what volunteers can claim",{"type":8,"value":6363,"toc":6534},[6364,6367,6371,6378,6381,6385,6388,6394,6398,6478,6481,6485,6488,6491,6495,6498,6501,6505,6508,6510,6527,6529],[11,6365,6366],{},"Community transport, hospital lifts, meals rounds, ferrying kit to fixtures — a great deal of charitable work happens in private cars, and much of it is quietly subsidised by the drivers.",[15,6368,6370],{"id":6369},"reimbursement-not-a-claim-against-tax","Reimbursement, not a claim against tax",[11,6372,6373,6374,6377],{},"The important distinction: as a volunteer you are not an employee, and you are generally not claiming tax relief. What you are doing is being ",[23,6375,6376],{},"reimbursed by the organisation"," for costs you incurred on its behalf.",[11,6379,6380],{},"That is a different mechanism with a simpler test. If the charity reimburses your actual motoring costs for volunteer journeys, and the payment does no more than cover them, it is not income and there is nothing to tax.",[15,6382,6384],{"id":6383},"where-the-approved-rates-come-in","Where the approved rates come in",[11,6386,6387],{},"Charities commonly reimburse at HMRC's approved mileage rates — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p — because those rates are already accepted as a reasonable proxy for the cost of running a car. Paying at or below them keeps the arrangement clean.",[11,6389,6390,6391,6393],{},"Pay a volunteer ",[23,6392,495],{}," than the approved rates and the excess starts to look like earnings rather than reimbursement, with the consequences that implies for both sides.",[15,6395,6397],{"id":6396},"reimbursement-versus-a-claim","Reimbursement versus a claim",[39,6399,6400,6412],{},[42,6401,6402],{},[45,6403,6404,6406,6409],{},[48,6405],{},[48,6407,6408],{},"Volunteer",[48,6410,6411],{},"Employee",[64,6413,6414,6424,6435,6445,6456,6469],{},[45,6415,6416,6419,6422],{},[69,6417,6418],{},"Relationship",[69,6420,6421],{},"Reimbursed by the organisation",[69,6423,1618],{},[45,6425,6426,6429,6432],{},[69,6427,6428],{},"Mechanism",[69,6430,6431],{},"Repayment of actual costs",[69,6433,6434],{},"Approved mileage payments",[45,6436,6437,6440,6443],{},[69,6438,6439],{},"Tax if paid at or below approved rates",[69,6441,6442],{},"Not taxable",[69,6444,6442],{},[45,6446,6447,6450,6453],{},[69,6448,6449],{},"Tax if paid above",[69,6451,6452],{},"Starts to look like earnings",[69,6454,6455],{},"Excess is taxable",[45,6457,6458,6461,6466],{},[69,6459,6460],{},"Tax relief if paid nothing",[69,6462,6463],{},[23,6464,6465],{},"Generally none",[69,6467,6468],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief available",[45,6470,6471,6473,6476],{},[69,6472,5714],{},[69,6474,6475],{},"Per-journey log",[69,6477,6475],{},[11,6479,6480],{},"The row that surprises people is the fifth: a volunteer paid nothing generally has no relief to\nclaim, unlike an employee.",[15,6482,6484],{"id":6483},"the-thing-that-trips-organisations-up","The thing that trips organisations up",[11,6486,6487],{},"Reimbursement needs to be for journeys actually made. A flat monthly payment to a volunteer driver, unconnected to any record of mileage, is not a reimbursement of costs — it is a payment, and it may be taxable.",[11,6489,6490],{},"The fix is unglamorous: a per-journey record showing the date, the route, the purpose and the distance. Exactly the same evidence a business claim needs, for exactly the same reason.",[15,6492,6494],{"id":6493},"if-you-are-the-volunteer","If you are the volunteer",[11,6496,6497],{},"Keep the record even if the charity currently pays nothing. Small organisations often do not realise volunteers are absorbing real money, and a year of logged journeys with a total attached is a far better conversation-starter than a feeling that you are out of pocket.",[11,6499,6500],{},"It also means that if a reimbursement policy does appear, you can claim from the date it starts rather than from the date you began writing things down.",[15,6502,6504],{"id":6503},"insurance-briefly","Insurance, briefly",[11,6506,6507],{},"Check that your policy covers voluntary work. Some insurers treat it as social, domestic and pleasure; others want it declaring, particularly if you are carrying members of the public. Most do not charge for it, but almost all want to be asked.",[15,6509,282],{"id":281},[284,6511,6512,6517,6522],{},[287,6513,6514],{},[290,6515,295],{"href":292,"rel":6516},[294],[287,6518,6519],{},[290,6520,853],{"href":851,"rel":6521},[294],[287,6523,6524],{},[290,6525,302],{"href":300,"rel":6526},[294],[318,6528],{},[11,6530,6531],{},[323,6532,6533],{},"General information, not tax advice. Charities should check their own reimbursement policy against current guidance.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":6535},[6536,6537,6538,6539,6540,6541,6542],{"id":6369,"depth":328,"text":6370},{"id":6383,"depth":328,"text":6384},{"id":6396,"depth":328,"text":6397},{"id":6483,"depth":328,"text":6484},{"id":6493,"depth":328,"text":6494},{"id":6503,"depth":328,"text":6504},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-11-20","Volunteer drivers are not employees, the rates are not quite the same conversation, and a lot of people are out of pocket unnecessarily.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity",{"title":6361,"description":6544},"blog\u002Fmileage-for-volunteers-and-charity",[906,6550,6551],"volunteering","charity","FZfhmbPR7Ge-VJFMKbjKjbYvsAXG9o5Ivq6LwJOUSzA",{"id":6554,"title":6555,"author":6,"body":6556,"category":336,"date":6849,"description":6850,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":6851,"navigation":344,"path":6852,"readTime":347,"seo":6853,"stem":6854,"tags":6855,"__hash__":6857},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel.md","Contracting: the travel rules that cost the most to get wrong",{"type":8,"value":6557,"toc":6840},[6558,6561,6565,6573,6576,6580,6587,6592,6611,6614,6618,6702,6706,6766,6770,6773,6790,6793,6797,6800,6806,6809,6811,6833,6835],[11,6559,6560],{},"Contracting produces exactly the pattern the temporary workplace rules were written for, and exactly the ambiguity that makes them expensive.",[15,6562,6564],{"id":6563},"the-basic-position","The basic position",[11,6566,938,6567,6569,6570,6572],{},[23,6568,941],{}," is business travel. Travel to a ",[23,6571,927],{}," is commuting and is not claimable.",[11,6574,6575],{},"For a contractor moving between client sites, most engagements start out looking temporary — which is why the travel is usually claimable, and why it is worth understanding when that stops being true.",[15,6577,6579],{"id":6578},"the-24-month-rule-applied-to-a-contract","The 24-month rule, applied to a contract",[11,6581,6582,6583,6586],{},"A workplace ceases to be temporary once you have attended, or ",[23,6584,6585],{},"expect to attend",", for more than 24 months, where attendance is for a significant part of your working time.",[11,6588,6589,6590,2349],{},"The word that matters is ",[323,6591,952],{},[284,6593,6594,6597,6604],{},[287,6595,6596],{},"A twelve-month contract, expected to be twelve months: temporary. Travel claimable.",[287,6598,6599,6600,6603],{},"A three-year contract, known on day one: ",[23,6601,6602],{},"permanent from day one",". No claimable travel at all, not even for the first 24 months.",[287,6605,6606,6607,6610],{},"A twelve-month contract extended twice, where at month 20 it becomes clear it will run past two years: travel stops being claimable ",[23,6608,6609],{},"from the moment the expectation changed",", not at month 24.",[11,6612,6613],{},"That third case is the one that catches people, because nothing visible happens on the day the position changes.",[15,6615,6617],{"id":6616},"how-the-engagement-shape-changes-the-answer","How the engagement shape changes the answer",[39,6619,6620,6634],{},[42,6621,6622],{},[45,6623,6624,6627,6630,6632],{},[48,6625,6626],{},"Engagement",[48,6628,6629],{},"Expected length",[48,6631,2392],{},[48,6633,2395],{},[64,6635,6636,6648,6660,6674,6690],{},[45,6637,6638,6641,6644,6646],{},[69,6639,6640],{},"6-month contract",[69,6642,6643],{},"6 months",[69,6645,401],{},[69,6647,2407],{},[45,6649,6650,6653,6656,6658],{},[69,6651,6652],{},"12-month, extended to 18",[69,6654,6655],{},"18 