Mileage Allowance Explained
Tax-free mileage rates for business travel in your own car, van, motorcycle, or bicycle
If you use your own car, van, motorcycle, or bicycle for business travel, your employer can pay you tax-free up to HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates. Pay more than that and the excess is taxable; pay less or nothing, and you can claim the shortfall back yourself. This page covers the rates and how to check whether your employer's own rate actually matches them.
The rates
| Vehicle | Rate |
|---|---|
| Car or van (first 10,000 miles) | 55p/mile |
| Car or van (after 10,000 miles) | 25p/mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p/mile |
| Bicycle | 20p/mile |
| Each passenger, on top of the driver's own rate | 5p/mile |
Two things to note about how this actually works: receive more than the approved rate and the excess is a taxable benefit, added to your pay and taxed like income. Receive less or nothing at all, and you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the shortfall directly from HMRC, without needing your employer's involvement.
Worked example: an employer still on the old rate
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Approved (tax-free) amount for 12,000 business miles | £6,000 |
| Paid by an employer still using the old 45p/mile rate | £5,400 |
| Claimable as Mileage Allowance Relief | £600 |
The car/van rate rose from 45p to 55p a mile (for the first 10,000 miles) from 6 April 2026, the first change since 2011/12. If your employer hasn't updated their own mileage rate to match, you may be able to claim the difference yourself, as in the example above.
This page explains general mileage allowance rules and is not personalised advice; see the disclaimer. It doesn't cover other business expenses, or the separate rules for company cars. See also Redundancy Pay Explained for another payment outside your normal payslip, and Statutory Pay Explained for sick, maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay.