Nurse Mileage Allowance and HMRC: Claiming the Trust Reimbursement Gap
If your employer reimburses your business mileage below HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rate, the difference is claimable as tax-free Mileage Allowance Relief. The AMAP rate from 6 April 2026 is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after (up from 45p). Many NHS trusts and healthcare employers pay a mileage rate below 55p, and community nurses covering large caseloads across a region can be owed a meaningful relief claim on the gap.
The reimbursement gap: where the claim comes from
HMRC's AMAP rate is the amount your employer can pay you tax-free for using your own car for business travel: 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile. If your employer pays exactly the AMAP rate, there is nothing further to claim. If your employer pays less than the AMAP rate, the shortfall between what you were paid and what AMAP allows is claimable from HMRC as Mileage Allowance Relief.
Many trusts and healthcare employers reimburse business mileage at a rate below 55p per mile. We deliberately do not cite any individual trust's figure here, because reimbursement rates vary between employers and change over time. Check your own payslip or expenses statement for the pence-per-mile rate you were actually paid, then calculate the gap against the AMAP rate.
How Mileage Allowance Relief works
The relief is the difference between the AMAP amount for your business miles and what your employer reimbursed. You do not receive the full gap as cash; you receive tax relief on it, meaning the gap reduces your taxable income, so the cash benefit is the gap multiplied by your marginal tax rate (20 percent for a basic-rate taxpayer, 40 percent for higher-rate).
The relief applies only to genuine business mileage, not to your ordinary commute. For a community or district nurse, travel between patient visits and from a base to patients is business travel; travel from home to a single fixed workplace is commuting. HMRC guidance on Mileage Allowance Relief is at gov.uk under 'Claim tax relief for your job expenses: business mileage'.
Worked example: the shortfall claim
A community nurse drives 9,000 business miles in the tax year visiting patients. The AMAP entitlement on those miles is 9,000 x 0.55 = 4,950 pounds. Suppose the employer reimbursed at 45p per mile: 9,000 x 0.45 = 4,050 pounds. The gap is 4,950 - 4,050 = 900 pounds.
That 900-pound gap is the amount of Mileage Allowance Relief. For a basic-rate (20 percent) taxpayer, the cash benefit is 900 x 0.20 = 180 pounds of tax saved. For a higher-rate (40 percent) taxpayer it is 900 x 0.40 = 360 pounds. Substitute your own miles and your own reimbursed rate from your payslip to work out your figure. The rates used here (55p AMAP, 45p as an example reimbursement) are illustrative of the method, not a statement of any employer's actual rate.
How to claim: P87 or Self Assessment
For a total mileage relief claim under 2,500 pounds a year, use form P87 through the GOV.UK 'Tax relief for employees' service. You enter your business miles and what your employer reimbursed, and HMRC calculates the relief. Above 2,500 pounds, or if you already complete a Self Assessment return, you claim on the employment pages of the return instead.
You can claim for the current tax year and the four preceding tax years, so a nurse who has never claimed may be able to recover several years of relief at once. Our full walkthrough is on the how to claim UK Mileage Allowance Relief page.
Records HMRC expects
A mileage log with the date, route, business purpose, and miles for every business trip, paired with your payslips or expense statements showing what the employer reimbursed. The log supports the mileage side of the calculation and the payslips support the reimbursement side, so the gap is auditable. Keep the records for 22 months after the end of the tax year for a routine P87 claim, or longer if HMRC opens an enquiry.
An auto-tracking app that logs each patient visit as a trip removes the main friction of a caseload with many short journeys. See our HMRC mileage log requirements guide for the exact fields each entry needs.
FAQ
My trust already pays me for mileage. Can I still claim?
Yes, if the rate your employer pays is below HMRC's AMAP rate of 55p per mile (first 10,000 miles). You claim the difference between the AMAP amount and what you were reimbursed as Mileage Allowance Relief. If your employer already pays 55p or more, there is nothing further to claim, and payments above 55p may be a taxable benefit.
How much is the claim actually worth?
The gap between AMAP and your reimbursement reduces your taxable income, so the cash benefit is the gap times your marginal tax rate: 20 percent for a basic-rate taxpayer, 40 percent for higher-rate. A 900-pound gap is worth 180 pounds to a basic-rate taxpayer or 360 pounds to a higher-rate one.
Does travel from home to my first patient count?
For a community nurse whose role is inherently travelling between patients, travel from home to the first patient and from the last patient home is generally business travel rather than an ordinary commute, because there is no single fixed workplace. If you report to a base first, the base-to-patient legs are business travel. Keep a log of each journey and its purpose. This is general guidance; your own circumstances determine the answer.
How many years back can I claim?
The current tax year plus the four preceding tax years. A nurse who has never claimed the reimbursement gap may be able to recover relief for several years in one submission, provided you have the mileage and reimbursement records to support each year.
More United Kingdom guides
HMRC Mileage Allowance 2026-27: 55p First 10,000 Miles, 25p After
Read the guide →
HMRC Mileage Rate History: The 2011 Freeze and the 2026 Rise
Read the guide →
How to Claim UK Mileage Allowance Relief
Read the guide →
HMRC Mileage Log Requirements
Read the guide →
The 15-Year HMRC Mileage Rate Freeze, and Its End in 2026
Read the guide →
Free HMRC Mileage Calculator (2026-27)
Read the guide →
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