months",[69,6657,401],{},[69,6659,2407],{},[45,6661,6662,6665,6668,6671],{},[69,6663,6664],{},"12-month, extended to 30 at month 20",[69,6666,6667],{},"Over 24",[69,6669,6670],{},"Until month 20",[69,6672,6673],{},"Up to the extension only",[45,6675,6676,6679,6682,6686],{},[69,6677,6678],{},"36-month contract from the outset",[69,6680,6681],{},"36 months",[69,6683,6684],{},[23,6685,414],{},[69,6687,6688],{},[23,6689,5119],{},[45,6691,6692,6695,6698,6700],{},[69,6693,6694],{},"30 months, one day a fortnight",[69,6696,6697],{},"Over 24, low attendance",[69,6699,401],{},[69,6701,2407],{},[15,6703,6705],{"id":6704},"which-route-the-claim-takes","Which route the claim takes",[39,6707,6708,6720],{},[42,6709,6710],{},[45,6711,6712,6715,6717],{},[48,6713,6714],{},"Structure",[48,6716,6428],{},[48,6718,6719],{},"Typical restriction",[64,6721,6722,6733,6744,6755],{},[45,6723,6724,6727,6730],{},[69,6725,6726],{},"Own limited company",[69,6728,6729],{},"Company reimburses at approved rates, tax-free",[69,6731,6732],{},"Record must support it",[45,6734,6735,6738,6741],{},[69,6736,6737],{},"Umbrella",[69,6739,6740],{},"Expenses generally restricted",[69,6742,6743],{},"Usually not claimable under SDC",[45,6745,6746,6749,6752],{},[69,6747,6748],{},"Agency PAYE",[69,6750,6751],{},"Similar restrictions",[69,6753,6754],{},"Usually not claimable",[45,6756,6757,6760,6763],{},[69,6758,6759],{},"Self-employed, direct",[69,6761,6762],{},"Simplified expenses or actual costs",[69,6764,6765],{},"Choice is per vehicle",[15,6767,6769],{"id":6768},"umbrella-limited-company-or-agency-payroll","Umbrella, limited company, or agency payroll",[11,6771,6772],{},"The mechanics of the claim differ:",[284,6774,6775,6780,6785],{},[287,6776,6777,6779],{},[23,6778,6726],{},": the company reimburses you at approved mileage rates, tax-free, and deducts the cost. You are an employee of your own company for this purpose.",[287,6781,6782,6784],{},[23,6783,6737],{},": expenses are generally restricted, and travel to a workplace under supervision, direction or control is usually not claimable at all.",[287,6786,6787,6789],{},[23,6788,6748],{},": similar restrictions apply.",[11,6791,6792],{},"The underlying travel rules do not change; what changes is whether there is a route to claim through.",[15,6794,6796],{"id":6795},"the-record-is-the-defence","The record is the defence",[11,6798,6799],{},"Contractor travel claims are looked at more often than most, because the sums are larger and the temporary-workplace question is genuinely arguable. A contemporaneous journey log — recorded as you drive, not reconstructed at year end — is the difference between a position and an assertion.",[11,6801,6802,6803,6805],{},"Record every journey, tag the client site as ",[23,6804,2535],{}," while it is genuinely temporary, and if a contract extends past the point where you expect to be there more than two years, change the tag from that date. The history stays, the claim adjusts, and the record shows exactly when your expectation changed and why.",[11,6807,6808],{},"That last part is worth more than it sounds. \"I stopped claiming in month 20 because the second extension was signed\" is a defensible story with a date attached.",[15,6810,282],{"id":281},[284,6812,6813,6818,6823,6828],{},[287,6814,6815],{},[290,6816,316],{"href":314,"rel":6817},[294],[287,6819,6820],{},[290,6821,1306],{"href":1304,"rel":6822},[294],[287,6824,6825],{},[290,6826,302],{"href":300,"rel":6827},[294],[287,6829,6830],{},[290,6831,877],{"href":875,"rel":6832},[294],[318,6834],{},[11,6836,6837],{},[323,6838,6839],{},"General information, not tax advice. Contractor travel is fact-sensitive and the umbrella position in particular has changed over time: take advice on your own arrangement.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":6841},[6842,6843,6844,6845,6846,6847,6848],{"id":6563,"depth":328,"text":6564},{"id":6578,"depth":328,"text":6579},{"id":6616,"depth":328,"text":6617},{"id":6704,"depth":328,"text":6705},{"id":6768,"depth":328,"text":6769},{"id":6795,"depth":328,"text":6796},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-11-13","Site-based work, the 24-month clock, and why the first day of a contract can decide whether any of the travel is claimable.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel",{"title":6555,"description":6850},"blog\u002Fcontractors-and-business-travel",[6856,941,906],"contractors","GIvIGUlkCbuAsoHo9X93j95gg3TzLTpqj7qFKnbJKb4",{"id":6859,"title":6860,"author":6,"body":6861,"category":336,"date":7055,"description":7056,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":7057,"navigation":344,"path":7058,"readTime":347,"seo":7059,"stem":7060,"tags":7061,"__hash__":7063},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules.md","Pool cars: the rules that make one work",{"type":8,"value":6862,"toc":7047},[6863,6866,6868,6871,6896,6899,6903,6909,6915,6919,6980,6983,6987,6994,6997,7000,7004,7018,7021,7023,7040,7042],[11,6864,6865],{},"A pool car is a company vehicle available to several employees for business use, with no taxable benefit on anyone. It is a genuinely useful arrangement, and it fails more often than it works because the conditions are stricter than people assume.",[15,6867,2739],{"id":2738},[11,6869,6870],{},"To be a pool car, essentially all of the following must hold:",[284,6872,6873,6879,6884,6891],{},[287,6874,6875,6876],{},"It is ",[23,6877,6878],{},"available to, and actually used by, more than one employee",[287,6880,6875,6881],{},[23,6882,6883],{},"not ordinarily used by one employee to the exclusion of others",[287,6885,6886,6887,6890],{},"Any ",[23,6888,6889],{},"private use is merely incidental"," to business use",[287,6892,6875,6893],{},[23,6894,6895],{},"not normally kept overnight at or near an employee's home",[11,6897,6898],{},"Miss one and it stops being a pool car, and a benefit-in-kind charge lands on whoever it was available to — which is usually a considerably worse outcome than the arrangement was trying to avoid.",[15,6900,6902],{"id":6901},"the-two-that-break-most-arrangements","The two that break most arrangements",[11,6904,6905,6908],{},[23,6906,6907],{},"\"Merely incidental\" private use."," This is a high bar and it is not the same as \"a bit of private use\". The classic example that qualifies is taking the car home the night before an early start to a distant meeting — the private journey exists only because of the business one. Popping to the shops in it does not qualify, however small the detour.",[11,6910,6911,6914],{},[23,6912,6913],{},"The overnight test."," A car parked at an employee's house most nights is not a pool car, whatever the policy document says. HMRC looks at what actually happened, and a pattern is easy to see.",[15,6916,6918],{"id":6917},"the-conditions-and-what-fails-them","The conditions, and what fails them",[39,6920,6921,6934],{},[42,6922,6923],{},[45,6924,6925,6928,6931],{},[48,6926,6927],{},"Condition",[48,6929,6930],{},"Passes",[48,6932,6933],{},"Fails",[64,6935,6936,6947,6958,6969],{},[45,6937,6938,6941,6944],{},[69,6939,6940],{},"Used by more than one employee",[69,6942,6943],{},"Five staff share it",[69,6945,6946],{},"One person always takes it",[45,6948,6949,6952,6955],{},[69,6950,6951],{},"Not ordinarily used by one to the exclusion of others",[69,6953,6954],{},"Booked out by whoever needs it",[69,6956,6957],{},"Effectively assigned to the sales manager",[45,6959,6960,6963,6966],{},[69,6961,6962],{},"Private use merely incidental",[69,6964,6965],{},"Home the night before a 6am departure",[69,6967,6968],{},"Weekly supermarket run",[45,6970,6971,6974,6977],{},[69,6972,6973],{},"Not normally kept overnight at a home",[69,6975,6976],{},"Parked at the depot",[69,6978,6979],{},"On a drive four nights a week",[11,6981,6982],{},"Miss any one and the benefit-in-kind charge lands on whoever the car was available to — which is\nusually far worse than the arrangement was avoiding.",[15,6984,6986],{"id":6985},"proving-it","Proving it",[11,6988,6989,6990,6993],{},"The burden is on the employer, and the evidence expected is a ",[23,6991,6992],{},"mileage log per journey",": date, driver, from, to, purpose and distance.",[11,6995,6996],{},"\"It is a pool car\" is a claim. A log showing six different drivers, all journeys business, and the car at the premises overnight is proof.",[11,6998,6999],{},"This is precisely the sort of record nobody keeps until they need it, and it cannot be reconstructed afterwards — which is why pool car arrangements tend to collapse under the first question rather than the tenth.",[15,7001,7003],{"id":7002},"practical-setup","Practical setup",[284,7005,7006,7009,7012,7015],{},[287,7007,7008],{},"Keep the car at business premises overnight, and record where it was kept",[287,7010,7011],{},"Log every journey with the driver named",[287,7013,7014],{},"Have a written policy prohibiting private use, and be able to show it was followed rather than just written",[287,7016,7017],{},"Review the log periodically for the pattern of one person using it exclusively, which creeps in without anyone deciding it should",[11,7019,7020],{},"Milesheet keeps each vehicle separate with its own journey history, so a pool vehicle's log is a complete record of who went where — the evidence the arrangement stands or falls on.",[15,7022,282],{"id":281},[284,7024,7025,7030,7035],{},[287,7026,7027],{},[290,7028,853],{"href":851,"rel":7029},[294],[287,7031,7032],{},[290,7033,3433],{"href":868,"rel":7034},[294],[287,7036,7037],{},[290,7038,316],{"href":314,"rel":7039},[294],[318,7041],{},[11,7043,7044],{},[323,7045,7046],{},"General information, not tax advice. Pool car status is tested on the facts: if you are relying on it, get the arrangement reviewed.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":7048},[7049,7050,7051,7052,7053,7054],{"id":2738,"depth":328,"text":2739},{"id":6901,"depth":328,"text":6902},{"id":6917,"depth":328,"text":6918},{"id":6985,"depth":328,"text":6986},{"id":7002,"depth":328,"text":7003},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-11-06","A genuine pool car carries no benefit-in-kind charge. Most cars businesses call pool cars are not pool cars.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules",{"title":6860,"description":7056},"blog\u002Fpool-cars-the-rules",[7062,6357,906],"pool cars","IA-KwWFNYw8GZpW0T0yySz6B31mIxpqF1TQUVAPBiSU",{"id":7065,"title":7066,"author":6,"body":7067,"category":336,"date":7240,"description":7241,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":7242,"navigation":344,"path":7243,"readTime":328,"seo":7244,"stem":7245,"tags":7246,"__hash__":7247},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city.md","Clean air zones: which cities charge, and who pays",{"type":8,"value":7068,"toc":7232},[7069,7076,7080,7106,7109,7112,7116,7119,7164,7167,7171,7174,7177,7181,7184,7190,7196,7200,7203,7206,7208,7225,7227],[11,7070,7071,7072,7075],{},"There is no national clean air scheme. Each zone is set up by its local authority, and the crucial variable is which ",[23,7073,7074],{},"class"," it is, because that decides which vehicles pay.",[15,7077,7079],{"id":7078},"the-classes","The classes",[284,7081,7082,7088,7094,7100],{},[287,7083,7084,7087],{},[23,7085,7086],{},"Class A"," — buses, coaches, taxis and private hire only",[287,7089,7090,7093],{},[23,7091,7092],{},"Class B"," — adds heavy goods vehicles",[287,7095,7096,7099],{},[23,7097,7098],{},"Class C"," — adds vans and minibuses",[287,7101,7102,7105],{},[23,7103,7104],{},"Class D"," — adds cars",[11,7107,7108],{},"The jump from C to D is the one that matters to most drivers. In a class C zone, a compliant van pays nothing and a non-compliant one pays; a private car pays nothing at all regardless. In a class D zone, cars are in scope.",[11,7110,7111],{},"London's arrangements are separate again: the congestion charge and ULEZ are distinct schemes with their own boundaries, hours and rules, and being compliant for one says nothing about the other.",[15,7113,7115],{"id":7114},"what-non-compliance-costs-over-a-year","What non-compliance costs over a year",[11,7117,7118],{},"A van making three trips a week into a class C zone charging £9 a day:",[39,7120,7121,7134],{},[42,7122,7123],{},[45,7124,7125,7128,7131],{},[48,7126,7127],{},"Trips per week",[48,7129,7130],{},"Weeks",[48,7132,7133],{},"Annual charge",[64,7135,7136,7146,7155],{},[45,7137,7138,7140,7143],{},[69,7139,2638],{},[69,7141,7142],{},"46",[69,7144,7145],{},"£414",[45,7147,7148,7150,7152],{},[69,7149,91],{},[69,7151,7142],{},[69,7153,7154],{},"£1,242",[45,7156,7157,7159,7161],{},[69,7158,125],{},[69,7160,7142],{},[69,7162,7163],{},"£2,070",[11,7165,7166],{},"Against that, the cost of replacing the van with a compliant one — which is why emissions standards\nrather than mileage have driven fleet replacement in charging cities.",[15,7168,7170],{"id":7169},"compliance-not-age","Compliance, not age",[11,7172,7173],{},"The test is emissions standard, not the year on the plate. Broadly, diesels need to meet Euro 6 and petrols Euro 4 to avoid charges in most zones. A well-kept 2016 diesel may be compliant; a 2014 one probably is not.",[11,7175,7176],{},"Check the specific vehicle rather than assuming from its age — a registration lookup takes seconds and the answer is binary.",[15,7178,7180],{"id":7179},"what-it-means-for-a-business","What it means for a business",[11,7182,7183],{},"Two practical consequences.",[11,7185,7186,7189],{},[23,7187,7188],{},"Route and vehicle choice become a cost decision."," If you run more than one vehicle, the same job can cost £0 or £12.50 depending on which one you take. Over a year of city work that is a real number, and it is one people discover retrospectively on a statement.",[11,7191,7192,7195],{},[23,7193,7194],{},"The charges are claimable, but only per journey."," A clean air charge on a business journey is a legitimate expense, claimed separately from mileage. The identical charge incurred commuting to your permanent workplace is not.",[15,7197,7199],{"id":7198},"keep-them-attached-to-the-journey","Keep them attached to the journey",[11,7201,7202],{},"Charges are usually paid online, often days after the drive, sometimes in a batch covering several trips. By the time it appears on a statement it is a reference number with no context, and working out which of six charges were business is guesswork.",[11,7204,7205],{},"Milesheet takes charges as a cost on the trip they belong to, with a photo of the confirmation, and carries them into the monthly statement beside the mileage. The claimable ones stay identifiable because they never became a list of anonymous payments.",[15,7207,282],{"id":281},[284,7209,7210,7215,7220],{},[287,7211,7212],{},[290,7213,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":7214},[294],[287,7216,7217],{},[290,7218,853],{"href":851,"rel":7219},[294],[287,7221,7222],{},[290,7223,6333],{"href":6331,"rel":7224},[294],[318,7226],{},[11,7228,7229],{},[323,7230,7231],{},"General information, not tax advice. Zone boundaries, classes and charges are set locally and change: check the operating authority.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":7233},[7234,7235,7236,7237,7238,7239],{"id":7078,"depth":328,"text":7079},{"id":7114,"depth":328,"text":7115},{"id":7169,"depth":328,"text":7170},{"id":7179,"depth":328,"text":7180},{"id":7198,"depth":328,"text":7199},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-10-16","Not every zone charges every vehicle. The class of the zone decides whether your car, van or taxi pays anything at all.