HMRC Mileage Allowance 2026-27: 55p First 10,000 Miles, 25p After

How the AMAP tier works

The 10,000-mile boundary is per employee, per UK tax year (6 April to 5 April). It is not per vehicle. If you drive two cars for work in the same tax year, the 10,000-mile tier-1 allowance applies once across both, not twice.

Once your cumulative business mileage in a tax year passes 10,000 miles, every additional mile is paid at 25 pence per mile rather than 55 pence per mile.

Motorcycle and bicycle rates

Motorcycles are paid at a flat 24 pence per mile with no tier. Bicycles are paid at 20 pence per mile, also flat. Both rates apply to all business miles regardless of annual total.

If you use a mix of vehicles in the same tax year, each set of miles is calculated against its own AMAP rate. You cannot lump motorcycle miles into the car tier.

The 15-year freeze and the 2026 increase

In 2011 when AMAP was set at 45p / 25p, the average UK petrol price was around 132p per litre. By 2026 the average was closer to 145p, and insurance and maintenance had risen substantially more. That erosion is what finally drove the 6 April 2026 increase of the first-tier rate from 45p to 55p.

The freeze had been raised in Parliament repeatedly, and motoring associations (RAC, AA) had long called it unsustainable. The 2026 rise to 55p was the first movement in 15 years. It applies to the whole 2026-27 tax year, so budget around the new 55p first-tier rate.

If your employer pays less than AMAP

You can claim the difference between what your employer paid and the AMAP rate as a tax-free reimbursement. This is called Mileage Allowance Relief. Use form P87 if your annual claim is under £2,500; use Self Assessment if it is more. Employees whose employer reimburses below 55p, such as many healthcare workers, are a common case: our nurse mileage allowance and the trust reimbursement gap guide works through the shortfall claim with a full example.