HMRC Raised the Mileage Rate to 55p in 2026: What Changed and How to Claim It

For the first time in 15 years, HMRC changed the mileage rate. From 6 April 2026 the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rate for cars and vans rose from 45p to 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles. The rate above 10,000 miles stayed at 25p. If you drive for work, the amount you can claim tax-free just went up.

Source: GOV.UK, "Travel, mileage and fuel rates and allowances" (updated 21 May 2026) and "Increase to Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) and self-employed simplified mileage rates".

What actually changed

The AMAP rate had been frozen at 45p / 25p since 6 April 2011. The 2026 increase is the first movement in that rate in 15 years. Here is the full picture for the 2026-27 tax year:

• Cars and vans, first 10,000 business miles: up from 45p to 55p per mile.
• Cars and vans, every mile above 10,000: unchanged at 25p per mile.
• Motorcycles: unchanged at 24p per mile.
• Bicycles: unchanged at 20p per mile.

The increase applies to both schemes that use these rates: the AMAP payments an employer can make to an employee tax-free, and the simplified flat-rate mileage the self-employed use on Self Assessment. It covers cars and goods vehicles (vans) alike.

A worked example

Take a driver who does 12,000 business miles in the 2026-27 tax year:

• First 10,000 miles at 55p = 5,500 pounds.
• Next 2,000 miles at 25p = 500 pounds.
• Total claim: 6,000 pounds.

Under the old 45p rate, the same 12,000 miles would have produced 4,500 pounds plus 500 pounds, or 5,000 pounds. The rate change adds 1,000 pounds to this driver's tax-free mileage for the year.

Employees: how to claim the difference

If your employer reimburses you below the AMAP rate, you can claim tax relief on the gap. This is called Mileage Allowance Relief. Use form P87 if your total claim for the year is under 2,500 pounds, or claim through Self Assessment if it is more. If your employer pays you more than the AMAP rate, the excess is taxable as wages.

Self-employed: the flat rate went to 55p too

Sole traders using HMRC simplified expenses can claim the same 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after, for a car or a van. The one condition: you cannot use the flat rate for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on. If you have, you stay on the actual-expenses method for that vehicle.

What about a tax year that straddles the change?

It does not straddle in practice. The change took effect on 6 April 2026, which is the start of a UK tax year, so a single tax year runs entirely on one rate. The date of the trip governs which rate applies: trips on or after 6 April 2026 use 55p for the first 10,000 miles, and earlier trips use 45p.

The bottom line

Budget around 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles for 2026-27 and 25p after. The single biggest way to lose money on this is an incomplete mileage log, because you can only claim the miles you can evidence. Keep a contemporaneous record of every business trip with the date, route, purpose, and miles.

TruMile tracks every business mile automatically and applies the correct HMRC tier, so your 55p and 25p miles are split for you and ready for a P87 or Self Assessment claim. See the UK mileage guide.

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