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city",{"title":7066,"description":7241},"blog\u002Fclean-air-zones-city-by-city",[4760,2102,353],"SEl6kG7oAJtb5ajsJVcJ1LxA8iryp3lri05jwQ6k1Lw",{"id":7249,"title":7250,"author":6,"body":7251,"category":336,"date":7553,"description":7554,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":341,"imageAlt":7555,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":7556,"navigation":344,"path":7557,"readTime":347,"seo":7558,"stem":7559,"tags":7560,"__hash__":7562},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople.md","Mileage for trades: eleven drops a day and no time to write anything down",{"type":8,"value":7252,"toc":7544},[7253,7256,7260,7271,7274,7278,7377,7380,7384,7390,7396,7402,7408,7412,7486,7493,7497,7503,7507,7510,7513,7515,7537,7539],[11,7254,7255],{},"A plumber doing six calls in a day covers more claimable mileage than an office worker does in a fortnight. They are also the least likely to have recorded any of it, for the obvious reason: nobody stops between jobs to write down a four-mile hop.",[15,7257,7259],{"id":7258},"what-that-costs","What that costs",[11,7261,7262,7263,7266,7267,7270],{},"Six local calls averaging five miles between them is 30 miles a day. Over 230 working days that is roughly ",[23,7264,7265],{},"6,900 business miles"," — about ",[23,7268,7269],{},"£3,100"," of allowance at the approved rates.",[11,7272,7273],{},"The miles between jobs are the ones that go missing. The long run to the merchant gets remembered; eleven short hops do not.",[15,7275,7277],{"id":7276},"what-a-working-day-adds-up-to","What a working day adds up to",[39,7279,7280,7298],{},[42,7281,7282],{},[45,7283,7284,7287,7290,7293,7296],{},[48,7285,7286],{},"Calls per day",[48,7288,7289],{},"Miles between",[48,7291,7292],{},"Daily",[48,7294,7295],{},"Annual (230 days)",[48,7297,62],{},[64,7299,7300,7315,7330,7345,7361],{},[45,7301,7302,7304,7306,7309,7312],{},[69,7303,108],{},[69,7305,3857],{},[69,7307,7308],{},"24",[69,7310,7311],{},"5,520",[69,7313,7314],{},"£2,484",[45,7316,7317,7319,7321,7324,7327],{},[69,7318,3857],{},[69,7320,125],{},[69,7322,7323],{},"30",[69,7325,7326],{},"6,900",[69,7328,7329],{},"£3,105",[45,7331,7332,7334,7336,7339,7342],{},[69,7333,71],{},[69,7335,108],{},[69,7337,7338],{},"32",[69,7340,7341],{},"7,360",[69,7343,7344],{},"£3,312",[45,7346,7347,7350,7352,7355,7358],{},[69,7348,7349],{},"11",[69,7351,108],{},[69,7353,7354],{},"44",[69,7356,7357],{},"10,120",[69,7359,7360],{},"£4,530",[45,7362,7363,7366,7368,7371,7374],{},[69,7364,7365],{},"14",[69,7367,91],{},[69,7369,7370],{},"42",[69,7372,7373],{},"9,660",[69,7375,7376],{},"£4,347",[11,7378,7379],{},"Plus the merchant runs, which are business travel and rarely recorded.",[15,7381,7383],{"id":7382},"the-mistakes-that-cost-most","The mistakes that cost most",[11,7385,7386,7389],{},[23,7387,7388],{},"Recording the day, not the journeys."," \"Tuesday: 40 miles\" is an estimate. It cannot be checked against anything, and it is the pattern most likely to draw a question.",[11,7391,7392,7395],{},[23,7393,7394],{},"Forgetting the merchant run."," A trip to the wholesaler mid-job is business travel. So is the trip to collect a part, and the one back.",[11,7397,7398,7401],{},[23,7399,7400],{},"Treating the first and last journeys as commuting by default."," If you have no permanent workplace — you go from home directly to whichever site is next — the position is different from an employee driving to a fixed office. It is worth establishing which you are, because it changes the first and last journey of every working day, every day.",[11,7403,7404,7407],{},[23,7405,7406],{},"Not separating the van."," If you run a van and a car, they need to be separate records with separate economy. Mixed together, neither figure means anything.",[15,7409,7411],{"id":7410},"which-journeys-count-in-a-trade","Which journeys count in a trade",[39,7413,7414,7422],{},[42,7415,7416],{},[45,7417,7418,7420],{},[48,7419,1022],{},[48,7421,1025],{},[64,7423,7424,7433,7442,7451,7461,7470,7479],{},[45,7425,7426,7429],{},[69,7427,7428],{},"Home → first job of the day (no fixed base)",[69,7430,7431],{},[23,7432,1088],{},[45,7434,7435,7438],{},[69,7436,7437],{},"Home → depot or workshop you attend daily",[69,7439,7440,3548],{},[23,7441,414],{},[45,7443,7444,7447],{},[69,7445,7446],{},"Job → job",[69,7448,7449],{},[23,7450,401],{},[45,7452,7453,7456],{},[69,7454,7455],{},"Job → merchant for parts → job",[69,7457,7458,7460],{},[23,7459,401],{},", both legs",[45,7462,7463,7466],{},[69,7464,7465],{},"Depot → job",[69,7467,7468],{},[23,7469,401],{},[45,7471,7472,7475],{},[69,7473,7474],{},"Last job → home (no fixed base)",[69,7476,7477],{},[23,7478,1088],{},[45,7480,7481,7484],{},[69,7482,7483],{},"Detour to collect lunch",[69,7485,1158],{},[11,7487,7488,7489,7492],{},"Whether you have a permanent workplace decides the first and last journey of ",[23,7490,7491],{},"every working day",",\nwhich over a year is the largest single item on the list.",[15,7494,7496],{"id":7495},"the-rate-question-for-a-van","The rate question for a van",[11,7498,7499,7500,7502],{},"Vans use the same 45p and 25p rates as cars, which suits an economical small van and can undercook a big one working hard. If your vehicle is thirsty, high-mileage and expensive to maintain, ",[23,7501,1877],{}," may be worth more — but the choice is close to permanent per vehicle, so do the arithmetic before defaulting to the simple option.",[15,7504,7506],{"id":7505},"recording-without-stopping","Recording without stopping",[11,7508,7509],{},"This is the case for automatic recording rather than a notebook. Milesheet notices you leaving where you parked, records the drive, and stops when you have been still for a few minutes — so eleven drops arrive as eleven journeys, each with its own distance and route.",[11,7511,7512],{},"At the end of the week the whole lot sorts in a minute with a few swipes, and tagging your regular merchants and repeat customers means most of it sorts itself.",[15,7514,282],{"id":281},[284,7516,7517,7522,7527,7532],{},[287,7518,7519],{},[290,7520,295],{"href":292,"rel":7521},[294],[287,7523,7524],{},[290,7525,1739],{"href":1737,"rel":7526},[294],[287,7528,7529],{},[290,7530,316],{"href":314,"rel":7531},[294],[287,7533,7534],{},[290,7535,877],{"href":875,"rel":7536},[294],[318,7538],{},[11,7540,7541],{},[323,7542,7543],{},"General information, not tax advice. Whether you have a permanent workplace is fact-specific and matters a lot here: take advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":7545},[7546,7547,7548,7549,7550,7551,7552],{"id":7258,"depth":328,"text":7259},{"id":7276,"depth":328,"text":7277},{"id":7382,"depth":328,"text":7383},{"id":7410,"depth":328,"text":7411},{"id":7495,"depth":328,"text":7496},{"id":7505,"depth":328,"text":7506},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-10-09","The people with the most business mileage are the least able to record it as it happens. That is a solvable problem.","Sorting a day of journeys in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople",{"title":7250,"description":7554},"blog\u002Fmileage-for-tradespeople",[7561,3200,4362],"trades","gJLN6S6wqjCQuDuawJhlvDzHIu50eQadgxj7g1DY3SA",{"id":7564,"title":7565,"author":6,"body":7566,"category":336,"date":7729,"description":7730,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":7731,"navigation":344,"path":7732,"readTime":328,"seo":7733,"stem":7734,"tags":7735,"__hash__":7737},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-and-vat.md","VAT and mileage: the bit most businesses miss",{"type":8,"value":7567,"toc":7721},[7568,7575,7579,7582,7591,7594,7598,7601,7647,7650,7654,7661,7664,7667,7671,7674,7677,7681,7687,7690,7692,7714,7716],[11,7569,7570,7571,7574],{},"A VAT-registered business paying employees approved mileage rates can usually reclaim the VAT on the ",[23,7572,7573],{},"fuel element"," of those payments. A surprising number do not, because the mechanism is not obvious and the paperwork requirement is easy to fail.",[15,7576,7578],{"id":7577},"what-you-can-reclaim","What you can reclaim",[11,7580,7581],{},"Not the VAT on 45p. The 45p covers the whole cost of running the car — insurance, servicing, depreciation — and most of that carries no reclaimable VAT.",[11,7583,7584,7585,7587,7588,7590],{},"What you can reclaim is the VAT contained in the ",[23,7586,3233],{}," part of the mileage payment. HMRC's ",[23,7589,719],{}," are the accepted way of identifying how much of the payment is fuel.",[11,7592,7593],{},"So the calculation runs: business miles × the relevant advisory fuel rate = the fuel element; the VAT fraction of that is what you reclaim.",[15,7595,7597],{"id":7596},"the-calculation-worked","The calculation, worked",[11,7599,7600],{},"10,000 business miles, employees reimbursed at the approved 45p, with an advisory fuel rate of 14p\na mile (illustrative — check the current table):",[39,7602,7603,7611],{},[42,7604,7605],{},[45,7606,7607,7609],{},[48,7608,6134],{},[48,7610,4018],{},[64,7612,7613,7621,7629,7639],{},[45,7614,7615,7618],{},[69,7616,7617],{},"Mileage paid to employees",[69,7619,7620],{},"10,000 × 45p = £4,500",[45,7622,7623,7626],{},[69,7624,7625],{},"Fuel element (advisory rate)",[69,7627,7628],{},"10,000 × 14p = £1,400",[45,7630,7631,7634],{},[69,7632,7633],{},"VAT fraction of the fuel element (1\u002F6 at 20%)",[69,7635,7636],{},[23,7637,7638],{},"£233.33",[45,7640,7641,7644],{},[69,7642,7643],{},"Fuel receipts you must hold",[69,7645,7646],{},"At least £1,400 worth",[11,7648,7649],{},"The last row is the condition that defeats most businesses: the reclaim is only supportable if the\npurchases can be evidenced.",[15,7651,7653],{"id":7652},"the-condition-that-catches-people","The condition that catches people",[11,7655,7656,7657,7660],{},"You must hold ",[23,7658,7659],{},"VAT receipts for fuel"," to support the claim.",[11,7662,7663],{},"That is the part businesses fail. The employee bought the fuel, kept no receipt, and the business has a mileage claim it cannot support with purchase evidence. HMRC's position is that you need enough fuel receipts to cover the VAT being reclaimed — not receipt-by-receipt matching to journeys, but enough purchases to show the fuel was actually bought.",[11,7665,7666],{},"The practical answer is to ask staff to keep fuel receipts even though they are claiming mileage rather than fuel. It feels redundant to them and it is the difference between reclaiming and not.",[15,7668,7670],{"id":7669},"the-rates-move-quarterly","The rates move quarterly",[11,7672,7673],{},"Advisory Fuel Rates are revised every three months. A calculation using last year's figures is wrong, and consistently wrong in a direction someone will eventually notice.",[11,7675,7676],{},"Build the current rate into whatever produces the claim rather than remembering to update it.",[15,7678,7680],{"id":7679},"scale-charges-briefly","Scale charges, briefly",[11,7682,7683,7684,7686],{},"If the business pays for ",[23,7685,6257],{}," fuel as well, there is a separate mechanism — the road fuel scale charge — which lets you reclaim input tax on all fuel and account for output tax on the private element based on the vehicle's CO2. Whether that is better than simply not reclaiming on private fuel depends on the ratio of business to private mileage.",[11,7688,7689],{},"Either way, the number you need first is the split between business and private miles — which is a record-keeping question long before it is a VAT one.",[15,7691,282],{"id":281},[284,7693,7694,7699,7704,7709],{},[287,7695,7696],{},[290,7697,3433],{"href":868,"rel":7698},[294],[287,7700,7701],{},[290,7702,295],{"href":292,"rel":7703},[294],[287,7705,7706],{},[290,7707,853],{"href":851,"rel":7708},[294],[287,7710,7711],{},[290,7712,877],{"href":875,"rel":7713},[294],[318,7715],{},[11,7717,7718],{},[323,7719,7720],{},"General information, not tax or VAT advice. VAT on motoring is detailed and the treatment depends on your business: take advice before reclaiming.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":7722},[7723,7724,7725,7726,7727,7728],{"id":7577,"depth":328,"text":7578},{"id":7596,"depth":328,"text":7597},{"id":7652,"depth":328,"text":7653},{"id":7669,"depth":328,"text":7670},{"id":7679,"depth":328,"text":7680},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-10-02","If you are VAT registered and paying mileage, there is input tax buried in the fuel element — but only if you keep the receipts.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmileage-and-vat",{"title":7565,"description":7730},"blog\u002Fmileage-and-vat",[7736,906,353],"vat","x_2Y7m8Oj67gMvJucXGMjl2BjMTQ3etXT47fK672Buk",{"id":7739,"title":7740,"author":6,"body":7741,"category":336,"date":7933,"description":7934,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":7935,"navigation":344,"path":7936,"readTime":347,"seo":7937,"stem":7938,"tags":7939,"__hash__":7941},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars.md","Salary sacrifice car schemes: what to check before you sign",{"type":8,"value":7742,"toc":7925},[7743,7746,7750,7753,7756,7759,7763,7840,7844,7850,7856,7862,7868,7872,7875,7878,7881,7885,7891,7894,7896,7918,7920],[11,7744,7745],{},"Salary sacrifice car schemes have become common, largely because the tax treatment of low-emission cars makes them work in a way they do not for petrol and diesel.",[15,7747,7749],{"id":7748},"why-electric-changes-the-arithmetic","Why electric changes the arithmetic",[11,7751,7752],{},"Under a sacrifice arrangement you give up salary in exchange for a car. Normally the tax advantage is largely neutralised — you are taxed on the higher of the salary given up or the benefit value.",[11,7754,7755],{},"Ultra-low-emission vehicles are treated differently: the comparison to salary given up does not apply in the same way, so the charge is based on the car's benefit value, which for an electric car is a small percentage of list price.",[11,7757,7758],{},"The result is that you swap taxed salary for a car taxed at a low rate, and the saving can be substantial — often enough that the net cost of a new EV is comparable to running an older car you already own.",[15,7760,7762],{"id":7761},"the-questions-and-why-each-one-matters","The questions, and why each one matters",[39,7764,7765,7774],{},[42,7766,7767],{},[45,7768,7769,7772],{},[48,7770,7771],{},"Question",[48,7773,1220],{},[64,7775,7776,7784,7792,7800,7808,7816,7824,7832],{},[45,7777,7778,7781],{},[69,7779,7780],{},"How long is the term?",[69,7782,7783],{},"Two to four years, and hard to unwind",[45,7785,7786,7789],{},[69,7787,7788],{},"What happens if I leave?",[69,7790,7791],{},"Some schemes insure it, some pass the cost to you",[45,7793,7794,7797],{},[69,7795,7796],{},"What is the mileage limit?",[69,7798,7799],{},"Excess charges erode the saving",[45,7801,7802,7805],{},[69,7803,7804],{},"What does it do to my pension?",[69,7806,7807],{},"Contributions are often salary-linked",[45,7809,7810,7813],{},[69,7811,7812],{},"Will it affect a mortgage application?",[69,7814,7815],{},"Lenders assess on gross salary",[45,7817,7818,7821],{},[69,7819,7820],{},"Does it affect statutory pay?",[69,7822,7823],{},"Maternity and sick pay can be salary-linked",[45,7825,7826,7829],{},[69,7827,7828],{},"What is the benefit-in-kind percentage?",[69,7830,7831],{},"It is scheduled to rise over time",[45,7833,7834,7837],{},[69,7835,7836],{},"Which rate applies to business mileage?",[69,7838,7839],{},"Advisory, not 45p",[15,7841,7843],{"id":7842},"what-to-check-before-signing","What to check before signing",[11,7845,7846,7849],{},[23,7847,7848],{},"The term."," Typically two to four years. Sacrifice arrangements are much harder to unwind than a subscription — leaving the employer, going on extended leave, or a change in circumstances can trigger early termination charges that are real money.",[11,7851,7852,7855],{},[23,7853,7854],{},"What happens if you leave."," This is the single question people fail to ask. Some schemes have insurance covering it, some pass the cost to you.",[11,7857,7858,7861],{},[23,7859,7860],{},"The effect on everything salary-linked."," Reducing gross pay can affect pension contributions, mortgage affordability assessments, statutory maternity pay, and anything else calculated from salary. The car saving is visible; these are not.",[11,7863,7864,7867],{},[23,7865,7866],{},"The mileage allowance."," The lease has a mileage limit and excess charges. If your driving is heavier than you think — and most people underestimate — that erodes the saving.",[15,7869,7871],{"id":7870},"the-bit-that-connects-to-your-mileage-log","The bit that connects to your mileage log",[11,7873,7874],{},"That last point is worth dwelling on, because it is the one you can actually answer with data rather than guesswork.",[11,7876,7877],{},"Before you commit to a mileage band for three years, look at what you genuinely drove last year. Most people are surprised in one direction or the other, and being surprised after signing costs pence per mile for the length of the term.",[11,7879,7880],{},"If you have been recording journeys, that number already exists. If you have not, a year of records before the next scheme window is worth more than any amount of estimating.",[15,7882,7884],{"id":7883},"business-mileage-on-a-sacrifice-car","Business mileage on a sacrifice car",[11,7886,7887,7888,7890],{},"The car is a company car for tax purposes, so approved mileage rates do not apply. Business mileage is reimbursed at ",[23,7889,719],{}," — or the advisory electricity rate for a fully electric car — not at 45p.",[11,7892,7893],{},"Claiming 45p on a sacrifice car is a common and expensive error.",[15,7895,282],{"id":281},[284,7897,7898,7903,7908,7913],{},[287,7899,7900],{},[290,7901,3433],{"href":868,"rel":7902},[294],[287,7904,7905],{},[290,7906,853],{"href":851,"rel":7907},[294],[287,7909,7910],{},[290,7911,295],{"href":292,"rel":7912},[294],[287,7914,7915],{},[290,7916,6333],{"href":6331,"rel":7917},[294],[318,7919],{},[11,7921,7922],{},[323,7923,7924],{},"General information, not tax or financial advice. Salary sacrifice affects more than your car: take advice on the whole picture before committing.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":7926},[7927,7928,7929,7930,7931,7932],{"id":7748,"depth":328,"text":7749},{"id":7761,"depth":328,"text":7762},{"id":7842,"depth":328,"text":7843},{"id":7870,"depth":328,"text":7871},{"id":7883,"depth":328,"text":7884},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-09-18","The tax treatment makes electric cars unusually attractive through sacrifice. The commitment is longer than most people focus on.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars",{"title":7740,"description":7934},"blog\u002Fsalary-sacrifice-and-electric-cars",[7940,4170,6357],"salary sacrifice","5AoNhgjQcmo0CqQgEJS9zHsoVHodZGyg5xcBAWsdoU8",{"id":7943,"title":7944,"author":6,"body":7945,"category":336,"date":8259,"description":8260,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":4752,"imageAlt":4753,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":339,"meta":8261,"navigation":344,"path":8262,"readTime":347,"seo":8263,"stem":8264,"tags":8265,"__hash__":8268},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates.md","45p or 70 cents: how the UK and US pay for business miles",{"type":8,"value":7946,"toc":8249},[7947,7950,7954,7967,7977,7980,7984,7989,7992,7995,7998,8002,8011,8019,8028,8032,8139,8143,8191,8194,8198,8201,8204,8207,8211,8214,8216,8242,8244],[11,7948,7949],{},"Both countries let you deduct the cost of driving for work at a flat rate per mile. The mechanisms differ more than the numbers do.",[15,7951,7953],{"id":7952},"the-headline-rates","The headline rates",[11,7955,7956,7959,7960,7963,7964,7966],{},[23,7957,7958],{},"UK."," HMRC's approved mileage allowance payments: ",[23,7961,7962],{},"45p a mile"," for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then ",[23,7965,210],{},". Unchanged since 2011.",[11,7968,7969,7972,7973,7976],{},[23,7970,7971],{},"US."," The IRS publishes a ",[23,7974,7975],{},"standard mileage rate"," for business use, revised annually and occasionally mid-year when fuel prices move sharply. It sits in the high-60s to low-70s of cents per mile.",[11,7978,7979],{},"At a rough exchange rate the two are not far apart on the first 10,000 miles. After that, the UK driver drops to 25p and the American does not drop at all.",[15,7981,7983],{"id":7982},"the-structural-difference-that-matters","The structural difference that matters",[11,7985,7986],{},[23,7987,7988],{},"The UK bands. The US does not.",[11,7990,7991],{},"HMRC's 10,000-mile threshold assumes that beyond a certain point your marginal cost per mile falls. That is true of some costs and not others — fuel scales linearly, and so do tyres and servicing.",[11,7993,7994],{},"The IRS rate applies to every business mile at the same rate, all year. A US driver covering 30,000 business miles is paid the full rate on all of them; a UK driver on the same mileage gets 45p on a third and 25p on the rest, blending to about 32p.",[11,7996,7997],{},"For high-mileage drivers this is the single biggest difference between the two systems.",[15,7999,8001],{"id":8000},"who-claims-and-how","Who claims, and how",[11,8003,8004,8006,8007,8010],{},[23,8005,7958],{}," If your employer reimburses at or below the approved rate, the payment is tax-free and there is nothing to declare. Reimbursed below it, you claim ",[23,8008,8009],{},"Mileage Allowance Relief"," on the difference via Self Assessment or a P87. Self-employed, you deduct it as simplified expenses.",[11,8012,8013,8015,8016,8018],{},[23,8014,7971],{}," Employees have had a much harder time of it since unreimbursed employee expenses were suspended as an itemised deduction — for most employees, an unreimbursed business mile is simply not deductible. The standard mileage rate mainly benefits the ",[23,8017,3200],{},", and employees whose employers operate an accountable reimbursement plan.",[11,8020,8021,8022,8025,8026,2349],{},"So the UK system is more generous to ",[323,8023,8024],{},"employees",", and the US rate is more generous per mile to the ",[323,8027,3200],{},[15,8029,8031],{"id":8030},"the-two-systems-side-by-side","The two systems side by side",[39,8033,8034,8046],{},[42,8035,8036],{},[45,8037,8038,8040,8043],{},[48,8039],{},[48,8041,8042],{},"UK (HMRC)",[48,8044,8045],{},"US (IRS)",[64,8047,8048,8059,8073,8084,8099,8110,8120,8129],{},[45,8049,8050,8053,8056],{},[69,8051,8052],{},"Car rate",[69,8054,8055],{},"45p, then 25p",[69,8057,8058],{},"Single rate, high-60s to low-70s of cents",[45,8060,8061,8064,8069],{},[69,8062,8063],{},"Banded by annual mileage",[69,8065,8066,8068],{},[23,8067,401],{},", at 10,000",[69,8070,8071],{},[23,8072,414],{},[45,8074,8075,8078,8081],{},[69,8076,8077],{},"Rate changes",[69,8079,8080],{},"Unchanged since 2011",[69,8082,8083],{},"Revised annually",[45,8085,8086,8089,8094],{},[69,8087,8088],{},"Employees can claim shortfall",[69,8090,8091,8093],{},[23,8092,401],{}," — Mileage Allowance Relief",[69,8095,8096],{},[23,8097,8098],{},"Largely no",[45,8100,8101,8104,8107],{},[69,8102,8103],{},"Self-employed can claim",[69,8105,8106],{},"Yes, simplified expenses",[69,8108,8109],{},"Yes, standard mileage rate",[45,8111,8112,8115,8118],{},[69,8113,8114],{},"Passenger payments",[69,8116,8117],{},"5p per passenger mile",[69,8119,5119],{},[45,8121,8122,8125,8127],{},[69,8123,8124],{},"Commuting deductible",[69,8126,414],{},[69,8128,414],{},[45,8130,8131,8134,8136],{},[69,8132,8133],{},"Contemporaneous record expected",[69,8135,401],{},[69,8137,8138],{},"Yes, explicitly",[15,8140,8142],{"id":8141},"at-30000-business-miles","At 30,000 business miles",[39,8144,8145,8157],{},[42,8146,8147],{},[45,8148,8149,8151,8154],{},[48,8150],{},[48,8152,8153],{},"UK",[48,8155,8156],{},"US",[64,8158,8159,8169,8178],{},[45,8160,8161,8164,8166],{},[69,8162,8163],{},"First 10,000",[69,8165,567],{},[69,8167,8168],{},"Full rate on every mile",[45,8170,8171,8174,8176],{},[69,8172,8173],{},"Remaining 20,000",[69,8175,621],{},[69,8177,8168],{},[45,8179,8180,8184,8188],{},[69,8181,8182],{},[23,8183,524],{},[69,8185,8186],{},[23,8187,629],{},[69,8189,8190],{},"Unchanged from the headline rate",[11,8192,8193],{},"The high-mileage self-employed driver does materially better in the US. The employee reimbursed\nbelow the approved rate does materially better in the UK.",[15,8195,8197],{"id":8196},"both-demand-the-same-evidence","Both demand the same evidence",[11,8199,8200],{},"This is where the two systems agree completely.",[11,8202,8203],{},"Both expect a contemporaneous log: date, destination, business purpose and distance. Both treat commuting as non-deductible. Both are sceptical of round numbers and reconstructions.",[11,8205,8206],{},"The IRS is, if anything, more explicit about wanting records made \"at or near the time\" of the journey. HMRC's expectation is the same in substance.",[15,8208,8210],{"id":8209},"the-practical-lesson","The practical lesson",[11,8212,8213],{},"Whichever side of the Atlantic you are on, the constraint is not the rate — it is whether you can evidence the miles. A generous rate applied to journeys you never recorded is worth nothing.",[15,8215,282],{"id":281},[284,8217,8218,8223,8228,8235],{},[287,8219,8220],{},[290,8221,295],{"href":292,"rel":8222},[294],[287,8224,8225],{},[290,8226,302],{"href":300,"rel":8227},[294],[287,8229,8230],{},[290,8231,8234],{"href":8232,"rel":8233},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Ftax-professionals\u002Fstandard-mileage-rates",[294],"IRS — Standard mileage rates",[287,8236,8237],{},[290,8238,8241],{"href":8239,"rel":8240},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.irs.gov\u002Ftaxtopics\u002Ftc510",[294],"IRS — Topic no. 510, Business use of car",[318,8243],{},[11,8245,8246],{},[323,8247,8248],{},"General information for UK and US drivers, not tax advice. Rates change: check the current figure in the jurisdiction you are filing in.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":8250},[8251,8252,8253,8254,8255,8256,8257,8258],{"id":7952,"depth":328,"text":7953},{"id":7982,"depth":328,"text":7983},{"id":8000,"depth":328,"text":8001},{"id":8030,"depth":328,"text":8031},{"id":8141,"depth":328,"text":8142},{"id":8196,"depth":328,"text":8197},{"id":8209,"depth":328,"text":8210},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-07-24","Two countries, two systems, and a gap that is smaller than the exchange rate makes it look.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates",{"title":7944,"description":8260},"blog\u002Fuk-vs-us-mileage-rates",[906,8266,8267],"irs","comparison","Hz69Fi5pBcnQSSo49rO02xGv1tiumgurznDD_MXqFs8",{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":8270,"category":336,"date":337,"description":338,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":341,"imageAlt":342,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":8492,"navigation":344,"path":346,"readTime":347,"seo":8493,"stem":349,"tags":8494,"__hash__":354},{"type":8,"value":8271,"toc":8484},[8272,8274,8276,8280,8284,8286,8352,8354,8356,8358,8424,8426,8428,8432,8434,8438,8442,8446,8448,8450,8452,8454,8456,8478,8480],[11,8273,13],{},[15,8275,18],{"id":17},[11,8277,21,8278,26],{},[23,8279,25],{},[11,8281,29,8282,33],{},[23,8283,32],{},[15,8285,37],{"id":36},[39,8287,8288,8302],{},[42,8289,8290],{},[45,8291,8292,8294,8296,8298,8300],{},[48,8293,50],{},[48,8295,53],{},[48,8297,56],{},[48,8299,59],{},[48,8301,62],{},[64,8303,8304,8316,8328,8340],{},[45,8305,8306,8308,8310,8312,8314],{},[69,8307,71],{},[69,8309,74],{},[69,8311,77],{},[69,8313,80],{},[69,8315,83],{},[45,8317,8318,8320,8322,8324,8326],{},[69,8319,88],{},[69,8321,91],{},[69,8323,94],{},[69,8325,97],{},[69,8327,100],{},[45,8329,8330,8332,8334,8336,8338],{},[69,8331,105],{},[69,8333,108],{},[69,8335,111],{},[69,8337,114],{},[69,8339,117],{},[45,8341,8342,8344,8346,8348,8350],{},[69,8343,122],{},[69,8345,125],{},[69,8347,128],{},[69,8349,131],{},[69,8351,134],{},[11,8353,137],{},[15,8355,141],{"id":140},[11,8357,144],{},[39,8359,8360,8372],{},[42,8361,8362],{},[45,8363,8364,8366,8368,8370],{},[48,8365,153],{},[48,8367,156],{},[48,8369,159],{},[48,8371,162],{},[64,8373,8374,8384,8394,8404,8414],{},[45,8375,8376,8378,8380,8382],{},[69,8377,169],{},[69,8379,100],{},[69,8381,174],{},[69,8383,177],{},[45,8385,8386,8388,8390,8392],{},[69,8387,182],{},[69,8389,185],{},[69,8391,188],{},[69,8393,191],{},[45,8395,8396,8398,8400,8402],{},[69,8397,196],{},[69,8399,199],{},[69,8401,202],{},[69,8403,205],{},[45,8405,8406,8408,8410,8412],{},[69,8407,210],{},[69,8409,213],{},[69,8411,83],{},[69,8413,218],{},[45,8415,8416,8418,8420,8422],{},[69,8417,223],{},[69,8419,174],{},[69,8421,100],{},[69,8423,230],{},[11,8425,233],{},[15,8427,237],{"id":236},[11,8429,8430,243],{},[23,8431,242],{},[11,8433,246],{},[11,8435,8436,252],{},[23,8437,251],{},[11,8439,255,8440,259],{},[23,8441,258],{},[11,8443,8444,265],{},[23,8445,264],{},[15,8447,269],{"id":268},[11,8449,272],{},[11,8451,275],{},[11,8453,278],{},[15,8455,282],{"id":281},[284,8457,8458,8463,8468,8473],{},[287,8459,8460],{},[290,8461,295],{"href":292,"rel":8462},[294],[287,8464,8465],{},[290,8466,302],{"href":300,"rel":8467},[294],[287,8469,8470],{},[290,8471,309],{"href":307,"rel":8472},[294],[287,8474,8475],{},[290,8476,316],{"href":314,"rel":8477},[294],[318,8479],{},[11,8481,8482],{},[323,8483,325],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":8485},[8486,8487,8488,8489,8490,8491],{"id":17,"depth":328,"text":18},{"id":36,"depth":328,"text":37},{"id":140,"depth":328,"text":141},{"id":236,"depth":328,"text":237},{"id":268,"depth":328,"text":269},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},{},{"title":5,"description":338},[351,352,353],{"id":8496,"title":8497,"author":6,"body":8498,"category":336,"date":8752,"description":8753,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":898,"imageAlt":8754,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":8755,"navigation":344,"path":8756,"readTime":347,"seo":8757,"stem":8758,"tags":8759,"__hash__":8762},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less.md","Your employer pays 25p. Here is how to claim the rest",{"type":8,"value":8499,"toc":8742},[8500,8503,8506,8508,8511,8514,8526,8532,8536,8543,8636,8639,8642,8646,8649,8652,8656,8662,8672,8678,8682,8685,8688,8692,8698,8704,8708,8711,8713,8735,8737],[11,8501,8502],{},"Plenty of employers reimburse business mileage below HMRC's approved rate. Some pay 30p, some 25p, some a fixed amount per journey, some nothing at all.",[11,8504,8505],{},"In every one of those cases the employee can claim tax relief on the difference. Most do not, usually because nobody has ever told them it exists.",[15,8507,2600],{"id":2599},[11,8509,8510],{},"The approved rate is 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25p. If your employer pays less, you claim relief on the gap.",[11,8512,8513],{},"Worked example. You drove 4,000 business miles and were paid 25p:",[284,8515,8516,8520,8522],{},[287,8517,474,8518],{},[23,8519,477],{},[287,8521,480],{},[287,8523,483,8524],{},[23,8525,486],{},[11,8527,8528,8529,8531],{},"You do not receive £800. You receive tax relief on it — so a basic-rate taxpayer gets around ",[23,8530,680],{},", a higher-rate taxpayer around £320.",[15,8533,8535],{"id":8534},"the-four-year-backdating-table","The four-year backdating table",[11,8537,8538,8539,8542],{},"Relief can generally be claimed for the current tax year and the ",[23,8540,8541],{},"previous four",". For someone\npaid 25p who has never claimed:",[39,8544,8545,8564],{},[42,8546,8547],{},[45,8548,8549,8552,8554,8557,8559,8561],{},[48,8550,8551],{},"Business miles per year",[48,8553,62],{},[48,8555,8556],{},"Paid at 25p",[48,8558,159],{},[48,8560,162],{},[48,8562,8563],{},"Over five years",[64,8565,8566,8586,8603,8619],{},[45,8567,8568,8571,8574,8577,8580,8582],{},[69,8569,8570],{},"3,000",[69,8572,8573],{},"£1,350",[69,8575,8576],{},"£750",[69,8578,8579],{},"£600",[69,8581,777],{},[69,8583,8584],{},[23,8585,8579],{},[45,8587,8588,8591,8593,8595,8597,8599],{},[69,8589,8590],{},"6,000",[69,8592,754],{},[69,8594,797],{},[69,8596,800],{},[69,8598,803],{},[69,8600,8601],{},[23,8602,800],{},[45,8604,8605,8607,8609,8611,8613,8615],{},[69,8606,564],{},[69,8608,567],{},[69,8610,603],{},[69,8612,2190],{},[69,8614,2179],{},[69,8616,8617],{},[23,8618,2190],{},[45,8620,8621,8623,8625,8628,8630,8632],{},[69,8622,580],{},[69,8624,590],{},[69,8626,8627],{},"£3,750",[69,8629,2190],{},[69,8631,2179],{},[69,8633,8634],{},[23,8635,2190],{},[11,8637,8638],{},"Higher-rate taxpayers double every figure in the last two columns.",[11,8640,8641],{},"The catch is the same as always: you can only claim what you can evidence, and a five-year-old\nclaim needs five-year-old records.",[15,8643,8645],{"id":8644},"what-if-they-pay-nothing-at-all","What if they pay nothing at all",[11,8647,8648],{},"Then the relief is on the whole approved amount. On 4,000 miles that is relief on £1,800, worth about £360 at basic rate.",[11,8650,8651],{},"This is the case where the sums get genuinely worth having, and it is common in sectors where mileage is treated as part of the job rather than as a reimbursable cost.",[15,8653,8655],{"id":8654},"how-to-claim","How to claim",[11,8657,8658,8661],{},[23,8659,8660],{},"If you file Self Assessment",", it goes in the employment expenses section.",[11,8663,8664,8667,8668,8671],{},[23,8665,8666],{},"If you do not",", use form ",[23,8669,8670],{},"P87"," — claim Income Tax relief for employment expenses. It can be done online.",[11,8673,823,8674,8677],{},[23,8675,8676],{},"previous four tax years"," as well as the current one, which for someone who has never claimed can mean a meaningful lump sum.",[15,8679,8681],{"id":8680},"what-hmrc-will-want","What HMRC will want",[11,8683,8684],{},"The amounts, and the ability to evidence them: business miles by tax year, what your employer paid you, and a record of the journeys behind the figures.",[11,8686,8687],{},"That last part is where claims fall over. \"About 4,000 miles\" is not evidence. A journey-level log with dates, destinations, purposes and distances is.",[15,8689,8691],{"id":8690},"the-bit-that-catches-people","The bit that catches people",[11,8693,8694,8697],{},[23,8695,8696],{},"Passenger payments cannot be claimed this way."," If your employer does not pay the 5p per passenger mile, there is nothing to claim relief on — the relief covers the vehicle rate only. Ask the employer instead.",[11,8699,8700,8703],{},[23,8701,8702],{},"Commuting never counts",", regardless of what the employer pays for.",[15,8705,8707],{"id":8706},"getting-the-number","Getting the number",[11,8709,8710],{},"If you have been recording journeys, the figure already exists. If you have not, this is the argument for starting now rather than in April: four years of relief is worth claiming, and you can only claim what you can evidence.",[15,8712,282],{"id":281},[284,8714,8715,8720,8725,8730],{},[287,8716,8717],{},[290,8718,302],{"href":300,"rel":8719},[294],[287,8721,8722],{},[290,8723,309],{"href":307,"rel":8724},[294],[287,8726,8727],{},[290,8728,295],{"href":292,"rel":8729},[294],[287,8731,8732],{},[290,8733,877],{"href":875,"rel":8734},[294],[318,8736],{},[11,8738,8739],{},[323,8740,8741],{},"General information, not tax advice.",{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":8743},[8744,8745,8746,8747,8748,8749,8750,8751],{"id":2599,"depth":328,"text":2600},{"id":8534,"depth":328,"text":8535},{"id":8644,"depth":328,"text":8645},{"id":8654,"depth":328,"text":8655},{"id":8680,"depth":328,"text":8681},{"id":8690,"depth":328,"text":8691},{"id":8706,"depth":328,"text":8707},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-04-24","Mileage Allowance Relief is the most commonly unclaimed thing in the UK tax system, and it takes about ten minutes.","Business mileage and the claim total in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less",{"title":8497,"description":8753},"blog\u002Fclaiming-when-employer-pays-less",[8760,8761,906],"mileage allowance relief","p87","V69WmsOy9-ZDT6dbj0f0HlV2PKKeabrLcFNFtC9Q1js",{"id":8764,"title":8765,"author":6,"body":8766,"category":336,"date":8973,"description":8974,"draft":339,"extension":340,"image":898,"imageAlt":8975,"imageCredit":343,"imageCreditUrl":343,"imageIsScreenshot":344,"meta":8976,"navigation":344,"path":8977,"readTime":347,"seo":8978,"stem":8979,"tags":8980,"__hash__":8983},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving.md","Territory driving: when 25,000 miles a year is the job",{"type":8,"value":8767,"toc":8965},[8768,8771,8775,8778,8785,8788,8792,8881,8884,8888,8894,8900,8906,8910,8916,8922,8928,8932,8935,8937,8959,8961],[11,8769,8770],{},"Field sales, area management, regional service engineering — jobs where the driving is not incidental to the work, it substantially is the work. The tax treatment was not designed with them in mind.",[15,8772,8774],{"id":8773},"the-threshold-arrives-early","The threshold arrives early",[11,8776,8777],{},"At 25,000 business miles a year you pass 10,000 in about the fifth month of the tax year. Everything after that is at 25p.",[11,8779,8780,8781,8784],{},"The blended rate works out around ",[23,8782,8783],{},"33p"," a mile. Someone doing 8,000 miles gets the full 45p on all of it. The higher-mileage driver, whose costs are demonstrably greater, is paid a lower average rate per mile.",[11,8786,8787],{},"That is the structural quirk of the system, and it is why high-mileage drivers should be the most diligent about claiming everything they are entitled to — there is less margin in it than the headline rate suggests.",[15,8789,8791],{"id":8790},"when-the-threshold-arrives","When the threshold arrives",[39,8793,8794,8808],{},[42,8795,8796],{},[45,8797,8798,8801,8804,8806],{},[48,8799,8800],{},"Annual business miles",[48,8802,8803],{},"10,000 reached",[48,8805,524],{},[48,8807,521],{},[64,8809,8810,8820,8831,8842,8856,8867],{},[45,8811,8812,8814,8816,8818],{},[69,8813,564],{},[69,8815,3696],{},[69,8817,543],{},[69,8819,567],{},[45,8821,8822,8824,8827,8829],{},[69,8823,580],{},[69,8825,8826],{},"early January",[69,8828,593],{},[69,8830,590],{},[45,8832,8833,8835,8838,8840],{},[69,8834,598],{},[69,8836,8837],{},"early October",[69,8839,611],{},[69,8841,608],{},[45,8843,8844,8847,8850,8853],{},[69,8845,8846],{},"25,000",[69,8848,8849],{},"mid August",[69,8851,8852],{},"33.0p",[69,8854,8855],{},"£8,250",[45,8857,8858,8860,8863,8865],{},[69,8859,616],{},[69,8861,8862],{},"early July",[69,8864,629],{},[69,8866,626],{},[45,8868,8869,8872,8875,8878],{},[69,8870,8871],{},"40,000",[69,8873,8874],{},"mid May",[69,8876,8877],{},"29.4p",[69,8879,8880],{},"£11,750",[11,8882,8883],{},"Assuming even mileage through the year. The point of the table is the middle column: the driver\ndoing 40,000 miles is paid an average of 29.4p for driving that costs them considerably more than\nthe driver doing 8,000.",[15,8885,8887],{"id":8886},"three-things-worth-knowing-if-this-is-you","Three things worth knowing if this is you",[11,8889,8890,8893],{},[23,8891,8892],{},"Timing matters at the boundary."," Not to manipulate — but if you have genuine discretion over when a long trip happens and you are at 9,700 miles in late March, the same journey is worth 45p in April rather than 25p now. Knowing where you stand requires a running total, which is exactly what most people do not have.",[11,8895,8896,8899],{},[23,8897,8898],{},"Your car is a consumable."," At 25,000 miles a year a car does 75,000 in three years, and depreciates accordingly. If you are choosing between a company car and your own, run the numbers on your actual mileage rather than a typical one — the answer for a high-mileage driver often differs from the office default.",[11,8901,8902,8905],{},[23,8903,8904],{},"Real MPG matters more."," At 25,000 miles, a 5 mpg difference between the brochure figure and reality is hundreds of pounds a year. It also changes whether 45p is generous or thin.",[15,8907,8909],{"id":8908},"where-high-mileage-claims-go-wrong","Where high-mileage claims go wrong",[11,8911,8912,8915],{},[23,8913,8914],{},"Reconstructing at year end."," Nobody remembers 800 journeys. A reconstruction produces round numbers and impossible days, which is the pattern most likely to attract a question — and the sums here are large enough for one.",[11,8917,8918,8921],{},[23,8919,8920],{},"Missing the short hops."," The long runs get remembered. Three miles between two customers in the same town, twelve times a week, does not — and over a year it is thousands of miles.",[11,8923,8924,8927],{},[23,8925,8926],{},"Commuting mixed in."," With no fixed office the position may be favourable, but if there is a base you attend, those journeys are not claimable and a large claim containing them is conspicuous.",[15,8929,8931],{"id":8930},"the-practical-answer","The practical answer",[11,8933,8934],{},"Automatic recording, sorted weekly, with regular customers tagged so most of it classifies itself. At this mileage the difference between a log that keeps itself and one that depends on you is not convenience — it is whether the claim is defensible at all.",[15,8936,282],{"id":281},[284,8938,8939,8944,8949,8954],{},[287,8940,8941],{},[290,8942,295],{"href":292,"rel":8943},[294],[287,8945,8946],{},[290,8947,302],{"href":300,"rel":8948},[294],[287,8950,8951],{},[290,8952,316],{"href":314,"rel":8953},[294],[287,8955,8956],{},[290,8957,877],{"href":875,"rel":8958},[294],[318,8960],{},[11,8962,8963],{},[323,8964,8741],{},{"title":327,"searchDepth":328,"depth":328,"links":8966},[8967,8968,8969,8970,8971,8972],{"id":8773,"depth":328,"text":8774},{"id":8790,"depth":328,"text":8791},{"id":8886,"depth":328,"text":8887},{"id":8908,"depth":328,"text":8909},{"id":8930,"depth":328,"text":8931},{"id":281,"depth":328,"text":282},"2025-04-03","The 10,000-mile threshold arrives in May, the car wears out in three years, and the arithmetic is different from everyone else's.","Progress towards the 10,000-mile threshold in Milesheet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving",{"title":8765,"description":8974},"blog\u002Fsales-reps-and-territory-driving",[8981,8982,906],"sales","high mileage","SzvZdfqOIhR5d2nZYNCjdFYSAqSg7jHuAoQrOTHvVQY",1787360706880]